Otis Redding, Jr.
1941-1967
Born in Dawson, Georgia, Otis Redding's father was a Baptist Minister which explains Otis' musical influence. At the age of five (5) his family moved to Macon, Georgia and at an early age he began his career as a singer and musician in the choir of the Vineville Baptist Church. Otis attended Ballad Hudson High School and participated in the school band. Determined to help his family financially, he dropped out of high school and went on to work with Little Richard's former band, the Upsetters. He began to compete in local talent shows for the five ($5) dollar prize. After winning 15 times straight, he was no longer allowed to compete.
In 1959, Otis sang at the Grand Duke Club after his exposure in the church choir. Otis joined Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers in 1960, and would also sing at the "Teenage Party" talent shows sponsored by the King Bee, Hamp Swain, a local celebrity disc jockey, on Saturday mornings initially at the Roxy Theater and later at the Douglas Theatre in Macon.
PERFORMER
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 successes 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 success with appearances slated at such locations as New York's Philharmonic Hall and Washington's Constitution Hall. Redding was booked for several major television network appearances including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers Show, and a television special starring Redding.
In 1970, Warner Brothers released an album of live recordings from the Monterey International Pop Festival, June 1967, 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.
In 1995, Atlantic Records released "The Best of Otis Redding" which was a two record set including many of his most famous songs.
RECORDING ARTIST
Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers drove to Memphis, Tennessee for a recording session in October 1962 at Stax Records. The session was not going well, so Jim Stewart, Stax co-owner, allowed Otis to cut a couple of songs with the studio time that had been booked. 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 lifetime. After nine months, he was invited to perform at the Apollo Theatre for a live recording and would go on to show his dance movements with "Shake" and "Satisfaction". When Otis was done, the sold-out audience would shout, scream, and dance until Redding came back on stage for an encore performance.
SONGWRITER
It was his international songs, all composed, written, and arranged by Redding, that lead to his commercial success. Three of his compositions alone accounted for over three and one half million record sales. Today, his songs are being recorded by persons in various fields of music, including country, jazz, and pop.
THE SONG --- It was unlike anything he had ever written, influenced by Redding's 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 San Francisco's Fillmore West Theater in the summer of 1967. Just sittin' on the dock, looking out at the bay, it's easy to see where Otis got the inspiration for the song, "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay".
It had a lilt, memorable hook, and a great story. While it was typical of Redding's previous recordings, it signaled his creative expansion as a writer and artist. That song posthumously went on to become Otis Redding's biggest worldwide hit and signature. Recording artist, Michael Bolton, released Otis' ever popular "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" for his first single release from his album entitled "The Hunger" and took it into the nations Top 20, 1987.
In September 1987, Atlantic Records released "The Otis Redding Story", a two volume record set featuring Otis' most unique and rare hits such as "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "Respect", "Pain in my Heart", "Satisfaction" and of course "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay." This was Otis' final recording before his plane crash in December 1967. The album set has been prerecorded and mixed in stereo giving Redding's music a more powerful sound.
