Joe Spann was born November 5, 1958 into a family with a rich musical heritage. The Spann family could boast fiddlers going back to Joe's Great, Great Grandfather Ned Spann and Great Grandfather John E. Spann. The Spanns were well known for playing house parties and events around Tumbleton, Alabama. Joe's grandfather, "Stick" Spann, played several instruments including the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar. He and his brothers had a string band near Hazelhurst, Georgia during the 1930's and could often be heard playing on the radio. They even made some acetate recordings. While Joe never played any music with his grandfather, he did did have opportunity to jam with two of his grandfather's brothers, "Judge" and Ben Spann.
      Growing up in Auburndale, Florida, Joe recalls that there was always a guitar around the house but says he really doesn't remember when he first began playing that instrument. His mother always said that he would try to play it from the time he was around three years old. At about age six , Joe began formal training on the piano and studied that instrument for some 8 years. The big musical change came in Joe's life, when he was about 13. This was when he saw a PBS television program that feaured the 5-string banjo and Bluegrass music. Joe was hooked and never looked back. He took a few banjo lessons but for the most part he began teaching himself to play from records.
      Joe took part in a few short-lived local groups, but never joined a real working band until he teamed up with Carl and Hazel Young's "Boggy Creek Bluegrass" in 1979. The group traveled extensively around Florida playing the bluegrass festival circuit.
      After hearing him perform at the 1978 Florida State Bluegrass Championship, Joe was approached by Len Walls, the owner and operator of Central Sound Studio. Although Joe didn't win the contest that year (or any other year for that matter - but that's another story), Len liked what he heard and asked him to do some session work in the studio. Len was impressed with the Joe's musical savy and banjo skills -- as well as his ability to do what was needed in a given song. Soon, thanks to Len's recommendations, Joe was in demand in recording studios across Central Florida.
      In 1980, Joe realized one of his goals when he went into the studio and recorded an album of original banjo music. The album, "Joe Spann and the Joe Spann Band", was selected by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine as their very first "Album of the Month," (January 1981 issue). On the strength of that review alone, Joe sold about 500 copies.
      By mid-1981, Joe was attempting to learn several other instruments in an effort to expand his recording studio appeal. A brush with learning the pedal steel guitar brought him to the attention of country band leader, Carl Chambers. Chambers quickly added him to his band "Southern Honey" as a color player -- and as a member of that band, Joe performed (with varied success) on electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and pedal steel. He always claimed he needed his own roadie just to carry around the instruments. When lead guitarist, Duke Burr, left the band to join the Reba McIntire organization in April 1982, Joe was asked to fill that void and although he had never played electric lead guitar professionaly, he eagerly accepted the challenge. It didn't take long before he was a disciplined and proficient lead guitarist, incorporating his banjo skills into lightening fast riffs and finger manipulations.
     With the demise of Southern Honey at the end of 1983, Joe remained with Carl and Nancy Chambers to form the "Dizzy Rambler Band." The trio honed the skill of working with a tape track at area restaurants until 1985 when the opportunity to work full-time at theme parks "Circus World" and then "Boardwalk and Baseball" came about. At B&B Joe not only worked with the Dizzy Rambler Band, but also played with other acts at various times and places throughout the park.
     After Boardwalk & Baseball closed down in January 1990, Joe spent the rest of the decade doing a variety of work including: a ton of studio sessions, a few concerts with the Chambers' organization, a scattering of bluegrass shows and festivals, some pick-up gigs, and working with his new group "River Junction".
     Joe currently works as the director of the Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library in Bartow, Florida but still finds time to record and produce selected projects in his home studio in Lakeland. He is also still involved in a variety of live musical endeavors as time permits.

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