MUSIC HISTORY 101 SEPTEMBER 9, 1941 - Born on this day in Dawson, Georgia: Grammy Award winning soul and R&B singer/songwriter/musician/producer/arranger OTIS REDDING Jr. (d. December 10, 1967) When Otis was 5 years old, his family moved to Macon, Georgia, where he grew up listening to the music of Sam Cooke and Little Richard. In the late 1950s, Redding joined the Upsetters, the band that had formerly backed Little Richard. In 1960, Otis Redding moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began releasing singles. He returned to Georgia a year later and recorded Shout Bamalama. He befriended guitarist Johnny Jenkins and joined his band, the Pinetoppers. During one of Jenkinss recording sessions at Memphiss Stax studios, Redding recorded a ballad hed written, These Arms of Mine. The song quickly took off, rising to No. 20 on the R&B charts in 1963. Redding began a career recording at Stax, playing guitar and arranging his own songs. He was known for his energy in the studio and, in 1965, recorded the album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul in one day. He released Ive Been Loving Your Too Long (to Stop Now) that same year, and Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) a year later. In 1967, Redding released a successful duet album with Carla Thomas. That same year, he produced Arthur Conleys Sweet Soul Music, which went to #2 on the R&B charts. Other artists of the day were influenced by Redding and Aretha Franklins rendition of his song, Respect, became legendary. Hoping to become more involved behind the scenes, Redding started his own label, Jotis. In addition to sales, Reddings magnetic stage presence and sincere performances and made him star. On June 17, 1967, Redding performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival, where he was enthusiastically received. His emotional style and powerful singing became the synonymous with soul music. On December 6, 1967, Redding recorded (Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay. The song hit #1 on the pop and R&B charts the following year, but Redding wouldnt live to see his success. Four days after the recording session, Redding and four members of his band, the Bar-Keys, were killed after their chartered plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake. (Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay is credited with influencing the soul movement by combining traditional rhythm and blues with folk. Three albums of Reddings recordings were released posthumously. In the late 70s, Reddings sons Dexter and Otis III formed the Reddings with cousin Mark Lockett for recordings on on the Believe in Dream label, distributed by Columbia. They had a Top 10 R&B hit with Remote Control in 1980 and eventually switched to Polydor Records in the late 1980s. In 1989, Otis Redding was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards. In 2011, Kanye West and Jay-Z released “Otis,” which samples “Try a Little Tenderness.” The pair won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance for the song in 2012. READ MORE: otisredding/ allmusic/artist/otis-redding-mn0000414251/biography biography/people/otis-redding-9453430#performance-style history-of-rock/otis_redding.htm rockhall/inductees/otis-redding/bio/ staxmuseum/about/artists/view/otis-redding rollingstone/music/artists/otis-redding history/this-day-in-history/soul-legend-otis-redding-dies-in-a-plane-crash-near-madison-wisconsin https://facebook/otisredding https://twitter/OtisRedding
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 20:25:02 +0000
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