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Into 1988, and an appearance at the Fifth Chicago Blues Festival was recorded, and eventually
released on cd in the “Historic Radio Recordings” (2016), also featuring part of Buddy Guy’s set.

As we can see, in terms of contemporary record releases, the 1980s were almost bare for Otis,
and it is hardly surprising that his health, both physical and mental, suffered. Regular live work
was one thing, but record releases were also essential.

However, with the emergence of Stevie Ray Vaughan as a spearhead of the 1980s blues revival,
who was not only a huge Otis fan, but also named his backing band ‘Double Trouble’, things
started to look rather more rosy for him as the decade neared its end and a new one commenced.

The year 1994 produced the release on Mercury of a very fine studio album, “Ain’t Enough Comin’
In”, which saw the old fire reignited, and off the back of that release Otis was featured on the
Jools Holland Show, playing a fiery version of ‘Homework’. The album gained much critical
recognition, but a follow up took four years to arrive, in the form of the Grammy award winning
“Any Place I’m Going”, which was recorded in Memphis, and co-produced by Willie Mitchell, for
release on the House of the Blues label.

In 1999 Otis was again captured live, this time in San Francisco, for another fine performance,
including a four person brass section, which was eventually released on CD in 2006, on the Blues
Express Inc label. However, by this time Otis was no longer able to sing or play, having suffered
a devastating stroke in 2003, which confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his days.

However, he continued to be revered by his peers, and was not forgotten, even though his voice
and guitar were silenced.

He died in Chicago on 29 September 2018 at the age of 84, leaving his widow, Masaki, two
daughters, Lena and Sophie from that marriage, and two sons and daughters from his first
marriage. The funeral was private, and there appears to be no public indication of where he is
buried.

Much of the music of Otis Rush is still available, and his early classic recordings on Cobra, Duke
and Chess were most recently reissued on cd on the Soul Jam label under the title “I’m Satisfied”
(2013), which is an excellent twenty six track compilation with extensive liner notes and photos.

To sum up, Otis Rush was an expressive, emotional, guitarist and singer, who put his own stamp
on Chicago blues, inspiring and influencing musicians across the globe.

Otis Rush - Gambler's Blues