Otis Redding

Otis Redding, 1967

Otis Redding (born September 9, 1941 in Dawson , Georgia , † December 10, 1967 in Madison , Wisconsin ) was an American musician who died in a plane crash at the age of 26 and posthumously one of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s has been. Otis Redding is nicknamed the King of Soul .

Life

As the son of a black Baptist minister in Dawson, Redding got a feel for soul music very early on . As a teenager he sang in a church choir. At the age of 15 he attended high school in Macon, Georgia , the birthplace of Little Richard , whom he admired as much as Sam Cooke and from whose two styles he shaped his singing. With Little Richard's song Heeby-Jeebies , he won a local talent competition for several weeks in a row. After dropping out of studies, he joined Little Richard's band at the time, the Upsetters .

Career

From 1960 he worked with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers and recorded his first record with the band in July of the same year under the name Otis and the Shooters ( She's all right ). Especially in these early recordings (also with Shout Bamalama , also from 1960) the reference to Little Richard can still be seen.

The breakthrough to his own solo career came in October 1962 when Otis Redding took his chance: at the end of an unsuccessful recording day for Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers, he got the opportunity to record his own record in the remaining time. The self-composed song These Arms of Mine was recorded in no time at all and became his first small hit after its release in November 1962 (No. 20 in the US R&B charts, No. 85 in the US pop charts ).

This recording was made at Stax Records in Memphis , which was to become one of the most important soul labels of the sixties and seventies. Until his untimely death, Otis was one of the most important artists in the company and, in the opinion of everyone involved, was a musical heart and inspiration for everyone else involved. He thus became an authoritative figure in Memphis soul .

After further single releases with middle placements in the R & B / soul charts in 1963 and 1964, he was able to land his first top 10 hit in the R & B / soul charts with Mr. Pitiful in early 1965. Several other top 10 and top 20 hits followed in these charts by 1967:

• That's How Strong My Love Is (1965), B-side from Mr. Pitiful . The piece was covered by the Rolling Stones , among others .
• I've Been Loving You Too Long (1965)
• Respect (1965), later a # 1 hit for Aretha Franklin
• I Can't Turn You Loose / Just One More Day (1965), successful double single
• Satisfaction (1966), his idiosyncratic version of the Rolling Stones classic
• My Lover's Prayer (1966)
• Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) (1966)
• Try a Little Tenderness (1966)
• Tramp (1967), duet with Carla Thomas
• Knock on Wood (1967), duet with Carla Thomas
• Shake (1967), live version, studio version from 1965
• The Glory of Love (1967)

Otis Redding was particularly known for his live performances. A live recording of his performance in New York's Apollo Theater was an LP success, especially thanks to Shake and Satisfaction .

Redding wrote many of his own songs, some in collaboration with Steve Cropper ( Booker T. & the MG's ). On a European tour of the Stax label, he saw it for the first time in 1967, when white fans cheered him en masse. In the same year he performed at the famous Monterey Pop Festival , which earned him a huge boost in popularity with white audiences. The festival was the first major festival of the flower power movement; the performances were not paid for, but appearing together with many greats of the music of the time offered a certain chance of publicity. Others who had their first major concert appearances here were Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin . According to eyewitness accounts at the time, Redding brought the audience to the verge of ecstasy.

Redding brought Arthur Conley 's breakthrough when he and he rewrote the original Sam Cooke title Yeah Man in Sweet Soul Music . It became an absolute hit that rose to number two in the US charts and reached the top ten of several European countries. Sweet Soul Music has sold over a million copies in the United States alone and has been awarded a gold record.

death

Otis Redding died on December 10, 1967, when he and four members of his then backing band The Bar Kays had an accident. His twin-engine airplane, a Beechcraft Model 18 was en route from a television appearance in Cleveland ( Ohio ) to a concert in Madison (Wisconsin) than in fog, rain and poor visibility a few miles before landing on the airport Madison-Dane County crashed into the icy Lake Monona , with only band member Ben Cauley surviving. 4,500 people attended Redding's funeral.

Posthumous success

Otis Redding - (Sittin 'on) The dock of the bay

During his short life he was not allowed to land a so-called crossover hit , a hit that not only made it into the top 20 of the soul charts, but was also able to conquer the pop charts. Only four of his singles released during his lifetime achieved at least top 30 positions in the pop charts. His single (Sittin 'On) The Dock Of The Bay , only recorded on December 7, 1967 , was released posthumously and in early 1968 became his only No. 1 hit in the R&B charts, which also topped the pop charts. The single was quite pop for his work at the time and had less soul echoes. He wrote the song during his summer vacation in San Francisco Bay . Redding had the polyps removed just before the admission ; everyone involved in the recording said that he was vocal in the shape of his life. For the work he received in 1969 posthumously a Grammy Award . On March 11, 1968, the single was awarded a gold record for sales in the United States.

After his death, numerous other singles and long-playing records were brought onto the market until 1970 with previously unreleased songs, which brought him further top 10 and top 20 positions in the R&B charts. Many of them were recorded in the session just before his accident.

• The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) (1968)
• Amen (1968)
• I've Got Dreams to Remember (1968)
• Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (1968), live recording of the 1966 James Brown hit
• Love Man (1969)
• The Great Man Thomas B (posthumous 2008)

Statue of Otis Redding in his hometown of Macon

Redding's work includes eight long-playing records , including the famous album Otis Blue from 1965. Otis Redding founded his own record label, Jotis , in 1965 to give new artists a chance (including John Whitehead ).

The Rolling Stone listed Redding ranked 21 of the 100 greatest musicians and eighth of the 100 best singers of all time .

Others

In 1969, The Doors released the song Runnin 'Blue (written by Robby Krieger ) on their album The Soft Parade , which is about Death Reddings (“ Poor Otis dead and gone / left me here to sing his song ”).

In 1970 the album Tell the Truth was released , which includes the song Johnny's Heartbreak from 1967. Country soul pioneer Arthur Alexander is named as co-author . Arthur Alexander explicitly denies the authorship of Otis Redding, since the song was already finished when Alexander presented this Redding. Only the "s" came from Otis Redding, because the title was originally Johnny Heartbreak .

His sons Dexter Redding ( bass , vocals) and Otis II Redding ( guitar ) formed The Reddings , a funk and disco band with their version , together with their cousin Mark Locket ( drums and keyboards ) in the late 1970s from (Sittin 'On) The Dock of the Bay had one of their biggest hits.

The American blues rock band The Black Crowes had an international hit with their interpretation of Hard to Handle in 1991.

The 1988 song The Symphony, produced by Marley Marl for the Juice Crew , contains a sample of Reddings Hard to Handle . Furthermore, the two rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West produced the song Otis for their joint album Watch the Throne in 2011 . The song includes a sample from Reddings Try a Little Tenderness .

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	CH	UK	US	R&B
1964	Pain in My Heart	-	-	UK28 (9 weeks) UK	US103 (8 weeks) US	-	released in UK only 1967
1965	The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads	-	-	UK30 (1 week) UK	US147 (3 weeks) US	R&B3 (14 weeks) R&B
	Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul	-	-	UK6th silver (75 weeks)UK	US75 (34 weeks) US	R&B1 (13 weeks) R&B	No. 74 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2003)
1966	The Soul Album	-	-	UK22 (9 weeks) UK	US54 (29 weeks) US	R&B3 (28 weeks) R&B
	Complete & Unbelievable… The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul	-	-	UK23 (16 weeks) UK	US73 (15 weeks) US	R&B5 (22 weeks) R&B	251st place in the Rolling Stone 500 (2003)
1967	King & Queen Otis Redding & Carla Thomas	-	-	UK18 (17 weeks) UK	US36 (31 weeks) US	R&B5 (25 weeks) R&B	Duet album
	Otis Redding Live in Europe	-	-	UK14 (16 weeks) UK	US32 (42 weeks) US	R&B8 (20 weeks) R&B	Live album place 474 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2003)
	History of Otis Redding	-	-	UK2 (43 weeks) UK	US9 (50 weeks) US	R&B1 (48 weeks) R&B	Greatest hits album
1968	The Dock of the Bay	DE17 (2 weeks) DE	-	UK1 (15 weeks) UK	US4 (42 weeks) US	R&B1 (37 weeks) R&B	161st place in the Rolling Stone 500 (2003)
	The Immortal Otis Redding	-	-	UK19 (8 weeks) UK	US58 (21 weeks) US	R&B3 (28 weeks) R&B
	Otis Redding in Person at the Whiskey a Go Go	-	-	-	US82 (17 weeks) US	R&B7 (18 weeks) R&B	Recorded live in April 1966 at Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles
1969	Love man	-	-	-	US46 (14 weeks) US	R&B8 (20 weeks) R&B	compilation
1970	Tell the truth	-	-	-	US200 (2 weeks) US	R&B26 (10 weeks) R&B	compilation
	(Historic Performances Recorded at the) Monterey International Pop Festival	DE9 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	US16 gold (20 weeks)US	R&B15 (9 weeks) R&B	Splital album, one album page each by Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix recorded live in June 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival, publication accompanying the film Monterey Pop (1968) Otis Redding / The Jimi Hendrix Experience
1972	The Best of Otis Redding	-	-	-	US76 (15 weeks) US	R&B34 (12 weeks) R&B
1993	The Dock of the Bay - The Definitive Collection	-	-	UK44 × 2 Double platinum (27 weeks)UK	-	-	Best of album
2000	The Very Best of Otis Redding	-	-	UK26th gold (8 weeks)UK	US- × 2 Double platinum US	-	Best of album
2007	Pure Southern Soul: Otis Redding	-	-	-	US160 (2 weeks) US	-
2018	The Very Best of Aretha Franklin & Otis Redding	-	CH12 (1 week) CH	UK- silver UK	-	-	Split double CD Aretha Franklin & Otis Redding

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Further posthumous publications

• Good to Me: Live at the Whiskey a Go Go, Vol. 2 (1993)
• I've Been Loving You Too Long and Other Hits (2006, US:gold)
• The King of Soul (4 CD box) (2014)
• Soul Manifesto: 1964–1970 (2015, 12-CD box)
• Live at the Whiskey a Go Go - The Complete Recordings (2016, 7-CD-Box)

In addition, a large number of best-of and live albums were published.

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B
1963	These Arms of Mine	-	-	-	-	US85 gold (3 weeks)US	R&B20 (1 week) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	That's what my heart needs	-	-	-	-	-	R&B27 (2 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	Pain in My Heart	-	-	-	-	US61 (11 weeks) US	R&B11 (13 weeks) R&B	Author: A. Toussaint
1964	Come to me	-	-	-	-	US69 (7 weeks) US	R&B26 (8 weeks) R&B	Authors: O. Redding, Phil Walden
	Security	-	-	-	-	US97 (1 week) US	R&B23 (10 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	Chained and bound	-	-	-	-	US70 (7 weeks) US	R&B6 (14 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
1965	My girl	-	-	-	UK11 (25 weeks) UK	-	-	Original: The Temptations (1965); Authors: S. Robinson , Ronald White contains 9 weeks from re-entry in 1968 (highest placement 36th)
	Mr. Pitiful	-	-	-	-	US41 (9 weeks) US	R&B10 (13 weeks) R&B	Authors: S. Cropper , O. Redding on a single with That's How Strong My Love Is
	That's How Strong My Love Is	-	-	-	-	US74 (4 weeks) US	R&B18 (6 weeks) R&B	Author: Roosevelt Jamison on a single with Mr. Pitiful
	I've been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)	-	-	-	-	US21st gold (11 weeks)US	R&B2 (12 weeks) R&B	Author: J. Butler , O. Redding Place 110 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2004)
	Respect	-	-	-	-	US35 (11 weeks) US	R&B4 (16 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	I can't turn you loose	-	-	-	UK29 (8 weeks) UK	-	R&B11 (8 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding placed on a single with Just One More Day in UK only in August 1966
	Just One More Day	-	-	-	-	US85 (5 weeks) US	R&B15 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: O. Redding, S. Cropper , McEvoy Robinson on a single with I Can't Turn You Loose
1966	Satisfaction	-	-	-	UK33 (4 weeks) UK	US31 (8 weeks) US	R&B4 (12 weeks) R&B	Original: The Rolling Stones (1965); Authors: M. Jagger , K. Richards
	My lover's prayer	-	-	-	UK37 (6 weeks) UK	US61 (7 weeks) US	R&B10 (10 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)	-	-	-	UK23 (9 weeks) UK	US29 (8 weeks) US	R&B12 (10 weeks) R&B	Authors: S. Cropper , O. Redding
	Try a Little Tenderness	-	-	-	UK46 silver (4 weeks)UK	US25th gold (10 weeks)US	R&B4 (12 weeks) R&B	Original: Ted Lewis (1933); Authors: Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, Harry M. Woods Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ; 204th place of the Rolling Stone 500 (2004)
1967	Day gonorrhea	-	-	-	UK43 (6 weeks) UK	-	-	Original: The Beatles (1965); Authors: J. Lennon , P. McCartney
	I Love You More Than Words Can Say	-	-	-	-	US78 (3 weeks) US	R&B30 (3 weeks) R&B	Authors: E. Floyd , BT Jones
	Let Me Come On Home	-	-	-	UK48 (1 week) UK	-	-	Authors: A. Jackson , BT Jones, O. Redding
	shake	-	-	-	UK28 (10 weeks) UK	US47 (6 weeks) US	R&B16 (7 weeks) R&B	Live recording Original / Author: Sam Cooke (1965)
	Tramp Otis & Carla	-	-	-	UK18 (11 weeks) UK	US26 (9 weeks) US	R&B2 (13 weeks) R&B	Author: L. Fulson , J. McCracklin
	Glory of Love	-	-	-	-	-	R&B19 (7 weeks) R&B	Original: Benny Goodman (1936, Pop 1st place); Version: The Five Keys (1951, R&B No. 1); Author: Billy Hill from the movie Guess Who's Over for Dinner
	Knock on Wood Otis & Carla	-	-	-	UK35 (5 weeks) UK	US30 (9 weeks) US	R&B8 (8 weeks) R&B	Original: Eddie Floyd (1966); Authors: S. Cropper, E. Floyd
1968	(Sittin 'On) The Dock of the Bay	DE16 (6 weeks) DE	-	CH7 (6 weeks) CH	UK3 platinum (16 weeks)UK	US1 × 3 Triple platinum (16 weeks)US	R&B1 (15 weeks) R&B	Authors: O. Redding, S. Cropper Grammy ( R&B song / R&B vocal performance ); Grammy HoF , Rock and Roll HoF 28th place in the Rolling Stone 500 (2004)
	Lovey Dovey Otis & Carla	-	-	-	-	US60 (6 weeks) US	R&B21 (7 weeks) R&B	Authors: Eddie Curtis, A. Ertegun
	The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)	-	-	-	UK24 (5 weeks) UK	US25 (8 weeks) US	R&B10 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: O. Redding, S. Cropper
	Amen	-	-	-	-	US36 (5 weeks) US	R&B15 (8 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding on a single with Hard to Handle
	Hard to handle	-	-	-	UK15 (12 weeks) UK	US51 (7 weeks) US	R&B38 (4 weeks) R&B	Author: Allen Jones, Al Bell on a single with Amen
	I've Got Dreams to Remember	-	-	-	-	US41 (7 weeks) US	R&B6 (9 weeks) R&B	Authors: O. Redding, Zelma Redding
	Papa's Got a Brand New Bag	-	-	-	-	US21 (9 weeks) US	R&B10 (10 weeks) R&B	Original / author: James Brown (1965) recorded live in Whiskey a Go-Go
1969	A lover's question	-	-	-	-	US48 (6 weeks) US	R&B20 (5 weeks) R&B	Original: Clyde McPhatter (1958, R&B 1st place); Authors: B. Benton , Jimmy T. Williams
	Love man	-	-	-	UK43 (3 weeks) UK	US72 (5 weeks) US	R&B17 (7 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding
	Free Me	-	-	-	-	-	R&B30 (5 weeks) R&B	Author: O. Redding, Gene Lawson
2011	Otis Jay Z & Kanye West feat. Otis Redding	-	AT73 (1 week) AT	CH61 (2 weeks) CH	UK60 silver (1 week)UK	US12 × 2 Double platinum (20 weeks)US	R&B2 (25 weeks) R&B	Authors: K. West , S. Carter , J. Brown , Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, Harry M. Woods, Roy Hammond, Joseph Roach, Kirk Robinson

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Awards for music sales

Golden record  Italy 2019: for the single (Sittin 'On) The Dock of the Bay  Canada 2012: for the single Otis  Spain 2001: for the album The Dock of the Bay - The Definitive Collection  United Kingdom 2020: for the album The Very Best of Otis Redding (Atlantic / Rhino)

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Italy (FIMI)	-	gold1	-	25,000	fimi.it
Canada (MC)	-	gold1	-	40,000	musiccanada.com
Spain (Promusicae)	-	gold1	-	50,000	Sólo éxitos: año año, 1959-2002
United States (RIAA)	-	5 × gold5	7 × platinum7th	9,500,000	riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI)	4 × silver4th	2 × gold2	3 × platinum3	1,920,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	4 × silver4th	10 × gold10	10 × platinum10

Movies

• Otis - The King of Soul Music. Documentary, Germany, 2013, 59 min., Script and director: Stefan Morawietz, production: Intact Production, arte , WDR , SWR , series: Summer of Soul, first broadcast: August 11, 2013 on arte, summary by arte.
• Dreams to Remember (The Legacy of Otis Redding) , documentary, USA 2007, 92 min., Directors: Phillip Galloway, David Peck
• Shake! - Otis at Monterey. Documentary, USA, 1987, 19 min., Director: DA Pennebaker. Complete performance by Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peter Guralnick: Sweet Soul Music . Bosworth Music GmbH, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86543-321-3 , Otis Redding, p. 166 f . (English: Sweet Soul Music . Translated by Harriet Fricke).
2. ↑ Disaster Dec 10, 1967: Music star dies in Wisconsin plane crash (accessed March 10, 2014)
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 490
4. ^ White, Adam: The Billboard Book Of Gold And Platinum Records . 2nd revised edition, London: Omnibus Press, 1990, p. 191
5. ↑ 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
6. ↑ 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
7. ^ Richard Younger: Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues - The Arthur Alexander Story , p. 77 u. 118.
8. ↑ https://www.whosampled.com/Marley-Marl/The-Symphony/
9. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
10. ↑ ^{a b} US singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
11. ↑ ^{a b} US R&B singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents Hot R&B Songs 1942-2010 . Billboard Books, New York 2011, ISBN 0-89820-186-1 . / US R&B albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Albums 1965–1998 . Billboard Books, New York 1999, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
12. ↑ For the LP discography, see: Tilch, KD: Rock LPs 1955–1970. Vol. 3: MS . 3rd ext. Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, pp. 1310f

literature

• Jonathan Gould: Otis Redding: an unfinished life , New York: Crown Archetype, [2017], ISBN 978-0-307-45394-5 .
• Matthias Klein (Ed.): Life and death is life: Fourfold approaches to Otis Redding from all directions , Munich: scaneg [2017], ISBN 978-3-89235-525-0 .

Web links

Commons : Otis Redding  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official Homepage (English)
• Otis Redding at Allmusic (English)
• Otis Redding Top Songs & Albums on Music VF
• Otis Redding at Discogs (English)
• Literature by and about Otis Redding in the catalog of the German National Library
• Otis Redding in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Otis Redding in the nndb (English)