Otis Spann

Otis Spann
Born March 21, 1930
Jackson, Mississippi
Died April 24, 1970 (aged 40)
Chicago, Illinois
Genres Chicago blues[1]
Occupation(s) Vocalist
Musician
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 1944–1970
Labels Decca, Chess, Storyville, Bluesway, Vanguard, CBS/Blue Horizon
Associated acts Muddy Waters

Otis Spann (March 21, 1930 – April 24, 1970)[2] was an American blues musician whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.[1][3]

Career

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style.

Spann's father was reportedly a pianist called Friday Ford. His mother Josephine Erby was a guitarist who had worked with Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith, and his stepfather Frank Houston Spann was a preacher and musician. One of five children, Spann began playing piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from Friday Ford, Frank Spann, and Little Brother Montgomery.[4] By age 14, he was playing in bands in the Jackson area. Big Maceo Merriweather mentored the young musician after his arrival in Chicago in 1946. Spann performed as a solo act or teamed up with guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge.[2]

Spann replaced Merriweather as Muddy Waters' piano player in late 1952, and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953.[5] He continued to record as a solo artist and session man with other musicians, including Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf during his tenure with the group. He stayed with Muddy Waters until 1968.[6]

Spann's work for Chess Records included the 1954 single, "It Must Have Been the Devil" / "Five Spot", with B.B. King and Jody Williams on guitars. During his time at Chess Records he played on a few of Chuck Berry's early records. His back up on the studio version of "You Can't Catch Me" is a very good example. In 1956 he recorded two unreleased tracks with Big Walter Horton and Robert Lockwood.[7] He recorded a session with the guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. and vocalist St. Louis Jimmy in New York on August 23, 1960, which was issued on Otis Spann Is The Blues and Walking The Blues. A 1963 effort with Storyville Records was recorded in Copenhagen. He worked with Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton on Decca Records[8] and with James Cotton for Prestige in 1964.

The Blues is Where It's At, Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, includes artists George "Harmonica" Smith, Muddy Waters, and Sammy Lawhorn. The Bottom of the Blues (1967), featuring Spann's wife, Lucille Jenkins Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994),[9] was released on Bluesway. He worked on albums with Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green, and Fleetwood Mac during the late 1960s.

Material featuring Spann on DVD includes the Newport Jazz Festival (1960), the American Folk Blues Festival (1963), The Blues Masters (1966), and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (1968).

Death

Spann died of liver cancer in Chicago in 1970. He was buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois. Spann's grave laid unmarked for almost thirty years, until Steve Salter (president of the Killer Blues Headstone Project) wrote a letter to Blues Revue magazine to say "This piano great is lying in an unmarked grave. Let's do something about this deplorable situation". Blues enthusiasts from around the world sent donations to purchase Spann a headstone. On June 6, 1999 the marker was unveiled during a private ceremony. The stone reads "Otis played the deepest blues we ever heard - He'll play forever in our hearts".

He was posthumously elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.

Legacy

In 1972 the site of the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival was named "Otis Spann Memorial Field."[10]

Discography

Solo

With other artists

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "eFortress.com". Users.efortress.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  3. ↑ Bill Dahl. "Otis Spann | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  4. ↑ Harris, S. (1981). Blues Who's Who. New York: Da Capo Press, pp. 477-479
  5. ↑ "Otis Spann". LivinBlues. 1953-09-24. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  6. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 168. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  7. ↑ Leadbitter, M., Fancourt, L. and Pelletier, P. (1994): Blues Records 1943-1970 Vol 2, London: Record Information Services
  8. ↑ Roberty, Marc, Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963 - 1995, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1993 p. 16
  9. ↑ Doc Rock. "New Entries". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  10. ↑ https://localwiki.org/ann-arbor/Otis_Spann_Memorial_Field

External links