50 years ago today we lost a giant. A singer and songwriter whose star was still on the ascent when he left us, and whose body of work has ensured him a place amongst the biggest and best.
Otis Redding remains for many the very embodiment of Soul, that indefinable, unlearnable and unfakeable quality that many an accomplished musician can only grasp at. In an era where pop music was expanding exponentially and progressing and towards numerous new styles thanks to the likes of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Cream and Jimi Hendrix, it was Otis – and of course his Stax and Atlantic soul label mates including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett – who brought it all back home. His music was natural and elemental, like a hurricane. Paul and John and Jimi, Eric, Mick, Keith and the others could only stand back and watch in awe.
A couple of years later and everyone - including the Beatles - would be going back to basics and trying to an attain an earthier feel. Otis wasn’t around but the song he left us with, the magical and mellow “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” cut through the bullshit and had an impact that still lingers.
With the release of the OTIS REDDING – THE DEFINITIVE STUDIO ALBUMS BOX, a superbly presented 7LP vinyl box set of Otis’s original long-players, ILYOS remembers a half dozen of the man’s absolute best - and some unbelievable live performances - starting with that song he left us with, his posthumous greatest hit...
“(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”
“Respect” from Monterey International Pop Festival 1967
"I've Been Loving You Too Long" from Monterey International Pop Festival 1967
“Try a Little Tenderness” from Monterey International Pop Festival 1967
“Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)”1967, from the album Otis Redding: Live in Europe
“Can't Turn You Loose” Ready Steady Go (UK TV) ‘66
