Redding, Otis

When Otis Redding recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" in late 1967, the singer knew that the song was a milestone in his creative evolution. But before Redding got the chance to explore his new direction, he was killed, along with most of his backup band the Bar-Kays, in a plane crash while on tour. Released just a few weeks after his death, the song shot to Number One on the Pop and R&B charts, eventually winning Redding a pair of posthumous Grammy awards. The album bearing the song's...

Otis Redding's first live release was recorded in March 1967, on the now-legendary Stax/Volt tour of Europe, on which Otis and company demonstrated that soul is a universal language. Backed by the erstwhile Stax studio combo Booker T. and the MGs and the Memphis Horns, the Big O rises to the historic occasion, delivering incendiary, emotion-charged readings of such iconic tunes as "Respect," "I Can't Turn You Loose," "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)," "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)"...

Otis Redding's live performances are legendary for their raw, sweat-soaked intensity. For those of us not fortunate enough to have seen the legendary soul icon on stage, this is the next best thing. Recorded in April 1966 at Los Angeles' Whisky A Go Go, this is the only live recording of Otis in a small club setting, and it's a scorcher, capturing the spellbinding fervor that he generated on a nightly basis. Backed by his raw-and-ready touring band, Redding delivers a fiery set that includes...

The aptly titled 1966 release The Soul Album is one of the most beloved LPs in Otis Redding's catalogue, and a powerful evocation of this singular soul icon's massive talent and impressive versatility. While such original tunes as "Cigarettes and Coffee," "Good to Me," "Just One More Day" and "Any Ole Way" demonstrate Redding's remarkable songwriting talent, his remarkable interpretive gifts are spotlighted on his deeply compelling versions as Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang," Smokey Robinson's "It's...

As Stax Records' top male artist, it was only natural that Otis Redding would team up with Stax's top female singer, Carla Thomas. The soulful twosome generated considerable musical sparks on this 1967 release, which produced a pair of sizzling hit singles, the sassy "Tramp" and a hard-driving reading of Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood." With Booker T. and the MGs, the Memphis Horns and Isaac Hayes providing typically eloquent support, King and Queen also features the frisky duo numbers "Lovey...

Considered by many soul connoisseurs to be Otis Redding's finest and most fully realized LP, 1966's Otis Blue delivers a compelling encapsulation of all of the qualities that made Redding the greatest soul performer of his era. In addition to the artist's self-penned classics "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long," Otis Blue spotlights the artist's peerless interpretive skills, as he puts his dynamic stamp upon such iconic tunes as the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,"...

Otis Redding's fifth album, whose cover bears the full title Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, more than lives up to that grandiose monicker. The last solo album that the artist would complete prior to his death at the age of 26, this 12-song set demonstrates how Redding combined raw talent and boundless charisma with a restless creative spirit that drove him to expand his horizons beyond the traditional boundaries of contemporary rhythm and blues. With typically...