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.
Half Ain't Been Told
Otis Spann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd do it wrong
Seems like everything I do, people
I'd do it wrong
Ever since my
My poor mother been gone
Why should I get kicked around
Why should I get kicked around
And treated like a poor dog
I'm gonna take my troubles
Take my troubles to the lord
Yeah my poor mother
Would turn over in her cold cold grave
You know my poor mother
Would turn over in her poor grave
If she'd know her son was treated like a slave
You know that I strayed away
Like a lost sheep from its fold
Yes I just strayed away
Just like a lost sheep from its fold
Yeah I'll tell you al about it
No the half ain't never been told
Why should I get kicked around, people?
Like a poor dog
Why should I get kicked around, people?
Like a poor dog
I'm gonna take my troubles
Take my troubles to the lord
The lyrics of Otis Spann's "Half Ain't Been Told" evoke feelings of frustration, betrayal, and despair. The singer laments about how everything he does seems to be wrong, and regardless of his efforts, people treat him poorly. He resolves to take his troubles to the Lord, who he feels is his only hope for salvation.
The song's central theme is the struggle against oppression and injustice. The singer's poor treatment by others highlights the need for justice and equality in society. The lyrics reflect the pervasive sense of disillusionment and despair that was prevalent in the African American community during the 1960s civil rights movement.
The song's refrain, "Why should I get kicked around, people? Like a poor dog," is a powerful indictment of the debilitating effects of systemic oppression. The repeated use of the line creates a sense of urgency and frustration, and the singer's plea for divine intervention is a raw expression of the need for hope in the face of adversity.
Overall, "Half Ain't Been Told" is a poignant reflection on the African American experience, and a testament to the resilience and determination of a people who sought to overcome incredible odds.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems like everything I do, people
I feel like everything I do is wrong and people keep telling me that.
I'd do it wrong
I am not able to do anything right.
Ever since my
This has been the case since
My poor mother been gone
my mother died.
Why should I get kicked around
I wonder why people treat me badly
And treated like a poor dog
and make me feel like I have no worth
I'm gonna take my troubles
I am going to find refuge
Take my troubles to the lord
with the Lord.
Yeah my poor mother
My mother would be very upset
Would turn over in her cold cold grave
if she knew how I was being treated.
If she'd know her son was treated like a slave
She would be deeply saddened if she knew that her son was treated unfairly.
You know that I strayed away
I went off course and made mistakes
Like a lost sheep from its fold
like a sheep that has gone astray from the flock
Yes I just strayed away
I admit that I wandered off
Yeah I'll tell you al about it
I am willing to share my story
No the half ain't never been told
there is much more to my story than what I have already shared.
Contributed by Colin J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@beatlephan
this is my favourite kind of Blues. And Otis Spann is one of my heroes....
@Glendoras
This is my favorite tune with Otis. Incredible haunting melody. What a genious he was!!
@snakehips81
One of my favourite Spann tunes ever
@gertjankuiper8222
I've known this song for over 30 years, and still it moves me like nothing else.
@Quebecoisegal
I do so agree. My spine tingles with so much of his music.
@Satchelabc123
Otis was one of the best. For comparison listen to the Half Ain't Been Told version honouring Otis by the late Jane Vasey (Down Child Blues Band), its amazing.
@coravisser727
this is touching your whole soul is great music.
@gcpezzi
This is the power of a minor blues... sooooo haunting.
@Thelitesleeper
That video description though lol
@stefisweety
to piano ta spaei.....respect....!