Biography
Born on February 8, 1937, in Dewey Rose, Georgia, the friendly and talented Otis Leavill Cobb saw his family relocate to Chicago two years later, where they established roots in the Londale section of the West Side. Four brothers and two sisters made up his siblings. Serving as pastor of the First Church of Deliverance on South Wabash—one of the earliest congregations to air services on radio—his father also assembled the Cobb Singers, counting Otis among its participants. Major Lance, Leavill’s childhood companion from the Cabrini Green Projects situated near Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler, shared overnight stays that made the pair seem more like brothers than friends. As teenagers they boxed as amateurs at St. Albees, with Leavill always entering a division five pounds heavier than Lance; at 5'5" Leavill was short and stocky while Lance stood taller and leaner at 5'8". Together with Barbara Tyson and a second female whose name has faded from memory, they launched the Floats, an act that lasted eight months, produced no commercial release, yet left behind a demo still circulating in Chicago. Leavill held a job at a neighborhood grocery store while Lance worked at a drugstore in the Cabrini Green area; after graduating from Crane High School, Leavill went on to Crane Junior College and Chicago Junior College.
The Impressions reached vinyl first, followed by Lance, then Leavill, whose debut “Ride Sally Ride” appeared on Mercury’s Limelight imprint although he maintained he had cut the track for St. Lawrence Records before the master was leased. His second single, the Mayfield composition “Gotta Right to Cry,” surfaced on Lucky Records after Lance had already recorded and issued it for Okeh in 1963. The 1966 release “Let Her Love Me” supplied the necessary momentum, climbing to number 31 on Billboard’s R&B chart; the buoyant Mayfield ballad, backed by the Impressions, became Blue Rock Records’ first national success. Leavill gained his initial touring experience with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars, initially joining merely to support Major Lance until disk jockey airplay for “Let Her Love Me” earned him a paid slot performing two numbers.
Before that breakthrough he had grown close to Okeh producer Carl Davis, serving as his indispensable assistant by booking artists, assembling musicians, and coordinating backing vocalists. Leavill also proved adept at talent scouting, unearthing the Chi-lites, Tyrone Davis, Bohannon, and Indianapolis group Manchild, whose roster included Kenneth “Baby Face” Edmonds. He and Davis declined to sign fast-talking, sixteen-year-old Yvette Stevens and her younger sister Yvonne, fearing the vivacious, full-voiced, curvaceous teenager would create unwanted distractions given the older men who clustered around her; Yvette later became Chaka Khan and Yvonne became Taka Boom. Leavill speaks admiringly of the Vibrations’ command of what he termed “money songs”—standards that secured steady Las Vegas engagements—yet the Californians never attained the predicted stardom; their Okeh sides “Pick Me,” “Misty,” and “Love in Them There Hills” achieved only modest sales.
Blue Rock became Leavill’s subsequent home, where he recorded such notable tracks as Billy Butler’s “To Be or Not to Be” and “Let Me Live.” When Davis launched Dakar Records he named Leavill vice-president and granted him equity. Leavill also cut sides for Dakar, scoring his biggest success with Eugene Record’s “I Love You,” a performance reminiscent of Record’s own Chi-lites lead vocals; the single reached number 10 R&B yet stalled at number 64 Pop. Another Record song, “Love Uprising,” nearly matched that performance, peaking at number 19 R&B and number 72 Pop, while “There’s Nothing Better Than Loving You” barely registered on the lower R&B chart. Despite these entries, Dakar never issued an album by Leavill. Willie Henderson produced the Dakar sessions, with Record and Barbara Acklin supplying backing vocals.
Following Dakar’s closure Davis moved to Brunswick Records and Leavill followed, issuing a handful of singles including “Can’t Stop Loving You”—now a $40 collector’s item—without recapturing earlier success. Subsequent releases appeared sporadically; “Right Back in Love” came out on Columbia before further scattered sides marked the end of his recording career. As a songwriter Leavill is credited by BMI with 41 compositions, among them “There Goes the Lover” for Gene Chandler and “Sweet Music” for Major Lance. He produced tracks for Tyrone Davis and supervised Major Lance’s Motown album Now Arriving. Far more visible behind the scenes than in the spotlight, Leavill retained only positive recollections of the music business. Divorced from Minnie Cobb, his daughter Misti earned her degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. In 1999 he toured European clubs alongside the Dells. Few knew that he and Carl Davis coached football at Hyde Park High School for seven years. Refusing to remain idle, Leavill also operated the ’76 Car Wash and Gas Station at Washington and Pulaski and worked part-time as a police officer in a western Chicago suburb. After a long absence from the industry he founded OK Records in 2000. Otis Leavill died of a heart attack on July 17, 2002, at age 65; to the end he retained the drive, hustle, and energy that had first earned respect as an amateur boxer at St. Albees.
The Impressions reached vinyl first, followed by Lance, then Leavill, whose debut “Ride Sally Ride” appeared on Mercury’s Limelight imprint although he maintained he had cut the track for St. Lawrence Records before the master was leased. His second single, the Mayfield composition “Gotta Right to Cry,” surfaced on Lucky Records after Lance had already recorded and issued it for Okeh in 1963. The 1966 release “Let Her Love Me” supplied the necessary momentum, climbing to number 31 on Billboard’s R&B chart; the buoyant Mayfield ballad, backed by the Impressions, became Blue Rock Records’ first national success. Leavill gained his initial touring experience with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars, initially joining merely to support Major Lance until disk jockey airplay for “Let Her Love Me” earned him a paid slot performing two numbers.
Before that breakthrough he had grown close to Okeh producer Carl Davis, serving as his indispensable assistant by booking artists, assembling musicians, and coordinating backing vocalists. Leavill also proved adept at talent scouting, unearthing the Chi-lites, Tyrone Davis, Bohannon, and Indianapolis group Manchild, whose roster included Kenneth “Baby Face” Edmonds. He and Davis declined to sign fast-talking, sixteen-year-old Yvette Stevens and her younger sister Yvonne, fearing the vivacious, full-voiced, curvaceous teenager would create unwanted distractions given the older men who clustered around her; Yvette later became Chaka Khan and Yvonne became Taka Boom. Leavill speaks admiringly of the Vibrations’ command of what he termed “money songs”—standards that secured steady Las Vegas engagements—yet the Californians never attained the predicted stardom; their Okeh sides “Pick Me,” “Misty,” and “Love in Them There Hills” achieved only modest sales.
Blue Rock became Leavill’s subsequent home, where he recorded such notable tracks as Billy Butler’s “To Be or Not to Be” and “Let Me Live.” When Davis launched Dakar Records he named Leavill vice-president and granted him equity. Leavill also cut sides for Dakar, scoring his biggest success with Eugene Record’s “I Love You,” a performance reminiscent of Record’s own Chi-lites lead vocals; the single reached number 10 R&B yet stalled at number 64 Pop. Another Record song, “Love Uprising,” nearly matched that performance, peaking at number 19 R&B and number 72 Pop, while “There’s Nothing Better Than Loving You” barely registered on the lower R&B chart. Despite these entries, Dakar never issued an album by Leavill. Willie Henderson produced the Dakar sessions, with Record and Barbara Acklin supplying backing vocals.
Following Dakar’s closure Davis moved to Brunswick Records and Leavill followed, issuing a handful of singles including “Can’t Stop Loving You”—now a $40 collector’s item—without recapturing earlier success. Subsequent releases appeared sporadically; “Right Back in Love” came out on Columbia before further scattered sides marked the end of his recording career. As a songwriter Leavill is credited by BMI with 41 compositions, among them “There Goes the Lover” for Gene Chandler and “Sweet Music” for Major Lance. He produced tracks for Tyrone Davis and supervised Major Lance’s Motown album Now Arriving. Far more visible behind the scenes than in the spotlight, Leavill retained only positive recollections of the music business. Divorced from Minnie Cobb, his daughter Misti earned her degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. In 1999 he toured European clubs alongside the Dells. Few knew that he and Carl Davis coached football at Hyde Park High School for seven years. Refusing to remain idle, Leavill also operated the ’76 Car Wash and Gas Station at Washington and Pulaski and worked part-time as a police officer in a western Chicago suburb. After a long absence from the industry he founded OK Records in 2000. Otis Leavill died of a heart attack on July 17, 2002, at age 65; to the end he retained the drive, hustle, and energy that had first earned respect as an amateur boxer at St. Albees.