Pub debates. We all have them. You know, what’s better? Vintage Bass Weejuns loafers or new Rancourt & Co., Arment’s pie and mash or Manzes and my particular favourite, Otis Redding versus EVERYBODY ELSE!
To me he is the guvnor. The best. I mean not just the best soul singer, and not just the best male singer, no. I mean THE best. Full stop. Period. Game over.
Big shout I know and I have had to stand my corner in many a pub on many an occasion to defend it. Yes, I admit there is room for Sinatra, Marriott, Aretha, Sarah Vaughan and countless others, but time and time and time again, I come back to Otis.
Whether the song is slow and bluesy or up-tempo and shouty, Redding nails it every time for me.
‘If you want to be a singer’ the man himself once said ‘you’ve got to concentrate on it twenty-four hours a day. You can’t have anything else on your mind but the music business.’
So, what of the man. He was born Otis Ray Redding junior on the 9th September 1941 in Georgia in the south of the United States. He had a glorious voice from early on, performing in the Baptist church choir in Macon, where his family settled when he was three.
From the age of 15 he was on the road, appearing in talent shows – he won so often, they refused to let him win anymore – and working in bands as a singer and a driver. He would count on Sam Cooke as an influence, but Little Richard was his inspiration.
His big break came in 1962, when he drove guitarist Johnny Jenkins to a session at Stax Studios in Memphis. As the session wound up early, Otis took up the slack studio time to perform his song ‘These Arms of Mine’ which immediately caught the attention of label boss Jim Stewart. He was signed there and then and song was released on the Volt label the following spring, going on to be one of his best selling singles.
The first album of his that I remember owning would be ‘Otis Blue’ which was released in 1965, with the tracks ‘My Girl’ and ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ being the stand out tunes for me as I made my way discovering the world of classic soul in the early 1980s. Soon songs like ‘Mr Pitiful’ ‘Pain In My Heart’ ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long’ ‘Respect’ and ‘Shake’ were never far from rotation on my turntable as I soaked up that wonderful voice.
Through that early part of the 60s, Redding’s career went from strength to strength and he soon toured Europe, going down a storm wherever he landed.
1966 saw him perform a special for the TV show ‘Ready Steady Go’ that later surfaced as a VHS in the 1980s. Alongside him singing he had Chris Farlowe and Eric Burdon who put a decent shift in, but I sat spell bound by Redding’s on stage presence and watching the crowd of mods, both male and female being worked up into a frenzy.
March 1967 saw the release of another album I rate highly, namely ‘King and Queen’ which sees him team up with Carla Thomas. Both the album and the singles from it, ‘Tramp’ – ‘you know what, Otis? You’re country! You’re straight from the Georgia woods! ‘That’s good!’- Lovey Dovey and Knock On Wood all crossed over to be hits on the pop charts.
That cross over into the mainstream was complete after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival later in ’67. He appeared at midnight, backed by Booker T and the MGS and The Mar Keys. Before this show, he was still playing to predominately black audiences, but now EVERYONE wanted to see Otis. He was now big time among the ‘love crowd. Grateful Dead musician Bob Weir said after seeing Otis at Monterey – ‘I was pretty sure that I’d seen God on stage.’
Reflecting that change of audience perhaps, he set about to record ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, which signalled a newer, more commercial sound, moving away from the more soul based tunes. He was in the mood to expand his music and this was the first step.
And then tragedy
On the 10th of December 1967, travelling with the group The Bar Kays on the way to a gig, their twin engine Beechcraft plane crashed in bad weather in Lake Monona in Wisconsin. Otis died in the water along with five of the band and the pilot.
He was just 26. He left a wife Zelma and three children.
Dock of The Bay was released posthumously and topped the charts, a million seller, just as Otis had predicted.
In 2004 I married Louise Catherine Nicholson at the Peckham Registry Office. We were asked to provide three songs. One to play on the way in and one to play on the way out, the other was to play whilst we signed the paperwork. That track was ‘These Arms of Mine’
No other singer would do me on that day of all days.
The Mumper of SE5
