HAPPY BIRTHDAY Otis Ray Redding, Jr. September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967 was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in popular music and a major artist in soul and rhythm and blues. His singing style was powerfully influential among soul artists of 1960s and helped exemplify the Stax sound. Born and raised in Georgia, United States, Redding left school at 15 to support his family, working with Little Richards backing band, the Upsetters, and performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins band, the Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern United States as driver and musician. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, These Arms of Mine, in 1962. Stax released Reddings debut album, Pain in My Heart, two years later. Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached the broader American popular music audience. He and his group first played small gigs in the South, then debuted in the western United States at LAs popular Whisky a Go Go. They later performed in Paris, London and other European cities. After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Redding wrote and recorded the iconic (Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay with Steve Cropper. The song became the first posthumous number-one record on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts after his death in a plane crash. The Dock of the Bay became the first posthumous album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia to gospel singer Otis Redding, Sr., and housekeeper Fannie Redding. His father worked as a sharecropper, then at Robins Air Force Base and as a part-time preacher. When Redding was three the family moved to Tindall Heights, a predominantly African American public housing project in nearby Macon. For a short time they lived in a small house in Bellevue, a neighborhood in west Macon. That house burned down and the family moved back to Tindall. At an early age, he sang in the Vineville Baptist Church choir and learned guitar and piano. From age 10, he took drum and singing lessons. At Ballard-Hudson High School, he sang in the school band. Every Sunday he earned $6 by performing gospel songs for Macon radio station WIBB. His passion was singing, and he often cited Little Richard and Sam Cooke as main influences; Redding would not be here without Richard, as he entered the music business because of Richard – he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his Rock n Roll stuff... My present music has a lot of him in it. At age 15, Redding abandoned school to help his family financially. His father had contracted tuberculosis and was often hospitalized, leaving his mother as the familys primary financial provider. He later worked as a well digger, gas station attendant and guest musician in the following years. The pianist Gladdy Williams, a well-known Macon musician and another inspiration for Redding, often performed at Hillview Springs Social Club, where he sometimes played piano with her bands. When she hosted talent shows on Sundays, Redding accompanied his friends from the neighborhood, such as Little Willie Jones and bassist Eddie Ross. Around the time when his tonsils were removed, Redding doubted he would ever be able to sing, but his father encouraged him. Reddings breakthrough came in 1958 on disc jockey Hamp Swains The Teenage Party, a music contest at the Roxy and Douglass Theatres. As his backing band was not professional, gig attendee Johnny Jenkins offered help. Redding sang Little Richards Heebie Jeebies. The combination enabled him to win the $5 singing contest for 15 consecutive weeks.Jenkins later worked as lead guitarist and played with Redding during several gigs. Soon afterwards, he was invited to replace Willie Jones, frontman of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, featuring Jenkins. He was soon hired by the Upsetters as Richard abandoned rock and roll in favour of gospel music. Redding was well paid at about $25 per gig,but did not stay for long. At age 19, Redding met 15-year-old Zelma Atwood at The Teenage Party. She gave birth to their son Dexter in the summer of 1960 and married Redding in August 1961.In mid-1960, he moved to Los Angeles with his sister, Deborah, and wrote his first songs including Shes Allright, Tuff Enuff, Gamma Lamma, and Gettin Hip, which was his first composition to be released as a single. By 1967 the band was traveling to gigs on Reddings Beechcraft H18. On December 9, 1967, they appeared on the Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a small club called Leos Casino. After a phone call with Zelma and their children, Reddings next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin. Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, the plane took off. Four miles from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley, the accidents only survivor, was sleeping shortly before the accident. He woke just before impact to see bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and exclaim, Oh, no! Cauley said the last thing he remembered before the crash was unbuckling his seat belt. He then found himself in frigid water, grasping a seat cushion to keep afloat.A non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others.The cause of the crash was never determined. James Brown claimed in his autobiography, The Godfather of Soul, that he had warned Redding not to fly in the plane. Aretha Franklin stated, I heard it on the TV. My sister Caroline and I stopped everything and stayed glued to the TV and radio. It was a tragedy. Shocking.Other victims were pilot Richard Fraser, drummer Matthew Kelly, lead guitarist of the Bar-Kays Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell and drummer Carl Cunningham. Reddings body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to December 18 so that more could attend. The service took place at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people came to the funeral, overflowing the 3,000-seat hall, although many did not know who he was. Johnny Jenkins and Isaac Hayes did not come, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Reddings. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon. Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy. Redding died just three days after recording Dock of the Bay. He was survived by Zelma and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla. Otis, Dexter and cousin Mark Lockett later founded the Reddings, a band managed by Zelma.She also maintained or worked at the janitorial service Maids Over Macon, several nightclubs and booking agencies. On November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace. Reddings premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire catalogue. Redding received many posthumous accolades, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the honorific nickname King of Soul. In addition to (Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay, Respect and Try a Little Tenderness are among his best-known song...
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:54:49 +0000
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