Why Otis Redding Matters

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In its heyday, soul music was powered by sheer romantic emotion that was animated by gritty riffs, a strong beat and an uninhibited determination to make audiences feel. Over time, soul evolved through artists' varied personal and regional experiences. For example, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin brought the church to soul. James Brown gave soul a funky urban attitude. And Otis Redding brought the rural South to soul through a crying voice and stage presence that was earthy, insistent and raw.

Redding had plenty of hits with Stax Records in Memphis in the 1960s—including Try a Little Tenderness and Knock on Wood. Then in December 1967, Redding boarded his Beechcraft plane in Cleveland along with his band, the Bar-Kays, en route to the next gig in Madison, Wisc. Redding prided himself on making nearly every gig, no matter what. Despite rain and fog, the plane took off but crashed in Lake Monona in Madison, less than two miles from the airport, killing everyone on board except the Bar-Kays' trumpeter Ben Cauley.

While Redding's hit (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay was released posthumously 48 years ago today (read my Wall Street Journal "Anatomy of a Song" column on the song here), I thought the anniversary would provide us with an opportunity to see and hear what made Redding special and why his voice and approach still stand out today...

Here's Try a Little Tenderness, filmed in Cleveland one day before Redding's fateful flight...

Here's Redding on Ready, Steady, Go! in 1966...

Here's Redding singing Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song), with trumpeter Wayne Jackson and saxophonist Joe Arnold behind him...

Here's a Part 1 of a four-part documentary on Redding (the next parts will follow after this clip ends)...

To view the Stax Facebook page, go here.

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Born in Dawson, Ga., Otis Redding, Jr. ….

Born in Dawson, Ga., Otis Redding, Jr. and his family moved to Macon when he was five years old. At an early age he began his career as a singer and musician in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. Otis attended Ballard Hudson High School and participated in the school band. He began to compete in the Douglass Theatre talent shows for the five-dollar prize. After winning 15 times straight, he was no longer allowed to compete.

Otis joined Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers in 1960, and would also sing at the “Teenage Party” talent shows sponsored by local celebrity disc jockey King Bee, Hamp Swain, on Saturday mornings initially at the Roxy Theater and later at the Douglass Theatre in Macon.

Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers drove to Memphis, Tenn., for a recording session in October 1962 at Stax Record. At the end of the session, Stax co-owner Jim Stewart allowed Otis to cut a couple of songs with the remaining studio time. The result was "These Arms of Mine", released in 1962.

This was the first of many hit singles (including classics "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Respect" and "Try A Little Tenderness") that Redding enjoyed during his tragically short career. After nine months, he was invited to perform at the Apollo Theatre for a live recording and would go on to showcase his dance movements with "Shake" and "Satisfaction."

After years of ambition and drive, Otis Redding’s sacrifices paid off. He appeared throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. His concert tours were among the biggest box office smashes of any touring performer during his time. He was nominated in three categories by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) for recordings he made during 1967. 1968 was destined to be the greatest year of his career with appearances slated at such locations at New York’s Philharmonic Hall and Washington’s Constitution Hall. Redding was booked for several major television network appearances, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Smothers Brothers Show.

He was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, he was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

In 1970, Warner Brothers released an album of live recordings from the June, 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, featuring Otis Redding on one side, and Jimi Hendrix on the other. This record is evidence that the hip white audiences, better known as the “love crowd” were digging Otis Redding just as much as the black audiences for whom he had always played. His energy and excitement, his showmanship, and his relationship with the crowd made Redding a master as a performer who had the rare gift of being able to reach audiences the world over.

THE SONG - It was unlike anything Redding had ever written, influenced by his admiration for the Beatles' classic "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. Otis played The Beatles' album constantly during a week he had spent on a houseboat in Sausalito when performing at…

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