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Richard De La
Font Agency, Inc.
Legendary 5-Star Service and Reputation
Providing Excellence in Entertainment Since 1970
Booking Otis Day & The Knights - Otis Day and the Knights
Book soul and r&b music groups, party bands
Book Otis Day & the Knights, DeWayne Jessie
Classic Rock, Soul, Frat Rock
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How To Book OTIS DAY For Your Event!
Otis Day & The Knights may be available for your next special
event!
Otis, My Man!
Ask
anyone named Otis. Ask him if he is not routinely hailed as "Otis,
my man!" by virtually all who know him. Otis Wilson, Otis Jennings,
Ottis Anderson – all have become Otis-My-Mans. Even Otis Campbell, the
town drunk from Mayberry R.F.D.
 But the original Otis-My-Man is not really an Otis at
all. DeWayne Jessie was part of Universal Studios' stable of character
actors when he was offered the role of Otis Day, the roadhouse
rhythm-and-blues singer in "Animal House" – National Lampoon's
occasionally raunchy but, unfailingly, funny tribute to college
fraternity life. Now he's Otis – for life. "He's taken over,"
Jessie admitted. "He's taken over as far as performing goes. But
when I get my bills, it's DeWayne Jessie."
 Released in 1978, "Animal House" became one
of the top 50 grossing movies of all time – though not all the grossing
was done at the box office. And though it lasted just two scenes,
Jessie's role was among the most memorable – first for the
Knight's toga-party rendition of "Shout!" and then for their
appearance at the Dexter Lake Club, where an alert freshman pledge
noticed that, "We're the only white people here."
There, one of the Delta road-trippers hailed from the
bar, "Otis, my man" – only to get a stony stare in return.
American race relations have never been summed up so succinctly.
"About two days after the film was released, I got a call from a
guy in Rhode Island wanting us to come out on the road," Jessie
said. "I didn't go, but then Los Angeles based producers Ron Kurtz
and Don Podolor called and said 'Let's give it a try!'" The rest is
Rock 'n' Roll history.
Otis toured to sold out crowds immediately. In fact,
in Galveston, Texas he drew 375,000 to his Mardi Gras concert. "It
was done in reverse," states Ron Kurtz. "First we toured
successfully (more than 260 concerts the first year alone), then we did a
feature full length video. Now we have an album on MCA Records
produced by George Clinton."
Jessie's career started at age 17 when he played a
student who couldn't read in "Halls of Anger," a Jeff Bridges
vehicle. He kept busy in the 70's with roles in "Car Wash,"
"Thank God It's Friday," "Where the Buffalo Roam"
and "The Bingo Long Traveling All-stars and Motor Kings,"
which starred Billy Dee Williams as the ace of a barnstorming black
baseball team. "I won a Image award for that – Billy won best actor
and I won best supporting actor (He played Rainbow, a mute.)," he
said.
"That night Universal offered me 'Animal House.'
At first I said no, but before I walked out the door, something hit me
in the back of the head and said, 'Fool, you better take it.' I had a
ball. And John Belushi, contrary to popular belief, was not the kind of
person you’ve read about in 'Wired,' as far as his work goes. He was a
professional. He was flying from Eugene to New York to do 'Saturday
Night Live' all the time. I thank God I met him, because he taught me a
lot about control."
Jessie claims to have done "a little
singing" before tackling Otis, but he based his character on his
brother, Obie, who had a group, called The Slayers. "I don't know
if they were similar, " Jessie said. " I really can't say...
yeah. I would say... no, they were a lot different." The Jessie /
Day concert repertoire is about what you'd expect: movie favorites
"Louie, Louie," "Shout!" and "Shamalama Ding
Dong" mixed in with old standards like "Function at the
Junction." Plus, of course, new album material.
Otis Day & The Knights may be available for your next special
event!
Watch videos
YouTube
"Let's Get Started!"
Genre: R&B
Genre: Party
Styles:
.Classic Rock. / ClassicRock
.Soul. / xSoul
.Frat Rock. / FratRockBand --
Formed: ..in California / formed
nCalifornia
Formed: ..in Los Angeles / formed LosAngelesCA
Formed: in 1978
DeWayne Jessie (aka Otis Day)
Born: ..in California / born nCalifornia
Born: ..in Los Angeles / born
LosAngelesCA
Born: Sep 21, 1951
Based: ..in US
Based: ..in California / based nCalifornia
Based: ..in Los Angeles /
based LosAngelesCA
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Frequently Asked Questions About How To Hire OTIS DAY for a private party or special event.
HOW TO BOOK OTIS DAY?
(i.e., how to hire OTIS DAY for an event)
You are currently on the official site of De La Font Agency. For
more than 50 years, we have successfully helped official talent buyers
around the world secure quality talent.
We welcome the opportunity to be of service to you. Let's do this the
right way! Let's save you time and frustration!
Simply click on the "Let's Get Started!" link found on this page.
Then, send us your request for booking information.
Include information about your plans for your event and how taking steps to hire OTIS DAY (or someone similar) might be of special interest.
If you decide you want to look at other names, simply include your talent-fee
budget range and indicate that you want to see who else you might be able to
afford with such a budget. We can send you a list of names that are affordable
and in the style of music you prefer. We hope to save you time and frustration!
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BOOK/HIRE OTIS DAY?
(i.e., what is the booking fee to hire OTIS DAY for an event?)
(i.e., what is OTIS DAY booking fee to perform at an event?)
Official booking fees for OTIS DAY, or any other celebrity, are
determined based on a number of factors and may change at anytime without prior
notice.
Factors influencing pricing vary and may include date, location, type of
event, whether a private party or a public concert, the artist's calendar,
whether the artist is on tour or not, how well tickets are selling at the
artist's concerts, the current demand for the artist's music, market activity, etc.
As you might expect, the more in-demand the artist is, the more buyers are
prepared to pay. Of course, this causes the artist's price to increase as
the artist becomes more popular or decrease when becoming less popular.
Exclusive agents with exclusive representation frequently quote a
range instead of a specific price, since changes can occur at anytime.
Generally, the
artist's manager has a role in the decision to accept any
particular offer from a talent buyer.
To learn the most current artist's pricing, or the estimated
artist's fee for your particular event, simply click on the "Let's Get Started!" link found on this page. Then, send us your request for booking
information.
IS OTIS DAY AVAILABLE TO WORK MY EVENT?
(i.e., what is OTIS DAY's availability?)
To learn the artist's current availability for your special event, simply
click on the "Let's Get Started!" link found on this page. Then, send us
your request for booking information.
Once we have your event/party information, we will be better able to assist
you with putting your entertainment talent booking plans in place as your
entertainment consultant. Let's get this done right! We look forward to working with you!
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