Otis Spann

Otis Spann's piano skills were so awesome that he won a big jazz following outside his world of the Chicago Blues. Spann got in on the ground floor with Muddy Waters' first electric band and brought a lyrical quality to the Boogie-Woogie style. Spann easily gets your behind moving, but his restrained, emotional playing is so tasty, you end up planted on your seat, taking in every line. His ivory tinkling was so good that it often overshadowed his worthy vocals. He died in 1970, but not before recording with Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac, thereby spreading his legacy to the rock world. Spann is still considered the blues pianist.