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Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music and a major figure in soul music and rhythm and blues. His singing style has been highly influential among the soul artists of 1960s and helped exemplify the Stax Sound. After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, he wrote and recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" with Steve Cropper, which became the first posthumous number-one record on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts after his death in a plane crash. The Dock of the Bay became the first posthumous album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Born and raised in Georgia, United States, Redding left school at age 15 to support his family by working with Little Richard's backing band, The Upsetters, and by performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins' band, The Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern United States as driver and musician. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax Records recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine", in 1962. Stax released Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, two years later.

Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached the broader American pop music audience. He and his group first played small gigs in the South, then performed at the Whisky a Go Go nightclub, their first concert in the western United States. Redding later performed in Paris, London and other European cities. His premature death devastated Stax, already on the verge of bankruptcy, which later discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire catalog.

Redding received many posthumous accolades, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the honorific "King of Soul". Among his most well-known songs were "Respect" and "Try a Little Tenderness".

Early life

Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia to gospel singer Otis Redding, Sr., and housekeeper Fannie Redding. His father worked as a sharecropper and then at Robins Air Force Base and as a part-time preacher. When Redding was three, the family moved to Tindall Heights, a predominantly African American public housing project in nearby Macon. For a short time they lived in a small house in Bellevue, a neighborhood in west Macon. That house burned down and the family moved back to Tindall. At an early age, he sang in the Vineville Baptist Church choir and learned guitar and piano. From age 10, he took drum and singing lessons. At Ballard-Hudson High School, he sang in the school band. Every Sunday he earned $6 by performing gospel songs for Macon radio station WIBB. His passion was singing, and he often cited Little Richard and Sam Cooke as main influences. He once said, "If it hadn't been for Little Richard, I would not be here. I entered the music business because of Richard – he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his Rock 'n' Roll stuff, you know. Richard has soul, too. My present music has a lot of him in it."

At age 15, Redding abandoned school to help his family financially. His father had contracted tuberculosis and was often hospitalized, leaving his mother as the family's primary financial provider. He later worked as a well digger, gas station attendant and guest musician in the following years. Another inspiration for Redding was pianist Gladdy Williams, a well-known Macon musician. She often performed at Hillview Springs Social Club, where he sometimes played piano with her bands. When she hosted talent shows on Sundays, Redding accompanied his friends from the neighborhood, such as Little Willie Jones and bassist Eddie Ross. Redding's breakthrough came when he played Little Richard's "Heebie Jeebies", winning a $5 singing contest fifteen weeks in a row. He was soon hired by the Upsetters as Richard abandoned rock and roll in favour of gospel music. Redding was well paid at about $25 per gig, but he did not stay for long.

Around the time when his tonsils were removed, Redding had doubts whether he would ever be able to sing, but his father encouraged him. In 1958, Redding performed on disc jockey Hamp Swain's "The Teenage Party", a music contest at the Roxy and Douglass Theatres. As his backing band was not professional, gig attendee Johnny Jenkins offered help, enabling him to win the contest every week. Jenkins later worked as lead guitarist and played with Redding during several gigs. Soon afterwards, he was invited to replace Willie Jones, frontman of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, featuring Jenkins.

At age 19, Redding met 15-year-old Zelma Atwood at "The Teenage Party". She gave birth to Dexter in the summer of 1960 and married Redding in August 1961. In mid-1960, he moved to Los Angeles with his sister, Deborah, and wrote his first songs including "She's Allright", "Tuff Enuff" "Gamma Lamma". "Gettin' Hip". The latter was his first composition to be released as a single.

Career

Early career

As a member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, Redding toured the Southern United States on the Chitlin' circuit. These performance venues were the only ones available for African American musicians during the era of racial segregation that lasted into the early 1960s. Jenkins left the band to become the featured artist with The Pinetoppers. Around this time, Redding met Phil Walden, the future founder of the recording company Phil Walden and Associates, and later Bobby Smith, who ran Confederate Records, a small label. He signed with Confederate and recorded his second single, "Shout Bamalama" (a rewrite of "Gamma Lamma") and "Fat Girl", together with his band Otis and the Shooters. Around this time he and the Pinetoppers attended a "Battle of the Bands" show in Lakeside Park. Wayne Cochran, the only solo artist signed to Confederate, became the Pinetoppers' bassist.

When Walden started to look for a record label for Jenkins, Atlantic Records representative Joe Galkin showed interest and around 1962 proposed to send him to a Stax studio in Memphis. Redding drove Jenkins to the session, as the latter did not have a driver's license. Jenkins performed with Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and when the session ended early, Redding was allowed to perform two songs. The first was "Hey Hey Baby", but studio chief Jim Stewart thought it sounded too much like Little Richard. The second was "These Arms of Mine", featuring Jenkins on piano and Steve Cropper on guitar. Stewart later praised Redding's performance noting, "Everybody was fixin' to go home, but Joe Galkin insisted we give Otis a listen. There was something different about . He really poured his soul into it." Stewart signed Redding for Stax and released "These Arms of Mine", with "Hey Hey Baby" on the B-side. The single was released on Volt on October 1962, but charted in March the following year. It became one of his most successful songs, selling more than 800,000 copies.

Apollo Theater and Otis Blue

"These Arms of Mine" and other songs from the 1962–1963 sessions were included on Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart. "That's What My Heart Needs" and "Mary's Little Lamb" were recorded in June 1963; the latter is the only Redding track with both background singing and brass, and became his worst-selling single. The title track, recorded in September, the next year, sparked copyright issues, as it sounded like Irma Thomas' "Ruler of My Heart". Despite this, Pain in My Heart was released on January 1, 1964 and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 85 on the R&B chart.

In November 1963, Redding and his brother, Rodgers, accompanied former boxer Sylvester Huckaby to the Apollo Theater in New York to record a live album for Atlantic, entitled T'Ain't Nothin' To Me. Redding and his band were paid $400 per week, but had to pay $450 to King Curtis' band for the arrangement sheets, leaving them in financial difficulty. The trio returned to Phil Walden and requested money. Huckaby explained in Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music their circumstances living in the rundown Theresa Hotel. He also spoke about meeting Muhammad Ali and other celebrities. Ben E. King, who performed with Redding at the Apollo, gave him $100 when he heard about his financial situation. The album that resulted from the concert featured King, the Coasters, Doris Troy, Rufus Thomas, the Falcons and Redding.

The release of T'Ain't Nothin' To Me brought success. Their tour car evolved from a plain wagon, to a van, to a minibus and then a tour bus. Around this time Walden was drafted by the army, as was Rodgers; Walden's younger brother Alan joined Redding on his tours, while Earl "Speedo" Sims replaced Rodgers.

The majority of Redding songs after "Security", a song from his first album, had a slow tempo, causing disc jockey Moohah Williams to label him as "Mr. Pitiful". Subsequently Cropper and Redding wrote a song with that name and included it on Redding's second studio album, The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, released in March 1965. The album also contains top 100 singles "Chained And Bound", "Come To Me" and "That's How Strong My Love Is". Jenkins began working independently from the group, fearing that Galkin, Walden and Cropper would plagiarize his playing style. It had been suggested that he back Redding during the time "These Arms of Mine" was on the charts. Around 1965, Redding co-wrote the song "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with the Impressions lead singer Jerry Butler in a hotel near the Atlanta airport. That summer, Redding and the studio crew arranged new songs for his next album. Ten of the eleven songs were written in a 24-hour period during July 9–10 in Memphis. Two songs, "Ole Man Trouble" and "Respect", had been finished earlier. "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You" were later recut in stereo during the Otis Blue session, with the remarkable change that on the first song the line "hey hey hey" was sung by Earl Sims and not by Redding, while the latter song was completely rewritten. The album, entitled Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, was released in September 1965.

Whisky a Go Go and "Try a Little Tenderness"

Redding's success allowed him to buy a 300-acre (1.2 km) ranch in Georgia, which he called the "Big O Ranch." After his death, the property was extended to a 460-acre (1.9 km) area. Stax was also doing well. Walden signed more musicians, including Percy Sledge, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and Eddie Floyd, and together with Redding they founded the production companies "Jotis Records" (derived from Joe Galkin and Otis), releasing four recordings, two by Arthur Conley and one by Billy Young and Loretta Williams, and Redwal Music (derived from Redding and Walden). Their audience had been mostly black, but Stax fans such as the Beatles encouraged Redding to perform for a large, white audience. They chose Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Redding was one of the first soul artists to perform in the Western United States. His performance received critical acclaim, including positive press in the Los Angeles Times, and he penetrated mainstream pop culture. Bob Dylan attended the performance and offered Redding an altered version of one of his songs, "Just Like a Woman".

In late 1966, Redding returned to the Stax studio. At this session he recorded tracks including "Try a Little Tenderness", originally written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Harry M. Woods in 1932. Today it is often considered his signature song. Jim Stewart said, "If there's one song, one performance that really sort of sums up Otis and what he's about, it's 'Try a Little Tenderness'. That one performance is so special and so unique that it expresses who he is. ... If you want to wrap it up, just listen to ." On this version Redding was backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement. "Try a Little Tenderness" was included on his next album, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul. The song and the album were critically and commercially successful—the former peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 4 on the R&B chart.

The spring of 1966 marked the first time that Stax booked actual concerts for its artists. The majority of artists arrived in London on March 13, but Redding had flown in days earlier because of multiple interviews, such as "The Eamonn Andrews Show". When the crew arrived in London, The Beatles sent a limousine to pick them up. Booking agent Bill Graham proposed that Redding play at the Fillmore Theatre in late 1966. The performance, for which Redding received £500 up to £600 a night (around $800 to $1000), was commercially and critically successful, prompting Graham to remark afterwards, "That was the best gig I ever put on in my entire life." Redding began touring Europe six months later.

Carla Thomas and Monterey

A year after the Fillmore, Redding released the studio album King & Queen, backed by Carla Thomas on vocals. The idea to produce a duet album was Jim Stewart's, who expected that " rawness and sophistication would work". The album was recorded in January 1967, while Thomas was studying at Howard University in Washington D.C. where she earned her M.A. in English. Six out of ten songs were cut during their session; the rest were overdubbed by Redding in the days following, due to concert obligations. Three singles were lifted from the album: "Tramp", the first recorded, which was released in April; "Knock on Wood"; and "Lovey Dovey". All three peaked at least in the top 60 on both the R&B and Pop charts. The album charted at number 5 and 36 on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. Redding and Thomas were awarded a gold record for this album.

Redding returned to Europe to perform at the Paris Olympia. Live album Otis Redding: Live in Europe was released three months later featuring this and other live performances in London and Stockholm. Redding was criticized for his arrogant and contrived performances in these last concerts. His controversial decision to take his protege Conley (whom Redding and Walden had contracted directly to Atco/Atlantic Records rather than to Stax/Volt) on the tour, instead of more established Stax/Volt artists such as Rufus Thomas and William Bell, produced negative reactions.

In 1967, Redding performed at the influential Monterey Pop Festival as the closing act on Saturday night, the second day of the festival. He was included on the bill through the efforts of promoter Jerry Wexler. According to Booker T. Jones, "I think we did one of our best shows, Otis and the MG's. That we were included in that was also something of a phenomenon. That we were there? With those people? They were accepting us and that was one of the things that really moved Otis. He was happy to be included and it brought him a new audience. It was greatly expanded in Monterey." Until that point, Redding had performed mainly for black audiences. Redding's act, well received by the audience, included his own song "Respect" and a version of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction". Redding and his backing band (Booker T. & the M.G.'s with the Mar-Keys horn section) opened with Cooke's "Shake" before he delivered an impulsive speech in which he asked the audience if they were the "love crowd", looking for a big response. The ballad "I've Been Loving You" followed. The last song was "Try a Little Tenderness", including an additional chorus. "I got to go, y'all, I don't wanna go", said Redding and left the stage of his last major concert. According to Sweet Soul Music, musicians such as Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix were captivated by his performance; Robert Christgau wrote in Esquire, "The Love Crowd screamed one's mind to the heavens."

After Monterey, Redding wanted to record with Conley, but Stax was against the idea. The two moved from Memphis to Macon to continue writing. The result was "Sweet Soul Music", based on Cooke's "Yeah Man". It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. By that time Redding had developed polyps on his larynx, which he tried to treat with tea and lemon or honey. He was hospitalized in September 1967 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to undergo surgery.

In the winter of 1967, Redding again recorded at Stax. One new song was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", which was written by Cropper and Redding while they were staying with their friend, Earl "Speedo" Sims, in a houseboat in Sausalito near San Francisco, California. Redding was inspired by The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and tried to create a similar sound, against the label's wishes. It also met with dissatisfaction from his wife for its atypical melody. However, Redding wanted to expand his musical style. Meanwhile, the Stax crew were also dissatisfied with the new sound; Stewart thought that it was not R&B, while bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn thought the sound would damage Stax's reputation. However, Redding thought it was the best song he ever wrote and believed it would top the charts. Redding whistled at the end, either forgetting Cropper's "fadeout rap", or paraphrasing it intentionally.

Death

By 1967 the band had taken to traveling on Redding's Beechcraft H18 to gigs. They flew to Nashville, and on December 9, 1967, appeared on the nationally syndicated Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a small club called Leo's Casino. After a phone call with his wife and children, Redding's next stop was Madison, Wisconsin. On the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin.

Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, they continued their trip. Four miles from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Ben Cauley, one of The Bar-Kays and the accident's only survivor, was sleeping shortly before the accident. He woke just before impact, and saw his bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and exclaim, "Oh, no!" Cauley said the last thing he remembered before the crash was unbuckling his seat belt. He then found himself in frigid water, grasping a seat cushion to keep afloat. A non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others, who did not immediately die. The cause of the crash was never determined. James Brown claimed in his autobiography, The Godfather of Soul, that he warned Redding shortly before his departure on that outdated and overloaded plane.

Redding died just three days after recording Dock of the Bay. Aretha Franklin stated, "I heard it on the TV. My sister Caroline and I stopped everything and stayed glued to the TV and radio. It was a tragedy. Shocking." Other victims were pilot Richard Fraser, drummer Matthew Kelly, lead guitarist of the Bar-Kays Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell and drummer Carl Cunningham.

Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to December 18 so that more could attend. The service took place at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people came to the obsequy, overflowing the 3,000-seat hall, although many did not know who he was. Johnny Jenkins and Isaac Hayes did not come, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Redding's. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon. Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy. Redding was survived by his wife and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla. The former two and cousin Mark Lockett later founded The Reddings, a band managed by Zelma. She also maintained or worked at the janitorial service Maids Over Macon, several nightclubs and booking agencies. In November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.

Posthumous releases and proposed recordings

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released in January 1968 and became Redding's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first posthumous number-one single in US chart history. It sold approximately four million copies worldwide and received more than eight million airplays. The album The Dock of the Bay was the first posthumous album to reach the top spot on the UK Albums Chart.

Shortly after Redding's death, Atlantic Records, distributor of the Stax/Volt releases, was purchased by Warner Bros. Stax was required to renegotiate its distribution deal, and found that Atlantic actually owned the entire Stax/Volt catalog. Stax was unable to regain the rights to its recordings, and severed its relationship with Atlantic. Atlantic also held the rights to all unreleased Otis Redding masters. It had enough material for three new studio albums—The Immortal Otis Redding (1968), Love Man (1969), and Tell the Truth (1970)—all issued on its Atco Records. A number of successful singles emerged from these LPs, among them "Amen" (1968), "Hard to Handle" (1968), "I've Got Dreams to Remember" (1968), "Love Man" (1969), and "Look at That Girl" (1969). Singles were also lifted from two live Atlantic-issued Redding albums, In Person at the Whisky a Go Go, recorded in 1966 and issued in 1968 on Atco, and Monterey International Pop Festival, a Reprise Records release featuring some of the live Monterey Pop Festival performances of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on side one and all of Redding's performances on side two.

In September 2007, the first official DVD anthology of Redding's live performances was released by Concord Music Group, then owners of the Stax catalog. Dreams To Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding featured 16 full-length performances and 40 minutes of new interviews documenting his life and career. On May 18, 2010, Stax Records released a two-disc recording of three complete sets from his Whisky a Go Go date in April 1966.

Carla Thomas claimed that they had planned to record another duet album in December the same year, although Phil Walden denied this. Redding had proposed to record an album featuring cut and rearranged songs in different tempos; for example, ballads would be uptempo and vice versa. Another suggestion was to record an album entirely consisting of country standards.

Personal life and wealth

Redding, who was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg), was an athletic family man who loved football and hunting. He was described as vigorous, trustworthy, full of fun and a successful businessman. According to several people, Redding's personality was not fully matured either on stage or in public life. His brother Rodgers thought he was "confused", while Alan Walden described him as "naive". He was also active in philanthropic projects. His keen interest in black youth led to plans for a summer camp for disadvantaged kids.

Redding's music made him wealthy. According to several advertisements, he had around 200 suits and 400 pairs of shoes, and he earned about $35,000 per week for his concerts. For the "Big O Ranch" he spent about $125,000. As the owner of Otis Redding Enterprises, he earned through performances, music publishing ventures and royalties from record sales more than a million dollars in 1967 alone. About his success in 1967, one columnist said, "he sold more records than Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin combined." After the release of Otis Blue, Redding became a "catalogue" artist, meaning that his albums were not immediate blockbusters, but rather sold steadily over the years.

Musicianship

Vocal style

Early on Redding copied his role model Richard, gradually developing his own style. He was primarily influenced by soul musicians such as Cooke, whose live album Live at the Copa was a strong influence, but later explored other popular genres. He studied The Beatles and Dylan. His song "Hard to Handle" has elements of rock and roll and the music of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Most of his songs were generally categorized as Southern soul and Memphis soul.

His hallmark was his raw voice and ability to convey strong emotion. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic noted his "hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads." In the book Rock and Roll: An Introduction, authors Michael Campbell and James Brody suggested that "Redding's singing calls to mind a fervent black preacher. Especially in up-tempo numbers, his singing is more than impassioned speech but less than singing with precise pitch." According to the book, "Redding finds a rough midpoint between impassioned oratory and conventional singing. His delivery overflows with emotion" in his song "I Can't Turn You Loose". Booker T. Jones described Otis' singing as energetic and emotional, but said that his vocal range was limited, including neither low nor high notes. Peter Buckley of The Rough Guide To Rock describes his "gruff voice, which combined Sam Cooke's phrasing with a brawnier delivery" and later suggested he "could testify like a hell-bent preacher, croon like a tender lover or get down and dirty with a bluesy yawp".

Redding received advice from Rufus Thomas about his clumsy stage appearance. Jerry Wexler said Redding "didn't know how to move", and stood still, moving only his upper body. Wexler noted that Redding was well received by audiences for his strong message. Guralnick described Redding's painful vulnerability in Sweet Soul Music, which was attractive for the audience, but not for his friends and partners. His early shyness was well-known.

Songwriting

In his early career Redding mostly covered songs from popular artists, such as Richard, Cooke and Solomon Burke. Around the mid-1960s he wrote his own songs—always taking along his cheap, red acoustic guitar—and sometimes asked for Stax members' opinion of his lyrics. He often worked on lyrics with other musicians, such as Sims, Rodgers, Huckaby, Phil Walden and Cropper. During his recovery from his throat operation, Redding wrote about 30 songs in two weeks. Redding was the sole copyright holder on all of his songs.

In "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" he abandoned familiar romantic themes for "sad, wistful introspections, amplified by unforgettable descending guitar riffs by Cropper". The official website of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, noted that the song "was a kind of brooding, dark voicing of despair, ('I've got nothin' to live for/Look like nothin' gonna come my way')" although "his music, in general, was exultant and joyful". According to journalist Ruth Robinson, author of the liner notes for the 1993 box-set, "It is currently a revisionist theory to equate soul with the darker side of man's musical expression, blues. That fanner of the flame of 'Trouble's got a hold on me' music, might well be the father of the form if it is, the glorified exaltation found in church on any Sunday morning is its mother." And further on the site declares that "glorified exaltation indeed was an apt description of Otis Redding's songwriting and singing style." Booker T. Jones compared Redding with Leonard Bernstein stating, "He was the same type person. He was a leader. He'd just lead with his arms and his body and his fingers."

Otis Redding favored short and simple lyrics; when asked whether he intended to cover Dylan's "Just Like a Woman", he responded that the lyrics contained "too much text". Furthermore, he stated in an interview:

Basically, I like any music that remains simple and I feel this is the formula that makes 'soul music' successful. When any music form becomes cluttered and/or complicated you lose the average listener's ear. There is nothing more beautiful than a simple blues tune. There is beauty in simplicity whether you are talking about architecture, art or music.

Redding also authored his recordings' horn arrangements, humming to show the players what he had in mind. The arrangements were sometimes difficult. The song "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" reflects his habit of humming with the horn section.

Legacy

Otis Redding has been called the "King of Soul", an honorific also given to Brown and Cooke. He remains one of the genre's most recognized artists. His lean and powerful style exemplified the Stax Sound, and gave Stax a new identity; he was said to be its "heart and soul", while artists such as Al Jackson, Dunn and Cropper helped to expand its structure. His open-throated singing, the tremolo/vibrato, the manic, electrifying stage performances and perceived honesty were particular hallmarks, along with the use of interjections, for example "gotta, gotta, gotta", some of which came from Cooke. Producer Jim Stewart thought the "begging singing" was stress-induced and enhanced by Redding's extreme, early shyness.

Artists from many genres named Redding as a musical influence. George Harrison called "Respect" an important influence for "Drive My Car". The Rolling Stones also mentioned Redding as an important influence. Other artists include Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Doors; and virtually every soul/R&B musicians from the early years, such as Al Green, Etta James, William Bell, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Conley. Late 20th century musicians covered or mixed his songs, most notably the Grammy Award-winning "Otis" by Kanye West and Jay-Z. According to band colleague Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin was influenced by his singing style. She stated that she learned "to push a song instead of just sliding over it" after hearing Redding.

Awards and honors

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted him in 1989, declaring Redding's name to be "synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying." Readers of the British music newspaper Melody Maker voted him as the top vocalist of 1967, superseding Elvis Presley, who had topped the list for the prior 10 years. In 1988, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Five years later, the United States Post Office issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp. Redding was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994, and in 1999 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed three Redding recordings, "Shake", "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", and "Try a Little Tenderness," among its list of "The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll." American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Redding at number 21 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and eighth on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Q ranked Redding fourth among "100 Greatest Singers", after only Frank Sinatra, Franklin and Presley.

Five of his albums, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology, The Dock of the Bay, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul and Live in Europe, were ranked by Rolling Stone on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The first album was singled out for praise by music critics; apart from the Rolling Stone listing at number 74, NME ranked it 35 on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time".

In 2002, the city of Macon honored its native son by unveiling a memorial statue (32°50′19.05″N 83°37′17.30″W / 32.8386250°N 83.6214722°W / 32.8386250; -83.6214722) in the city's Gateway Park. The park is next to the Otis Redding Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Ocmulgee River The Otis Redding Memorial Library is also housed in the city. The Rhythm and Blues Foundation named Redding as the recipient of its 2006 Pioneer Award. Billboard awarded Redding the "Otis Redding Excellence Award" the same year. A year later he was inducted into the Hollywood's Rockwalk in California.

Discography

References

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Bibliography

• Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2004). Africana: An A-to-Z Reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African American Experience. Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-2042-1. OCLC 57444998. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Bowman, Rob (1997). Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. Schirmer Trade. ISBN 978-0-8256-7284-2. OCLC 36824884. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Bream, Jon (2010). Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3955-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Brown, Geoff (2001). Otis Redding: Try a Little Tenderness (new ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-316-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Browne, Pat; Browne, Ray B. (2001). The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-87972-821-2. OCLC 44573365.

• Buckley, Peter (November 20, 2003). The Rough Guide Rock: The Definitive Guide to More than 1200 Artists and Bands. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0. OCLC 41389620. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Campbell, Michael; Brody, James (2007). Rock and Roll: An Introduction. Schirmer. ISBN 978-0-534-64295-2. OCLC 40861912. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Echols, Alice (2000). Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin. H. Holt. ISBN 978-0-8050-5394-4. OCLC 43510359. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Everitt, Rich (2004). Falling stars: air crashes that filled rock and roll heaven. Harbor House. ISBN 978-1-891799-04-4. OCLC 55846282. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Freeman, Scott (2002). Otis!: The Otis Redding Story. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-30297-9. OCLC 47443887. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Graham, Bill; Greenfield, Robert (2004). Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock And Out. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81349-8. OCLC 474578246. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Gulla, Bob (2007). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm, Volume 1. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-34044-4. OCLC 220310006. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Guralnick, Peter (1999). Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0-316-33273-6. OCLC 41950519. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Inglis, Ian (2006). Performance and Popular Music: History, Place, and Time. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-4057-8. OCLC 57893942. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 978-0-8050-2780-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Higgins, Chester (December 28, 1967). "Eyewitness Tells of Otis Redding's Violent Death". Jet. 33 (12). Johnson Publishing Company. ISSN 0021-5996.

• Johnson, John J, ed. (June 10, 1985). "Otis Redding's Sons, Nephew Chart Own Musical Course". Jet. 68 (13). Johnson Publishing Company. ISSN 0021-5996.

• Johnson, John J, ed. (July 27, 1987). "20 Years Later Otis Redding Still Buried In Tomb On Family's Ga. Farm". Jet. 72 (18). Johnson Publishing Company. ISSN 0021-5996.

• Labrie, Peter (April 1968). "The Flame That Died". Black World/Negro Digest. 17 (6). Johnson Publishing Company. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Otfinoski, Steven (2003). African Americans in the Performing Arts (A to Z of African Americans). Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-4807-6. OCLC 49558659. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Palmer, Robert; DeCurtis, Anthony (2009). Blues & chaos: the music writing of Robert Palmer. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-9974-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Phelps, Shirelle (November 21, 1997). Contemporary Black biography. Vol. 16. Gale Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-7876-1225-2. OCLC 38062510. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Ripani, Richard J. (2006). The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950–1999. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-862-3. OCLC 69732900. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Rolling Stone Magazine Staff (1967). The Rolling stone record review. Vol. 1. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-671-78531-4.

• Stanton, Scott (September 2, 2003). The Tombstone Tourist : Musicians. Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-7434-6330-0. OCLC 38752235. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Talevski, Nick (2006). Knocking on Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84609-091-2. OCLC 64555765. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• Unterberger, Richie (1999). The Rough Guide to Music USA. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-421-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• White, Charles (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography (3 ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-9761-5. OCLC 52947711. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

• Schiesel, Jane (1973). The Otis Redding Story (1st ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-02335-1.

• Delehant, Jim (2004). David Brackett (ed.). The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates. New York: Oxford University Press. "The Blues Changes from Day to Day" "Otis Redding Interview". OCLC 628872571.

External links

• Official website

Template:Persondata

• 1941 births
• 1967 deaths
• Accidental deaths in Wisconsin
• African-American singer-songwriters
• American male singers
• American soul musicians
• American tenors
• Atlantic Records artists
• Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductees
• Grammy Award-winning artists
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
• People from Macon, Georgia
• People from Terrell County, Georgia
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
• Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees
• Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States