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.
One More Mile To Go
Otis Spann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and I don't have to cry no more
baby keep your light a-burnin'
so your man will know the score
One more mile, one more mile to go
It's been a hard devil journey baby
and I don't have to cry no more
You know I bet my money wrong
I was bettin on my baby
But my baby wasn't at home
One more mile, one more mile to go
It's been a hard devil journey baby
and I don't have to cry bout you no more
You know they tell me every school kid
You know they often has a mate
but this woman that I'm lovin'
she only lives in this one state
One more mile, only got one more mile to go
Well, it's been a hard devil journey baby
and I don't have to cry no more
I did wrong to take a gamble
You know I bet my money wrong
I was bettin' on my baby
And my baby wasn't at home
One more mile, one more mile to go
It's been a hard devil journey
I don't have to cry no more
Otis Spann's "One More Mile To Go" is a blues song that has the singer reflecting on his journey, a rough path filled with pain, betrayal and losing money. As the song begins, the artist sings about his journey being difficult and how it made him cry. He then asks his partner to keep her light on, to remind him that he is almost there and that his ordeal will soon be over. The repetition of "one more mile to go" is significant in that it reflects the feeling of persevering through the hardships that come with life, and how one should never give up, even when the journey seems endless.
The first verse shows that the singer has made a mistake in betting on his partner, a risk that did not pay off. He realizes that he has been wrong and that his partner was not loyal to him. The second verse shows that the singer is aware of what children learn about having a partner, yet despite this knowledge, he has fallen in love with a woman who lives in a different state. The third verse repeats the second verse, with the only difference being that the artist replaces "But" with "And" in the line "But my baby wasn't at home."
Otis Spann's "One More Mile To Go" conveys the message that life's journey may be difficult, but perseverance is crucial in making it to the end. It also shows the importance of having someone who believes in you and reminds you of how far you have come. The song does not paint a rosy picture of life, but it shows that one should keep going.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a hard devil journey
The journey has been difficult and challenging
and I don't have to cry no more
The singer has overcome the difficulties and no longer needs to be sad or upset
baby keep your light a-burnin'
The singer is asking his partner to keep the hope alive and not give up
so your man will know the score
The partner should keep the faith so that the singer knows he can count on her
One more mile, one more mile to go
The singer is close to his destination, but still has a little ways to go
I been wrong when I took a gamble
The singer made a mistake by taking a risk
You know I bet my money wrong
The singer placed a bet or invested in something that didn't turn out well
I was bettin on my baby
The singer had faith in his partner but it didn't work out
But my baby wasn't at home
The singer's partner was not around when he needed her support
You know they tell me every school kid
The singer has heard from many people
You know they often has a mate
Many people have partners
but this woman that I'm lovin'
The singer is referring to his own partner
she only lives in this one state
His partner is only in one location and not with him on this journey
only got one more mile to go
The singer is very close to his destination and victory
Well, it's been a hard devil journey baby
The journey has been especially difficult and challenging
and I don't have to cry bout you no more
The singer is no longer sad or upset about his partner's absence or lack of support
I did wrong to take a gamble
The singer acknowledges that his risk-taking was a mistake
And my baby wasn't at home
The singer's partner was not present to help or support him
It's been a hard devil journey
The singer's journey has been fraught with challenges and obstacles
I don't have to cry no more
The singer has overcome his difficulties and is no longer sad or upset
Contributed by Caroline R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michael Lynch
on Bloody Murder
SHEETS AND PILLOWS TORN TO PIECES,BLOOD STAINS ON THE WALL