“The Blues of Otis Spann” (Decca 1964) / “Raw Blues” (Ace of Clubs 1967) ‘Stirs Me Up’ (Decca 45) Muddy Waters made his first trip to the U.K. in 1958, at the invitation of Chris Barber. Rather than bring his full band, he brought only his best friend, pianist Otis Spann. Barber had been […]
Eric Clapton & Jimmy Page meet Otis Spann & Muddy Waters Born March 21, 1930, Otis Spann had made his recorded debut in 1953 as a member of Muddy Waters’ band. He released a lone single under his own name a year later, but recording opportunities were scarce for the pianist after that. He cut […]
The B-Side: ‘Rambling Pony’ The fourteen-year difference in age between John Mayall and the nineteen-year-old Peter Green at the time of Green’s joining The Bluebreakers was a lifetime in terms of life experience. Green moved into the same apartment block as Mayall on Portchester Road in Bayswater, west London, and the two bonded over Mayall’s […]
