James Otto Writes With Legend-ary R&B Star
James Otto is climbing the country charts with his current single, 'Groovy Little Summer Song,' but he may soon be coming to the pop and R&B charts. James, who co-wrote the 2008 ACM Song of the Year with Jamey Johnson, 'In Color,' recently penned tunes with six-time Grammy winner/R&B superstar John Legend, best known for his hits 'Ordinary People' and 'Green Light.'
"We wrote two songs in, like, three hours," James tells The Boot. "Writing with that guy ... you're just sitting with a genius. You can tell that music runs out of his pores. He is one of the most amazing singers and players that I've ever seen. It raises the hair on the back of your neck when he sings."
John Legend is just the latest of James' "heroes" with whom he's been able to write. "The cool thing about being in this business now is I get to meet a lot of my heroes and write with them. I've written with John Anderson and a whole host of others," he says, adding that there are still plenty more names on his wish list. "I want to write with Randy Travis, he's one of my all-time heroes and a guy I've really admired so. I'd love to write with Jamie Cullum or Ray LaMontagne."
In the meantime, James is putting the finishing touches on his second Warner Bros. album. The self-titled set will be out later this year.
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