The one and only Otis Clay.
Otis Clay was a singer that was filled with goodwill.
No gig was too small, every note he sang created a choir of inspiration.
The world-renowned Chicago-based gospel and soul vocalist died of a heart attack in January 2016. He was 73. He is greatly missed. In a 1988 interview, he asked me, “What is it that makes a man rich?” Without hesitation, he answered, “You’ve contributed something.” Otis was always looking at forward progress.
The City of Chicago will honor this community treasure Otis with an Otis Clay street sign in a dedication ceremony [...]
It is tough to be alone.
Music, books, and foodways can form a meaningful bridge to a welcoming place. A point of memory. And inspiration. I thought about these elements while contributing suggestions to the Music Lives Here multi-media project created by the City of Chicago.
The 50 Music Lives Here sites define the raw individualism of the Chicago ethic: Willie Dixon’s Yambo Records, 7771 S. Racine, the pioneering punk club O’Banion’s, 661 N. Clark, the Earl of Old Town, 1615 N. Wells, and many others, obvious and not so obvious.
The Music Lives Here markers are on sidewalks and feature a QR code for time travelers to gather more information. Starting [...]
The historic Muddy Waters house is rolling and tumbling into another chapter.
On Friday Larry “Mud” Morganfield, the oldest son of Muddy Waters and long time Chicago music attorney Jay B. Ross are scheduled to place an offer on the vacant home at 4339 S. Lake Park.
Waters (a.k.a. McKinley Morganfield) lived in the house between 1954 and 1974, the fertile years of the merging of blues and rock n’ roll. The house has been listed for a $100,000 short sale.
The Muddy Waters house was built in 1879. It was on the Landmark Illinois 2013 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places list.
Ross said that if the bank accepts the offer, [...]
