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Musician

Otis Spann

Otis Spann

born on 21/3/1930 in Jackson, MS, United States

died on 24/4/1970 in Chicago, IL, United States

Otis Spann

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930 – April 24, 1970)[3] was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.[2][4]

Early life

Sources differ over Spann's early years. Many sources state that he was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1930,[5][6] but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc concluded, on the basis of census records and other official information, that he was born in 1924 in Belzoni, Mississippi.[7]

Spann's father was, according to some sources, 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 the piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from Friday Ford, Frank Spann, and Little Brother Montgomery.[8]

Career

By the age of 14, he was playing in bands in the Jackson area. He moved to Chicago in 1946, where he was mentored by Big Maceo Merriweather. Spann performed as a solo act and with the guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge.[3] Spann became known for his distinctive piano style. He replaced Merriweather as Muddy Waters's piano player in late 1952 and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953.[9] He continued to record as a solo artist and session player with other musicians, including Bo Diddley and Howlin' Wolf, during his tenure with the group. He stayed with Waters until 1968.[10]

Spann's work for Chess Records includes the 1954 single "It Must Have Been the Devil" backed with "Five Spot", with B.B. King and Jody Williams on guitars. During his time at Chess he played on a few of Chuck Berry's early records, including the studio version of "You Can't Catch Me". In 1956, he recorded two unreleased tracks with Big Walter Horton and Robert Lockwood.[11] 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 the albums Otis Spann Is the Blues and Walking the Blues. A 1963 session for Storyville Records was recorded in Copenhagen. He worked with Waters and Eric Clapton on recordings for Decca[12] and with James Cotton for Prestige in 1964.

The Blues Is Where It's At, Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, includes contributions from George "Harmonica" Smith, Waters, and Sammy Lawhorn. The Bottom of the Blues (1967), featuring Spann's wife, Lucille Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994),[13] was released by Bluesway. He worked on albums with Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green, and Fleetwood Mac in the late 1960s. In 2012, Silk City Records released Someday which featured live and studio performances from 1967 produced by the noted blues guitarist Son Lewis.

DVD recordings of Spann include his performances at 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 Burr Oak Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. His grave was unmarked for almost thirty years, until Steve Salter (president of the Killer Blues Headstone Project) wrote a letter to Blues Revue magazine, saying, "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 a headstone. On June 6, 1999, the marker was unveiled in a private ceremony. The stone is inscribed, "Otis played the deepest blues we ever heard – He'll play forever in our hearts".

Legacy

In 1972, the site of the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival was named "Otis Spann Memorial Field".[14]

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

Discography

Solo

  • Otis Spann Is the Blues (Candid, 1960)
  • Good Morning Mr. Blues (1963)
  • The Blues of Otis Spann (Decca, 1964)
  • The Blues Never Die! (Prestige, 1965)
  • Chicago/The Blues/Today!, vol. 1 (Vanguard, 1966)
  • Otis Spann's Chicago Blues (Testament, 1966)
  • The Blues Is Where It's At (Bluesway, 1966)
  • Nobody Knows My Troubles (Bounty, 1967)
  • The Bottom of the Blues (Bluesway, 1968)
  • Otis Spann (Archive Of Folk Music) (Everest, 1968)
  • Cracked Spanner Head (1969)
  • The Biggest Thing Since Colossus (Blue Horizon, 1969)
  • The Everlasting Blues vs. Otis Spann (1969)
  • Up in the Queen's Pad (1969)
  • Sweet Giant of the Blues (BluesTime, 1969)
  • Cryin' Time (Vanguard, recorded 1968, released 1970)
  • Walking the Blues (Candid, recorded 1960, released 1972)
  • Heart Loaded with Trouble (1973)
  • Otis Rides Again (Piccadilly 3488, 1980)
  • Last Call: Live at Boston Tea Party (recorded 1970, released 2000)
  • I Wanna Go Home (recorded 1964–69, released 2003)
  • Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (recorded 1969, released 2006)
  • Someday... (recorded 1967, released 2012)

With other artists

  • Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, Collaboration (recorded 1958, released 1995)
  • Muddy Waters, At Newport 1960 (1960)
  • Lonnie Johnson, Portraits in Blues, vol. 6 (1963)
  • Various artists, Raw Blues (recorded 1964, released 1967)
  • Chicago/The Blues/Today!, vol. 2, with the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet (1966)
  • John Lee Hooker, Live at Cafe au Go-Go. Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sammy Lawhorn, Luther Johnson, Mac Arnold, Francis Clay, and George Smith (1967)
  • Buddy Guy, A Man and the Blues (1968)
  • Muddy Waters, Fathers and Sons (1969)
  • Johnny Shines, Last Night's Dream (1969), Spann playing piano on "Pipeline Blues" (1969)
  • Junior Wells, Southside Jam Blues (1969)
  • Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2 (1969)
  • Muddy Waters, Mud in Your Ear (1967, released 1973)
  • Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Bosses of the Blues, vol. 2 (recorded 1970, released 1991)
  • Floyd Jones and Eddie Taylor, Masters of Modern Blues, vol. 3 (recorded 1966, released 1994)
  • Otis Spann with Muddy Waters and His Blues Band, Live the Life (recorded live 1964–69, released 1997)
  • T-Bone Walker, Joe Turner, and Otis Spann, Super Black Blues, vol. 1 (recorded 1969, released 2001)
  • David Maxwell and Otis Spann, Conversations in Blue (2010)
  • Chuck Berry, "You Can't Catch Me", "No Money Down", "Sweet Little Rock and Roller", "Roly Poly", "Berry Picking"

See also

  • Chicago blues
  • List of blues musicians
  • List of people from Mississippi
  • List of Storyville Records artists

References

  1. ^ Sec. 6, lot 13, row 8, grave 31, Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip (south Chicago), Illinois. Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3d ed.). 2 (Kindle locations 44371–44372). McFarland & Company. Kindle Edition.
  2. ^ a b Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5. 
  3. ^ a b Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-10-06. 
  4. ^ Dahl, Bill. "Otis Spann: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29. 
  5. ^ "Otis Spann". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016
  6. ^ Dicaire, David (1999). Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Legendary Artists of the Early 20th Century. McFarland. p. 119.
  7. ^ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 195. ISBN 978-0313344237. 
  8. ^ Harris, S. (1981). Blues Who's Who. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 477–479. ISBN 978-0306801556.
  9. ^ "Otis Spann". LivinBlues. 1953-09-24. Retrieved 2014-05-29. 
  10. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 168. ISBN 1-85868-255-X. 
  11. ^ Leadbitter, M.; Fancourt, L.; Pelletier, P. (1994). Blues Records 1943–1970, vol. 2. London: Record Information Services.
  12. ^ Roberty, Marc (1993). Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963–1995. New York: St. Martin’s Press. p. 16.
  13. ^ Doc Rock. "New Entries". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29. 
  14. ^ "Otis Spann Memorial Field – Ann Arbor". LocalWiki.org. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2015-10-06. 

External links

This page was last modified 29.01.2018 10:37:34

This article uses material from the article Otis Spann from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.