Without a doubt, Otis Redding was probably the most soulful and amazing voice of the Stax catalog, if not the 1960’s. His unbelievable powerful and explosive vocal range, coupled with his unparalleled faculty as a songwriter is all collected here on the preeminent and posthumous release, The Dock of the Bay: The Definitive Collection (1987) for the world to witness. Redding, in his own time, was something of a cause-celebre because of his unlikely rise to stardom. Having assembled a group called the Pinetoppers, Redding toured around to little or no great success, but it was in 1963 when unloading equipment for session players at the Stax/Volt studios that Redding offered a composition of his own, the romantically slow “These Arms of Mine”, and the rest is history. Redding would go on to record some of the most memorable soul and R’n’B hits, becoming one of the most covered artists of the day, with burners like “Respect” and “I Can’t Turn You Loose”, as well as ballads like “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and many others. But it is the electric “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” that put Redding truly on the map during his all but too short career. Once the Rolling Stones got their hands on it, it blew up, and so did Redding’s career, finding him playing to a sold-out and magnanimously joyful crowd at the Monterey Pop Festival. His unbridled passion for the music he created, coupled with his complete and utter dedication to fully realizing it in his own time, placed him at the top of the ladder of artists who actually were self-aware enough to realize their impact on popular culture and music of the time, which can be found in his most lasting and nostalgic track, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”. His reminiscence is filled with a wistful longing, as if Monterey had been years behind him, but it still is packed with the optimism and beauty of a life in love with what he did. It is unfortunate that such a great was taken at such a young age, but his music lives on as a testament to just how much of a legend he actually was.
Listen to “Shake and Respect” (Live at the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967)
Download “The Dock of the Bay: The Definitive Collection”
