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The following biography
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Wikipedia.org
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Free Encyclopedia.”
Otis Ray Redding, Jr.
(September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an influential American deep soul
singer, best known for his passionate delivery and posthumous hit single, "(Sittin'
on) the Dock of the Bay."
****
Born September 9, 1941
Dawson, Georgia, USA
Died December 10, 1967
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Genre(s) Deep soul,
Southern soul, Soul
Occupation(s) singer
Instrument(s) vocals
Label(s) Stax, Volt, Atco,
Rhino, Sundazed
Website
www.otisredding.com
****
Biography
Early
life
Redding was born in the
small town of Dawson, Georgia. At the age of 5 he moved with his family to
Macon, Georgia. He sang in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church, and became
something of a local celebrity as a teenager after winning a local Sunday night
talent show 15 weeks in a row.
Career
In 1960, Redding began
touring the South with Johnny Jenkins and The Pinetoppers. That same year he
made his first recordings, "She's All Right" and "Shout Bamalama" with this
group under the name "Otis and The Shooters".
In 1962, he made his
first real mark in the music business during a Johnny Jenkins session when he
recorded "These Arms of Mine," a ballad that Redding himself had written. The
song became a minor hit on Volt Records, a subsidiary of renowned "Southern
soul" label Stax, based in Memphis, Tennessee. His manager was fellow Maconite
Phil Walden (who later founded Capricorn Records). Otis Redding continued to
release for Stax/Volt, and built his fanbase by extensively touring a
legendarily electrifying live show with support from fellow Stax artists Sam and
Dave. Further hits between 1964 and 1966 included "Mr. Pitiful", "I Can't Turn
You Loose" (to become The Blues Brothers entrance theme music), "Try a Little
Tenderness", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (written by the Rolling Stones),
and "Respect" (later a smash hit for Aretha Franklin).
Redding wrote many of his
own songs, which was unusual for the time, often with Steve Cropper (of Stax
house band Booker T & the MG's, who usually served as Otis' backing band in the
studio). Soul singer Jerry Butler co-wrote another hit "I've Been Loving You Too
Long". One of his few songs with a significant mainstream following was "Tramp"
(1967) with Carla Thomas. Later that year, Redding played at the massively
influential Monterey Pop Festival, which helped him to break into the white pop
music scene.
Death
Redding and six others,
including four of the six members of Redding's backup band, The Bar-Kays, were
killed when the plane on which they were travelling crashed into Lake Monona in
Madison, Wisconsin on December 10, 1967. The two remaining members of The
Bar-Kays were Ben Cauley and James Alexander. Cauley was the only person aboard
Redding's plane to survive the crash; Alexander was on another plane.
Cauley reported that he
had been asleep until just seconds before impact, and recalled that upon waking
he saw bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and say, "Oh, no!" Cauley said
that he then unbuckled his seat belt, and that was his final recollection before
finding himself in the frigid waters of the lake, grasping a seat cushion to
keep himself afloat.[1]
Redding's body was
recovered the next day when the lake bed was dragged with a grappling hook, and
footage exists of his body being brought out of the water. [1] The cause of the
crash was never precisely determined.
Redding was 26 years old
at the time of his death. He was laid to rest in a tomb on his private ranch in
Round Oak, Georgia, 23 miles (37 km) north of Macon.
After
death
"(Sittin' on) the Dock of
the Bay" was recorded only three days prior to Redding's death. It was released
the next month and became his first #1 single and first million-seller. The fact
that "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" ultimately became Redding's greatest
commercial success was unexpected, not only because its release came after his
death, but also because the song is actually a significant stylistic departure
from the bulk of his other work. [2]
A few further records
were posthumously released, including "Hard to Handle" (1968).
Drummer Mickey Jones has
related a meeting between Redding and Bob Dylan in which Dylan played his new
song "Just Like a Woman" for Redding. According to Jones, Redding was very
impressed and told Dylan that he would record the song as soon as he could.
However, Redding was killed before he could accomplish this.
Redding's sons Dexter and
Otis III, together with cousin Mark Locket, founded the funk/disco-band "The
Reddings" in 1978.
In 2002, the city of
Macon honored its native son, unveiling a memorial statue of Redding in the
city's Gateway Park.
Redding appears as an
evil version of himself in Nightmares & Dreamscapes, in the story You Know They
Got a Hell of a Band. Redding is portrayed as a police officer in the town of
Rock N Roll Heaven, which is populated by late rock and roll legends.
Sample
Download sample of "Mr.
Pitiful"
Discography
Albums
Pain in My Heart (1964,
Atco) US: #103 UK: #28
The Great Otis Redding
Sings Soul Ballads (1965, Volt) US: #75 UK: #30
Otis Blue (1965) US: #75
UK: #6
The Soul Album (1966) US:
#54 UK: #22
Complete & Unbelievable:
The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966) US: #73 UK: #23
King & Queen (1967) with
Carla Thomas US: #36 UK: #18
Live in Europe (1967) US:
#32 UK: #14
The Dock of the Bay
(1968) US: #4 UK: #1
History of Otis Redding
(1968) US: #9 UK: #2
The Immortal Otis Redding
(1968, Atco) US: #58 UK: #19
In Person at the Whiskey
A Go-Go (1968) US: #82
Love Man (1969) US: #46
Tell the Truth (1970) US:
#200
Live at the Monterey
International Pop Festival (1971, Reprise) US: #16
The Best of Otis Redding
(1972) US: #76
Remember Me (1992) Stax
The Very Best of Otis
Redding, Vol. 1 (1993)
The Very Best of Otis
Redding, Vol. 2 (1995)
Very Best of Otis Redding
(2002) UK: #26
Singles
"Shout Bamalama" (1961)
"Gettin' Hip" (1961,
Alshire)
"These Arms of Mine"
(1962, Volt) R&B: #20 US: #85
"That's What My Heart
Needs" (1963) R&B: #27
"Pain in My Heart" (1963)
US: #61
"Come to Me" (1964) US:
#69
"Security" (1964) US: #97
"Chained and Bound"
(1964) US: #70
"Mr. Pitiful" (1964) R&B:
#10 US: #41
"Stand By Me" (1964)
"Things Go Better With
Coke..." (A Man And A Woman) [1964 Commercial]
"I've Been Loving You Too
Long" (1965) R&B: #2 US: #21
"Just One More Day"
(1965) b-side of I've Been... R&B: #15 US: #85
"Respect" (1965) R&B: #4
US: #35
"That's How Strong My
Love Is" (1965) R&B: #18 US: #74
"I Can't Turn You Loose"
(1965) R&B: #11 UK: #29
"My Girl" (1965)
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
(1965)
"(I Can't Get No)
Satisfaction" (1966) R&B: #4 US: #31 UK: #33
"My Lover's Prayer"
(1966) R&B: #10 US: #61 UK: #37
"Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad
Song)" (1966) R&B: #12 US: #29 UK: #23
"Try a Little Tenderness"
(1967) R&B: #4 US: #25
"I Love You More Than
Words Can Say" (1967) R&B: #30 US: #78
"Shake" (1967) R&B: #16
US: #47 UK: #28
"Glory of Love" (1967)
R&B: #19 US: #60
"Tramp" (1967, Stax) with
Carla Thomas R&B: #2 US: #26 UK: #18
"Knock on Wood" (1967)
with Carla Thomas R&B: #8 US: #30 UK: #35
"(Sittin' On) the Dock of
the Bay" (1968, Volt) R&B: #1 US: #1 UK: #3
"The Happy Song
(Dum-Dum)" (1968) R&B: #10 US: #25 UK: #24
"Amen" (1968, Atco) R&B:
#15 US: #36
"Hard to Handle" (1968)
b-side of Amen R&B: #38 US: #51 UK: #15
"I've Got Dreams to
Remember" (1968) R&B: #6 US: #41
"Lovey Dovey" (1968, Stax)
with Carla Thomas R&B: #21 US: #60
"White Christmas" (1968,
Atco)
"Merry Christmas, Baby"
(1968) b-side of White Christmas US: #9
"Papa's Got a Brand New
Bag" (1968) R&B: #10 US: #21
"When Something is Wrong
With My Baby" (1969) with Carla Thomas
"A Lover's Question"
(1969) R&B: #20 US: #48
"Love Man" (1969) R&B:
#17 US: #72
"Free Me" (1969) R&B: #30
"Look at That Girl"
(1969)
"Demonstration" (1969)
"Give Away None of My
Love" (1970)
"I've Been Loving You Too
Long (Live)" (1971)
Notes
1. "Eyewitness Tells of
Otis Redding's Violent Death", Jet, December 28, 1967
****
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