Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style.
Born to Frank Houston Spann and Josephine Erby. One of five children - three boys and two girls. His father played piano, non professionally, while his mother had played guitar with Memphis Minnie.[citation needed] Spann began playing piano by age of eight, influenced by his local ivories stalwart, Friday Ford. At the age of 14, he was playing in bands around Jackson, finding more inspiration in the 78s of Big Maceo Merriweather, who took the young pianist under his wing once Spann migrated to Chicago in 1946. Other sources say that he moved to Chicago when his mother died in 1947 playing the Chicago club circuit and working as a plasterer. Spann gigged on his own, and with guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge before hooking up with Muddy Waters in 1952.
Although he recorded periodically as a solo artist, Spann was a full-time member of the Muddy Waters band from 1952 to 1968. In that period he also did session work with other Chess artists like Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley.
Spann's own Chess Records output was limited to a 1954 single, "It Must Have Been the Devil" / "Five Spot", which featured B.B. King and Jody Williams on guitars. 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 largely solo outing for Storyville Records in 1963 was recorded in Copenhagen. A set for UK Decca Records the following year found him in the company of Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton, and a 1964 album for Prestige followed where Spann shared vocal duties with bandmate James Cotton.
The Blues is Where It's At, Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, sounded like a live recording. It was a recording studio date, enlivened by enthusiastic onlookers that applauded every song (Muddy Waters, guitarist Sammy Lawhorn, and George "Harmonica" Smith were among the support crew). A Bluesway encore, The Bottom of the Blues followed in 1967 and featured Spann's wife, Lucille Jenkins Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994[5]), helping out on vocals.
In the late 1960s, he appeared on albums with Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac.
Several films of his playing are available on DVD, including the Newport Folk Festival (1960), while his singing is also featured on the American Folk Blues Festival (1963) and The Blues Masters (1966).
Following his death from liver cancer in Chicago in 1970, at the age of 40, he was interred 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". This lit a spark in the blues community on a world wide level. Blues enthusiasts from Alaska to Venezuela, from Surrey to England, and Singapore 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.
Bloody Murder
Otis Spann Lyrics
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Blood stain all on the wall
Well now, you know they call it bloody murder
There were blood stains all on the wall
She's (???) to pieces
And my (???) in her heart
I wonder what coulda happen to my baby
Don't know (???) where my baby gone
Wonder where my baby gone
It was early one morning, Lord
My baby (???) down the (phone?)
...
Lord have mercy!
Lord have mercy on me!
Please Lord have mercy!
Lord have mercy on me!
If anybody see my baby
Please send that woman home to me!
The song "Bloody Murder" by Otis Spann is a sorrowful blues ballad that describes the songwriter's heartbreak and confusion after discovering that his lover has been murdered. The opening line of "Call it bloody murder" sets the tone for the rest of the song, as Spann mournfully sings about the bloodstains on the wall and the many questions he has about what happened to his baby. He sings in a mournful, soulful voice, punctuated by restrained piano playing and occasional bursts of harmonica.
As the song progresses, Spann wonders aloud about the circumstances that led to his lover's death. He's unsure where she's gone or what might have led someone to take her away from him. There's a sense of desperation in his voice as he pleads for mercy from a higher power and asks anyone who might have seen his woman to bring her back to him.
One of the things that makes "Bloody Murder" so affecting is the way that Otis Spann manages to evoke so much emotion with such spare instrumentation. The song is dominated by his piano playing, which is both delicate and powerful. There are times when he plays simple, almost repetitive chords, but there are other moments when he lets loose with intricate riffs and solos that show off his mastery of the instrument. The harmonica bursts add a plaintive, almost mournful quality that perfectly captures the song's mood.
Line by Line Meaning
Call it bloody murder
Describing the crime scene as a bloody murder
Blood stain all on the wall
Pointing out the presence of blood stains on the walls at the crime scene
Well now, you know they call it bloody murder
Affirming that the presence of blood stains and a victim indicate a bloody murder
There were blood stains all on the wall
Reiterating the observation that there were visible blood stains on the wall
She's (???) to pieces
Describing the victim as dismembered or horribly mutilated
And my (???) in her heart
Suggesting that the victim was likely someone close to the singer and they feel deeply harmed by her violent demise
I wonder what coulda happen to my baby
Expressing the singer's confusion and disbelief over what could have happened to the victim who was close to them
Don't know (???) where my baby gone
Expressing confusion over the whereabouts of the victim, suggesting that the artist may not even know where to begin searching for them
Wonder what happen to my baby
Repeating the artist's contemplation over what could have caused the victim's disappearance
Wonder where my baby gone
Reiterating the artist's confusion over the victim's whereabouts
It was early one morning, Lord
Setting the stage for the timeframe and environment of the possible crime
My baby (???) down the (phone?)
Indicating that the artist received some news about the victim that alarmed them, possibly over the phone
...
Omitted as the lyrics are indistinct
Lord have mercy!
Expressing a desperate plea for divine intervention or help
Lord have mercy on me!
Reiterating the plea for divine intervention
Please Lord have mercy!
Repeating the plea for divine help or assistance
Lord have mercy on me!
Reaffirming the plea for divine intervention
If anybody see my baby
Putting out a general notice or request for information about the victim
Please send that woman home to me!
Making a heartfelt request for the safe return of the victim, allowing the singer to find closure and move on from this tragic event
Contributed by Riley I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michael Lynch
SHEETS AND PILLOWS TORN TO PIECES,BLOOD STAINS ON THE WALL
tony cee
Great blues piano riff. You can feel the despair...