Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

pianist.

Early life

Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, in 1930, but 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 Belzoni ( ) is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,235 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County. It was named for the 19th-centur ...

. 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 Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...

and

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock a ...

, 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 Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communi ...

.Harris, S. (1981). ''Blues Who's Who''. New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 477–479. .

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 Major Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953), better known as Big Maceo Merriweather, was an American pianist and blues singer. He was mainly active in Chicago through the 1940s. Career Born in Newnan, Georgia, he was a self-tau ...

. Spann performed as a solo act and with the guitarist

Morris Pejoe Morris Pejas (April 11, 1924 – July 27, 1982), billed professionally as Morris Pejoe was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He released a string of singles in the 1950s and 1960s, but saw many of his recordings go unre ...

, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge. Spann was known for his distinctive piano style. He became

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

' piano player in late 1952 and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953. He played on many of Waters' most famous songs, including the

blues standards Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...

Hoochie Coochie Man "Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a sto ...

", " I'm Ready", and "

Got My Mojo Working "Got My Mojo Working" is a blues song written by Preston "Red" Foster and first recorded by R&B singer Ann Cole in 1956. Foster's lyrics describe several amulets or talismans, called ''mojo'', which are associated with hoodoo, an early African ...

". He continued to record as a solo artist and session player with other musicians, including

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

, during his tenure with the group. He stayed with Muddy Waters until 1968. Spann's work for Chess Records includes the 1954

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"It Must Have Been the Devil" backed with "Five Spot", with

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

and

Jody Williams Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of security i ...

on guitars. Sometimes he is credited for playing piano on a couple of

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

songs, including "

You Can't Catch Me "You Can't Catch Me" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released as a single in 1956. Background The song's lyrics describe racing a souped-up "air-mobile" down the New Jersey Turnpike, then unfolding its wings and taking off. At the ...

" (1956), but others indicate that it could have been Berry's regular pianist Johnnie Johnson. In 1956, he recorded two unreleased tracks with

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

and Robert Lockwood. He recorded a session with the guitarist

Robert Lockwood, Jr. Robert Lockwood Jr. (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly ...

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 Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously app ...

was recorded in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. He worked with Muddy Waters and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

on recordings for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and with

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

for Prestige in 1964. ''The Blues Is Where It's At'', Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, includes contributions from

George "Harmonica" Smith George "Harmonica" Smith (born Allen George Smith, April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) was an American electric blues harmonica player. Apart from his solo recordings, Smith is best known for his work backing both Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornt ...

, Muddy Waters, and

Sammy Lawhorn Sammy David Lawhorn (July 12, 1935 – April 29, 1990) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, best known as a member of Muddy Waters's band. He also accompanied many other blues musicians, including Otis Spann, Willie Cobbs, Eddie Boyd, ...

. ''The Bottom of the Blues'' (1967), featuring Spann's wife, Lucille Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994), was released by Bluesway. He worked on albums with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green, and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

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 Son Lewis (born Andrew Lewis, December 11, 1951, Paterson, New Jersey) is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was nicknamed "Son" or "Sonny" by his family, to differentiate him from his father, Andrew Lewis Sr. Family He is the son of ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

recordings of Spann include his performances at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

(1960), the

American Folk Blues Festival The American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe as an annual event for several years beginning in 1962. It introduced audiences in Europe, including the UK, to leading blues performers of the day such as Muddy Waters, Howl ...

(1963), the Blues Masters (1966), and the

Copenhagen Jazz Festival Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a jazz event every July in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Copenhagen Jazz Festival was established in 1979, but beginning in 1964 Tivoli Gardens presented a series of concerts under the name Copenhagen Jazz Festiva ...

(1968).

Death

Spann died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in Chicago in 1970. He was buried in

Burr Oak Cemetery Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in Alsip, Illinois, United States, a suburb southwest of Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1927, Burr Oak was one of the few early Chicago cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, ...

, in

Alsip, Illinois Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank ...

. 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 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 200 ...

was named "Otis Spann Memorial Field". That same year, ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

called Spann "the greatest modern blues pianist". He later included Spann's 1972

Barnaby Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element ''beorn'' 'young warrior' and the Danish suffix ''by'' meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Bar ...

compilation ''Walking the Blues'' in "A Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s music, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981). Spann was posthumously elected to the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

in 1980. On November 13, 2012, Spann (along with cousin and fellow pianist Little Johnnie Jones) received a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker plaque, erected at 547 South Roach Street in Jackson, Mississippi where the family lived in the 1930s and 1940s.

Discography

*'' Otis Spann Is the Blues'' (Candid, 1960) *''Good Morning Mr. Blues'' (1963) *'' The Blues of Otis Spann'' (Decca, 1964) *''

The Blues Never Die! ''The Blues Never Die!'' is an album by the blues pianist and vocalist Otis Spann, recorded in Chicago in 1964 and released by the Prestige label the following year.Chicago/The Blues/Today! ''Chicago/The Blues/Today!'' is a series of three blues albums by various artists. It was recorded in late 1965 and released in 1966. It was remastered and released as a three-disc album in 1999. In 1965 Samuel Charters at Vanguard Records ask ...

'', vol. 1 (Vanguard, 1966); split release with other artists) *'' Otis Spann's Chicago Blues'' (Testament, 1966) also released as ''Nobody Knows My Troubles'' *'' The Blues Is Where It's At'' (BluesWay, 1966) *'' The Bottom of the Blues'' (BluesWay, 1968) *''

Cryin' Time ''Cryin' Time'' is an album by blues pianist and vocalist Otis Spann recorded in Chicago in 1968 and released by the Vanguard Records, Vanguard label.The Biggest Thing Since Colossus'' (Blue Horizon, 1969) *''The Everlasting Blues vs. Otis Spann'' (Spivey, 1969) *''Up in the Queen's Pad'' (Spivey, 1969) *'' Super Black Blues'' (BluesTime, 1969) with

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''Roll ...

and Joe Turner *'' Sweet Giant of the Blues'' (BluesTime, 1970) *'' Walking the Blues'' (Barnaby, 1960

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

*''Heart Loaded with Trouble'' (BluesWay, 1973) - compilation *''Otis Rides Again'' (Piccadilly, 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)

References

External links

* * Otis Spann at Allmusicbr>1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame induction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spann, Otis African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists American blues singers Chicago blues musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi Singers from Chicago Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Vanguard Records artists 1930 births 1970 deaths Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from liver cancer 20th-century American pianists Burials at Burr Oak Cemetery 20th-century African-American male singers