A one-of-a-kind soul stylist equally adept at rave-up houserockers and soft, caressing ballads, Otis Redding is remembered as much for his potential as for what he actually accomplished. Toiling for years on the R&B circuit before a breakthrough performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival positioned him on the verge of mainstream stardom, he would die tragically in a small plane crash at age twenty-six.
The Macon, Georgia-native did not seemed destined for a recording career until given an audition at Stax Records while serving as a chauffeur for an aspiring band headed by Johnny Jenkins. Redding�s first release, "These Arms of Mine" (Volt 103; 1963), reached the Top Twenty on the national R&B charts. Stax immediately signed him to a long-term contract, and with Booker T and the M.G.s guitarist Steve Cropper serving as arranger/producer, Redding recorded a long string of R&B hits�many self-composed�including "Mr. Pitiful" (Volt 124; 1965; #41 pop, #10 R&B), "I�ve Been Loving You Too Long" (Volt 126; 1965; #21 pop, #2 R&B), "Respect" (Volt 128; 1965; #35 pop, #4 R&B), "Satisfaction" (Volt 132; 1966; #31 pop, #4 R&B), "My Lover�s Prayer" (Volt 136; 1966; #61 pop, #10 R&B), ""Try a Little Tenderness" (Volt 141; 1966; #4), "Tramp" (Stax 216; 1967; #26 pop, #2 R&B), and "Knock On Wood" (Stax 228; 1967; #30 pop, #8 R&B).
By the summer of 1967, when his Monterey appearance captured the imagination of white rock fans, Redding�s singles were beginning to become fixtures on the pop charts. The widely acclaimed Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, would take one of his compositions, "Respect" (Atlantic 2403; 1967), to the top of the pop charts. Furthermore, a mere two-and-a-half weeks before his death, he recorded a song that close associates felt would propel him to mainstream success, "(Sittin� on the) Dock of the Bay" (Volt 157; 1968; #1 pop, #1 R&B).
Although only m sellers during his lifetime, Redding�s albums�all of which have been reissued as compact discs�have remained in demand up to the present day. The material from his original LP releases�Pain In My Heart (Atco 161; 1964; #103), The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (Volt 411; 1965; #147), Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (Volt 412; 1965; #75), The Soul Album (Volt 413; 1966; #54), Complete & Unbelievable�The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (Volt 415; 1966; #73), King & Queen (Stax 716; 1967; #36), Otis Redding Live In Europe (Volt 416; 1967; #32), The Dock of the Bay (Volt 419; 1968; #4), The Immortal Otis Redding (Atco 252; 1968; #59), and Otis Redding In Person At the Whiskey A Go Go (Atco 265; 1968; #52)�is also available through countless retrospective compilations.
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