The Blues Never Die!

The Blues Never Die! is an album by the blues pianist and vocalist Otis Spann, recorded in Chicago in 1964 and released by the Prestige label the following year.[1][2]

The Blues Never Die!
Studio album by
Otis Spann
Released1965
RecordedNovember 21, 1964
StudioChicago
GenreBlues
Length33:46
LabelPrestige
PR 7391
ProducerSamuel Charters
Otis Spann chronology
The Blues of Otis Spann
(1964)		 The Blues Never Die!
(1965)		 Otis Spann's Chicago Blues
(1966)

The story behind this album is unusual to say the least… but then again, it was the 1960’s! Producer Sam Charters had hosted a folk concert at Carnegie Hall where the Muddy Waters band had played. Muddy called Charters the next day to say that they hadn't been paid enough to get back to Chicago, and asked the producer to arrange a session for them which Charters did. Since Muddy was on contract to Chess, he was not to sing a lead vocal or to play a slide solo. Nor could they use his name. This album predated Charters' great "Chicago /The Blues /Today!" trilogy that was a further step in the careers of both Spann and Cotton.


Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[5]
Record Mirror[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson stated: "Boasting fellow Chicago blues dynamo James Cotton on both harmonica and lead vocals, The Blues Never Die! is one of Otis Spann's most inspired albums ... Spann and Cotton enjoy a very strong rapport on this consistently rewarding date."[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Otis Spann except where noted

  1. "The Blues Never Die" − 3:40
  2. "I Got a Feeling" − 2:50
  3. "One More Mile to Go" (James Cotton) − 3:45
  4. "Feelin' Good" (Cotton) − 3:25
  5. "After Awhile" − 3:57
  6. "Dust My Broom" (Elmore James) − 2:40
  7. "Straighten Up, Baby" (Cotton) − 2:30
  8. "Come On" − 2:38
  9. "Must Have Been the Devil" − 2:38
  10. "Lightnin'" (Cotton) − 2:40
  11. "I'm Ready" (Muddy Waters) − 3:03

Personnel

References
  1. Jazzdisco: Prestige Records Catalog: 7300 series accessed November 11, 2019
  2. Wirz' American Music: Otis Spann Discography accessed November 11, 2019
  3. Henderson, Alex. Otis Spann: The Blues Never Die! – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 603. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
  6. Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (23 April 1966). "Otis Spann: The Blues Never Die" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 267. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  7. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 658.
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