Otis Redding, born September 9, 1941, would have turned 80 last week. The legendary soul singer died in a plane crash at the end of 1967, a few months after turning 26.
A water-well driller turned aspiring musician, Otis caught his break after driving his friend Johnny Jenkins to a recording session in Memphis. As Redding explains in a 1967 American Bandstand interview, when the session wrapped, Redding sang his original tune, “These Arms of Mine,” to great praise and a record deal with Stax Records. (I had a chance to visit the Stax Museum of American Soul in Memphis. There was something special, deeply American, and, of course, soulful about the experience.)
With this single’s release in the fall of 1962, Otis Redding’s active career only amounted to five years by the time of his death in December 1967. His impact, though, was immense. We remember him for a number of timeless songs: “Respect “(which Aretha Franklin’s cover also took to great heights), “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” and more, as well as renditions of songs by Sam Cooke, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.
I recall first learning that Otis Redding was 26 when he died. I couldn’t believe it. His voice and appearance came across as older. The depth of his words and soulful resonance of his songs felt like he had lived a full life of experience. An Otis Redding song will always have impact when I hear it—the sheer power of his presence is unmatched. Beyond pure talent, there is a special wisdom, empathy, and passion in his work.
Take “Try a Little Tenderness.” In an interview with NPR, Jonathan Gould, author of Otis Redding: Unfinished Life, explains that this 1932 song was already well-known at the time. (An anecdote from the interview: Otis was would sing the exact horn lines he wanted to the players in studio sessions). Otis opens “Try a Little Tenderness” in a similar fashion to other versions at the outset, succeeding in crafting a memorable classic with a faithful rendition. As the song develops, however, Redding begins to further make the song his own by upping the intensity and adding in rhythmic vocal exclamations. Jay-Z and Kanye West’s aptly-named 2011 track, “Otis,” that samples the song, exemplifies the rare energy of Redding’s art. West’s sample chops, rearranged without additional instrumentation, reverberate as a driving foundation for the pair’s rhymes.
In the summer of 1967, Otis Redding performed in California at the Monterey Pop Festival, a defining concert for 20th-century music. Featuring Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and many others, the concert was a noted cultural moment.
Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker and a crew captured the performances on textured 16mm film for a documentary, Monterey Pop.
Writing for the Criterion Collection, Andrew Chan calls Redding’s filmed performance at Monterey Pop of “I’ve Been Loving You for Too Long,” an original song written with Jerry Butler, “one of the most overpowering moments in the concert-doc canon.”
Otis Redding performs “I’ver Been Loving You Too Long.”
Moving in and out of silhouette in a cinematic abstraction, the footage expresses the grand scope of Otis Redding’s talent. His soul, his style, his vocal mastery, and his emotion blend with fluidity and ease. Chan concludes: “that voice we’re hearing—as viscerally, palpably there as any sound in American music—comes from a place and a time and an inner life we can never see clearly.”
To open his book, Jonathan Gould quotes Bob Weir from Grateful Dead who said “I was pretty sure that I’d seen God on stage” after Otis Redding’s performance at Monterey Pop. Otis Redding’s monumental talent produced such great work, yet it is clear that he had so much more still to offer had he lived.
My favorite Otis Redding song—and one of my favorite songs in general—is “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay.” Recorded in the month before Redding died after recovering well from throat surgery, he was still working on the song before his death. Written with producer Steve Cropper, the song captures Otis’s soulful pondering, likely informed by his desire to explore new sounds, his love for his home of Georgia, and his contemplations on the future. Mixed and released in early 1968, the song became a number one hit—his first and the first ever for a posthumous release.
in 2018, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the song, the Otis Redding Foundation, Playing for Change, and Princess Cruises collaborated to release a “Song Around the World” rendition, featuring artists Corinne Bailey Rae, Jack Johnson, Aloe Blacc, a student chorus, Otis Redding’s sons: Otis Redding III and Dexter Redding, and more. It’s a touching, appropriate homage to the power of music and Otis Redding’s soulful legacy. Enjoy below.
- GJF