Otis Spann: Difference between revisions

|birth_place = [[Belzoni, Mississippi|Belzoni]] ''or'' [[Jackson, Mississippi]], United StatesU.S.

|death_date = {{deathDeath date|1970|04|24}} (aged 40-4640–46)

|instrument = VocalsPiano, pianovocals

|genre = [[Chicago blues]]<ref name="Music">{{cite book| first= Paul| last= Du Noyer| year= 2003| title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music| edition= | publisher= Flame Tree Publishing | location= Fulham, London| isbn= 1-904041-96-5| page= 181}}</ref>

|occupation = Vocalist<br />Musician

|label = [[Decca Records|Decca]], [[Chess Records|Chess]], [[Storyville Records|Storyville]], [[Testament Records (United States)|Testament]], [[Bluesway Records|Bluesway]], [[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]], [[Blue Horizon (record label)|CBS/Blue Horizon]]

'''Otis Spann''' (March 21, 1924 or 1930 – {{snd}}April 24, 1970)<ref name="Thedeadrockstarsclub">{{cite web|author=Doc Rock |url=http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1970.html |title=The 1970s |publisher=The Dead Rock Stars Club |date= |accessdate=2015-10-06}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar [[Chicago blues]] pianist.<ref name="Music"/><ref name="Allmusic bio">{{cite web|authorlast=Dahl, |first=Bill |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/otis-spann-mn0000486775/biography |title=Otis Spann: Biography |publisherwork=[[AllMusic.com ]]|access-date=May |accessdate=2014-05-29, 2014}}</ref>

Sources differ over Spann's early years. Many sourcesSome state that he was born in [[Jackson, Mississippi]], in 1930,<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/spann-otis "Otis Spann".] Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 October 13, 2016</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last = Dicaire,| first = David| (1999).title [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Kf3hCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA119&dq=%22Otis+Spann%22+1930&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKt8KKhdjPAhWlDcAKHQsHA24Q6AEIKzAD#v=onepage&q=%22Otis%20Spann%22%201930&f=false ''Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Legendary Artists of the Early 20th Century''].| publisher = [[McFarland. p.& Company]]| year = 1999| isbn = 978-0-7864-0606-7| page = 119| quote = Otis Spann 1930| url = https://archive.org/details/bluessingersbiog00dica/page/119}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues: A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger | location= Santa Barbara, California| pages=195 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Thedeadrockstarsclub"/> Spann becamewas known for his distinctive piano style. He replaced Merriweather asbecame [[Muddy Waters]]'s piano player in late 1952 and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953.<ref name="Wight">{{cite webCite magazine|url last1 =http://www.livinblues.com/bluesrooms/otisspann.asp Wight|title first1 =Otis SpannPhil| last2 = Rothwell|publisher first2 =LivinBlues Fred|date title =1953-09-24 The Complete Muddy Waters Discography|accessdate magazine =2014-05-29 [[Blues & Rhythm]]|url-status issue =dead 200|archiveurl year =https://web.archive.org/web/20140201214551/http://www.livinblues.com/bluesrooms/otisspann.asp 1991|archivedate pages =2014-02-01 40–41}}</ref> He played on many of Waters' most famous songs, including the [[blues standards]] "[[Hoochie Coochie Man]]", "[[I'm Ready (Muddy Waters song)|I'm Ready]]", and "[[Got My Mojo Working]]".<ref name="Wight"/> 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 Muddy Waters until 1968.<ref name="russell">{{cite book| first= Tony| last= Russell| year= 1997| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray| edition= | publisher=Carlton Books| location= Dubai| page= 168| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}</ref>

Spann's work for [[Chess Records]] includes the 1954 [[single (music)|single]] "It Must Have Been the Devil" backed with "Five Spot", with [[B.B. King]] and [[Jody Williams (blues musician)|Jody Williams]] on guitars. DuringSometimes hishe timeis atcredited Chessfor heplaying playedpiano on a fewcouple of [[Chuck Berry's]] early recordssongs, including the studio version of "[[You Can't Catch Me]]" (1956),<ref>{{Cite AV media notes| year = 1988| title = The Chess Box [[Chuck Berry]]| type = Box set booklet| location = Universal City, California| publisher = [[Chess Records]]/[[MCA Records]]| id = CHD3-80,001| page = 29}}</ref><ref name="Perone">{{Cite book| last = Perone| first = James E.| title = Listen to the Blues!: Exploring a Musical Genre| year = 2019| location = Santa Barbara, California| publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]]| isbn = 978-1-4408-6614-2| pages = 156–157}}</ref> but others indicate that it could have been Berry's regular pianist [[Johnnie Johnson (musician)|Johnnie Johnson]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Rothwell| first = Fred| title = Long Distance Information: Chuck Berry's Recording Legacy| year = 2001| isbn = | page = }}</ref> In 1956, he recorded two unreleased tracks with [[Big Walter Horton]] and Robert Lockwood.<ref>Leadbitter, M.; Fancourt, L.; Pelletier, P. (1994). ''Blues Records 1943–1970'', vol. 2. London: Record Information Services.</ref> He recorded a session with the guitarist [[Robert Lockwood, Jr.]] and vocalist [[St. Louis Jimmy Oden|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, Good Morning Mr. Blues, for [[Storyville Records]] was recorded in [[Copenhagen]]. He worked with Muddy Waters and [[Eric Clapton]] on recordings for [[Decca Records|Decca]]<ref>Roberty, Marc (1993). ''Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963–1995''. New York: St. Martin’s Press. p. 16.</ref> 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]], Muddy Waters, and [[Sammy Lawhorn]]. ''The Bottom of the Blues'' (1967), featuring Spann's wife, [[Lucille Spann]] (June 23, 1938 &ndash; August 2, 1994),<ref>{{cite web|author=Doc Rock |url=http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/newentrees.html |title=New Entries |publisher=Thedeadrockstarsclub.com |date= |accessdate=2014-05-29}}</ref> was released by Bluesway. He worked on albums with [[Buddy Guy]], [[Big Mama Thornton]], [[Peter Green (musician)|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]].

Spann died of [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]] in [[Chicago]] in 1970. He was buried in [[Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery|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".

In 1972, the site of the [[Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival]] was named "Otis Spann Memorial Field".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://localwiki.org/ann-arbor/Otis_Spann_Memorial_Field |title=Otis Spann Memorial Field – Ann Arbor |publisher=LocalWiki.org |date=2011-02-18 |accessdateaccess-date=2015-10-06}}</ref> That same year, ''[[Village Voice]]'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] called Spann "the greatest modern blues pianist".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlinkauthor-link=Robert Christgau|date=December 17, 1972|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/news/nd721217.php|title=Gift Albums|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|accessdateaccess-date=March 6, 2018}}</ref> He later included Spann's 1972 [[Barnaby Records|Barnaby]] 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).<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlinkauthor-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: S|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=70|accessdateaccess-date=March 13, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>

*''[[Chicago/The Blues/Today!]]'', vol. 1 (Vanguard, 1966); split release with other artists)

*''Heart Loaded with Trouble'' (BluesWay, 1973) - compilation

*''Otis Rides Again'' (Piccadilly 3488, 1980)

*[{{AllmusicAllMusic|class=artist|id=p127190|pure_url=yes}} Otis Spann at Allmusic]

[[Category:African-American musicianspianists]]

[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer in the United States]]

[[Category:20th-centuryBurials maleat musiciansBurr Oak Cemetery]]