James Otto photo by Kristin Barlowe, courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.
June 2, 2008 — James Otto recently notched his first No. 1 country single with "Just Got Started Lovin’ You," but if you had told him when he’d first gotten interested in music his success would come in country, he likely would have laughed. Or scowled. It wasn’t something he particularly liked.
"The reason that I play country music today is Hank Williams Jr.," he told The Dallas Morning News. "He made country music cool to me. Prior to that, [country] was what my grandparents were listening to, the gospel stuff. When you’re a kid, those things aren’t cool to you."
There’s a thread that’s particularly interesting in the Bocephus-James Otto connection. Hank Williams Sr. was taught to play guitar by an African-American musician in Alabama nicknamed Tee Tot. There’s also an inescapable bit of soul music in James’ performances.
"Country music," James noted, "is nothing but the white man’s blues. I want to sing the blues the way I feel them, and country music is where I’m coming from."
James’ first album came out in 2004 but was largely ignored. He went through a personal funk from the disappointment, but in the process, it helped him make his second album, Sunset Man, better.
"I learned a lot of lessons with all the things that happened," he reflected. "I need to be myself. In the end, I will be happier that I did that, and if I’m successful, even better."
James plays Sunday at Nashville’s LP Field on the closing night of the CMA Music Festival. Joining him on the bill are Bucky Covington, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Sara Evans and Billy Ray Cyrus.