1914 Coy "Hot Shot" Love*
1941 Otis Redding*
1941 Duffy Power*
1947 Larry Scott Dixon*
1966 Tutu Jones*
1981 Helen Humes+
Brian Quinn*
R.I.P.
Helen Humes +09.09.1981
Helen Humes (* 23. Juni 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky; † 9. September 1981 in Santa Monica, Kalifornien) war eine US-amerikanische Jazz- und Blues-Sängerin.
Helen Humes bekam ihr Talent sozusagen schon von ihren Eltern, die häufig im Duett in ihrer Kirchengemeinde sangen, in die Wiege gelegt. 1927 bereits begleitete sie Sylvester Weaver bei einigen seiner letzten Aufnahmen. 1937 zog sie nach Albany und wurde Sängerin bei der Big Band von Harry James. Mit ihm nahm sie unter anderem die Titel Jubilee, I Can Dream Can't I und That's The Dreamer In Me auf. Außerdem arbeitete sie in den späten 1930er Jahren mit dem Big-Band-Leader Count Basie, der sie im Cotton Club in Cincinnati entdeckt hatte. Er lud sie ein, die Nachfolge von Billie Holiday in seiner Band anzutreten. Einer ihrer größten Erfolge aus dieser Zeit war Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.
In den 40er und 50er Jahren, inzwischen in Kalifornien, arbeitete Helen Humes mit verschiedenen Bands und anderen Blues- und Jazzinterpreten, darunter auch Nat King Cole und nahm einige Schallplatten für Discovery auf. Einer ihrer Erfolge aus dieser Zeit ist Be-baba-leba. 1950 sang Humes Benny Carters Rock Me to Sleep und schaffte es damit, zwischen dem „Big Band Jazz Swing“ und dem Rhythm and Blues eine Brücke zu schlagen.
Als Humes Mutter 1973 starb, verkaufte sie alle ihre Schallplatten und ihr Klavier und wollte nicht mehr singen. Stanley Dance, ein Musikkritiker, konnte sie überreden, zusammen mit Count Basie beim Newport Jazz Festival 1973 aufzutreten. Aber erst in den späten 70er Jahren setzte sie ihre Karriere fort. Sie lebte noch einige Zeit auf Hawaii und in Australien, bevor sie nach Santa Monica in Kalifornien umzog, wo sie 1981 starb.
Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981)[1] was an American jazz and blues singer.
Humes was successively a teenage blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.[2] Along with other well-known jazz singers of the swing era Helen Humes helped to shape and define the sound of vocal swing music.
Early life
Born on June 23, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky to parents Emma Johnson and John Henry Humes. She grew up as an only child, her mother worked as a schoolteacher and her father was the first black attorney in town. In an interview, Humes recalled her parents singing to each other around the house, also both singing in the church choir.[3]
Helen was introduced to music in the church, singing in the choir and getting piano and organ lessons at Sunday school. The Sunday school music lessons were given by Bessie Allen, who taught music to any child who wanted to learn. From Bessie's Sunday School music lessons, Helen began occasionally playing the piano in a small and locally traveling dance band called the Dandies. This constant involvement in music would lead Helen to her singing career in the mid 1920s.[4]
Career
Early career
Helen's career began with her first vocal performance at an amateur contest in 1926. She sang "When You're A Long, Long Way From Home" and "I'm in Love with You, That's Why" when her talents were noticed by a guitarist in the band. Sylvester Weaver who recorded for Okeh records recommended her to talent scout and producer Tommy Rockwell.[5] At the age of 14 Helen recorded an album in St. Louis, singing a number of blues songs. Two years later, a second recording session was held in New York, and this time she was accompanied by pianist J. C. Johnson.[6] Despite this introduction to the music world, Helen wouldn't make another record for another ten years. She would spend those years completing her high school degree, taking finance courses, working at a bank, as a waitress, and as a secretary for her father. She stayed home for a while, eventually leaving to visit friends in Buffalo, New York. While there, Helen was invited to sing a few songs at the Spider Web, a local cabaret in town. This brief performance turned into an audition, which turned in to a $35 a week job. She stayed in Buffalo singing with this small group led by Al Sears where they worked together for a good amount of time.
Cincinnati Cotton Club
While Helen was home in Louisville (she said she always returned home at least twice a year) she got a call from Sears who was in Cincinnati. He wanted her to sing at Cincinnati's Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was an important venue in the development of the Cincinnati music scene. It was an integrated club that booked and promoted a lot of black entertainers.[7] Helen moved to Cincinnati in 1936 and sang there with Sears' band again at the Cotton Club.
Count Basie first heard and approached Helen while she was performing at the Cotton Club. It was 1937 when he asked her to join his touring band to replace Billie Holiday. He told her that she would be paid $35 a week and she responded, "Oh shucks, I make that here and don't have to go no place!"[3] Not long after this encounter, Helen moved to New York City in 1937 where John Hammond, an influential talent scout and producer of the 20th century, heard her singing with Sears' band at the Renaissance Club. Through Hammond, she became a recording vocalist with Harry James' big band. Her swing recordings with James included "Jubilee", "I Can Dream, Can't I?", Jimmy Dorsey's composition "It's The Dreamer In Me", and "Song of the Wanderer". In March 1938 Hammond was able to convince Humes to join Count Basie's Orchestra, where she would stay for four years.
The Count Basie Orchestra
In The Count Basie Orchestra, Humes gained acclaim as a singer of ballads and popular songs. While she was also a talented blues singer, Jimmy Rushing, another member of The Count Basie Orchestra at the time, held domain over the blues vocals.[8] Her vocals with Basie's band included "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "Moonlight Serenade".
On December 24, 1939, Humes performed with the Count Basie Orchestra and James P. Johnson at John Hammond's second concert of From Spirituals to Swing. After this concert at Carnegie Hall, most of Humes' time spent with the Basie Orchestra was spent on the road. In a 1973 oral history Helen described life on tour,
I used to pretend I was asleep on the Basie bus, so the boys wouldn't think I was hearing their rough talk. I'd sew buttons on and cook for them, too…in places where it was difficult to get anything to eat…down south. I wasn't interested in drinking and keeping late hours…but my kidneys couldn't stand the punishment of those long rides… then too I got tired of singing the same songs.[3]
This would be the reason for Humes' leaving the group in 1942, as her health was in bad shape and the stress of being on tour was too much.
Café Society and solo career
While home again in Louisville in 1942, Helen was called by John Hammond and invited to sing at Café Society in New York. She performed frequently here accompanied by pianists Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. During that year, she also performed at the Three Deuces, at the Famous Door with Benny Carter (February), at the Village Vanguard with Eddie Heywood, and on tour with the big band led by the trombonist Ernie Fields.[9]
In 1944, Helen made the decision to move to Los Angeles, California. While in California, Humes spent a lot of time in the studio, producing solo work, as well as movie soundtracks. Some of the movie soundtracks she recorded were Panic in the Streets and My Blue Heaven. Helen also spent some time on the screen, performing in a musical film by Dizzy Gillespie, titled Jivin' in Be-Bop .[6] In addition to this, Helen performed and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic for five seasons. In 1945, Helen recorded her most popular songs, two jump blues tunes Be-Baba-Leba (Philo, 1945) and Million Dollar Secret (Modern, 1950).[2] Despite this, Humes' career stagnated. From the late 1940s to mid 1950s Helen made a few recordings, working with different bands and vocalists, including Nat King Cole, but she was not nearly as active as she had been. In 1950 Humes recorded Benny Carter's "Rock Me to Sleep". She managed to bridge the gap between big band jazz swing and rhythm and blues.
In 1956, Helen toured Australia with Red Norvo, vibraphonist. Their tour was very well received, and she returned again in 1962 and 1964. She made appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival (1959) and Monterey Jazz Festival (1960, 1962).[9] Also in 1962, Helen toured Europe with the first American Folk Blues Festival.[10]
Helen returned to the US in 1967 to take care of her ailing mother. At this point she viewed her singing career as a part of her past. She took a job at a local ammunition plant, sold her record player and her records and stopped singing. From 1967 to 1973, she was in retirement and would have remained that way had it not been for Stanley Dance. Dance convinced Helen to return in a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival (1973). The Newport Jazz Festival launched Helen on a whole new career.[11] The festival was followed with multiple European engagements and some French made albums on Black and Blue. She also sang regularly at the Cookery in New York City (1974-1977).
Throughout the late 1970s, Helen would perform sporadically in America, while also performing at European venues and festivals, for instance at the prestigious Nice Jazz Festival in the mid-1970s. In 1980, she recorded her final album, self-titled Helen on Muse Records. She received the Music Industry of France Award in 1973, and the key to the city of Louisville in 1975.[12]
On the topic of the trajectory of her career, Helen said this: "I'm not trying to be a star! I want to work and be happy and just go along and have my friends – and that's my career."[11]
Death
Helen Humes died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, in 1981 at the age of 68. At her funeral, her family requested that people donate money for cancer research rather than bringing flowers.[13] She is buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.[14]
Style and reviews
Helen Humes' range was from G3-C5 as she stated in a letter written in preparation for a European tour to Buck Clayton (the arranger) along with a list of her preferred songs.[3] According to many critics, her voice was versatile, suiting pop songs and ballads as well as blues tunes.[15] She was compared to Ethel Waters and Mildred Bailey from early in her career, and was often recorded singing the blues post-Basie. In an interview with Whitney Balliet, Helen explained, "I've been called a blues singer, a jazz singer, and a ballad singer – well, I'm all three, which means I'm just a singer."[16] A review from Downbeat Magazine of her albums Talk of the Town, Helen Comes Back, and Helen Humes with Red Norvo and His Orchestra said the following about her collaboration with Red Norvo:
Norvo's sparkling vibes are the ideal compliment to Helen's lithe, light timbered clarity…Helen is in particularly fine voice…[with] an uncanny resemblance to early Ella [Fitzgerald] in her sound and phrasing.[15]
The review of Helen Comes Back was not as positive, though not at the fault of the vocalist, saying that,
Blues dominates [the album]…[and] although her voice is delightful, the material is too simple to challenge her…Helen is a great deal more than a blues shouter.[15]
Some reviews in the Washington Post of her last performances, in Maryland (1978) and Washington DC (1980), described her as "beaming and genial at 65" (1978). The reviews gave insight on her versatile vocals, "her characteristically light voice [turning] rough as she belted out…'You Can Take My Man But You Can't Keep Him Long'." They also described Helen's use of back phrasing, reminiscent of Billie Holiday's signature style of phrasing a melody in an intimate, personal fashion.
Happy Birthday
Otis Redding *09.09.1941
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Otis Redding (* 9. September 1941 in Dawson, Georgia; † 10. Dezember 1967 bei Madison, Wisconsin) war ein US-amerikanischer Musiker, der mit 26 Jahren bei einem Flugzeugabsturz starb und posthum einer der einflussreichsten Soul-Sänger der 1960er-Jahre wurde.
Redding erhielt als Sohn eines schwarzen Baptistenpredigers in Dawson, Georgia, sehr früh ein Gefühl für Soulmusik. Bereits als Jugendlicher sang er in einem Kirchenchor. Im Alter von 15 Jahren besuchte er die High School in Macon, Georgia, dem Geburtsort von Little Richard, den er ebenso bewunderte wie Sam Cooke und aus deren beiden Stilen er seinen Gesang formte. Mit Little Richards Song Heeby-Jeebies gewann er mehrere Wochen hintereinander einen örtlichen Talentwettbewerb.[1] Nach Abbruch der Studien schloss er sich Little Richards damaliger Band an, den Upsetters.
Karriere
Ab 1960 arbeitete er mit Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers zusammen und nahm mit der Band im Juli desselben Jahres unter dem Namen Otis and the Shooters seine erste Platte auf (She’s all right). Gerade bei diesen frühen Aufnahmen (so auch bei Shout Bamalama, ebenfalls aus dem Jahre 1960) ist noch stark die Anlehnung an Little Richard zu erkennen.
Der Durchbruch zu seiner eigenen Solokarriere kam aber erst im Jahre 1962. Im Oktober 1962 nutzte Otis Redding seine Chance, als er am Ende eines erfolglosen Aufnahmetages von Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers die Möglichkeit bekam, in der verbleibenden Zeit eine eigene Platte aufzunehmen. Das selbst komponierte Lied These Arms of Mine wurde in Windeseile aufgenommen und entwickelte sich nach der Veröffentlichung im November 1962 zu seinem ersten kleinen Hit (Platz 20 in den US-R&B-Charts, Platz 85 in den US-Pop-Charts).
Diese Aufnahme war bei Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, entstanden, das zu einem der wichtigsten Soul-Labels der Sechziger und Siebziger Jahre werden sollte. Bis zu seinem frühen Tod war Otis einer der wichtigsten Künstler der Firma und nach Meinung aller damals Beteiligter musikalisches Herz und Inspiration für alle anderen Beteiligten. Er wurde damit zu einer maßgeblichen Figur des Memphis Soul.
Nach weiteren Single-Veröffentlichungen mit mittleren Platzierungen in den R&B/Soul-Charts in den Jahren 1963 und 1964 konnte er mit Mr. Pitiful Anfang 1965 seinen ersten Top-10-Hit in den R&B-/Soulcharts landen. Es folgten bis 1967 etliche weitere Top-10- und Top-20-Hits in diesen Charts:
That’s how strong my love is (1965), B-Seite von Mr. Pitiful. Das Stück wurde unter anderem von den Rolling Stones gecovert.
I’ve been loving you too long (1965)
Respect (1965), später ein Nr.-1-Hit für Aretha Franklin
I can’t turn you loose/Just one more day (1965), Doppelsingle-Erfolg
Satisfaction (1966), seine eigenwillige Version des Rolling-Stones-Klassikers
My lover’s prayer (1966)
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) (1966)
Try a little tenderness (1966)
Tramp (1967), Duett mit Carla Thomas
Knock on wood (1967), Duett mit Carla Thomas
Shake (1967), Liveversion, Studioversion von 1965
The glory of love (1967)
Otis Redding war insbesondere für seine Live-Auftritte bekannt. So wurde ein Live-Mitschnitt seines Auftritts im New Yorker Apollo Theater besonders durch Shake und Satisfaction ein LP-Erfolg.
Redding schrieb viele seiner Lieder selbst, manche in Zusammenarbeit mit Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s). Auf einer Europa-Tournee des Stax Labels erlebte er es 1967 das erste Mal, wie ihm weiße Fans in Massen zujubelten. Im selben Jahr trat er auf dem bekannten Monterey Pop Festival auf, das ihm einen großen Popularitätsschub beim weißen Publikum einbrachte. Das Festival war das erste große Festival der Flower-Power-Bewegung; die Auftritte wurden zwar nicht bezahlt, jedoch bot das gemeinsame Auftreten mit vielen Größen der damaligen Musik eine gewisse Chance der Publizität. Andere, die hier ihre ersten großen Konzertauftritte hatten, waren Jimi Hendrix oder Janis Joplin. Redding brachte das Publikum nach damaligen Augenzeugenberichten bis an den Rand der Ekstase.
Redding brachte für Arthur Conley den Durchbruch, als er mit ihm zusammen den ursprünglich von Sam Cooke stammenden Titel Yeah Man in Sweet Soul Music umschrieb. Es wurde ein absoluter Hit, der bis auf die Nummer zwei in den US-Charts aufstieg und die Top Ten mehrerer europäischer Länder erreichte. Sweet Soul Music wurde allein in den USA über eine Million Mal verkauft und mit einer Goldenen Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.
Tod
Otis Redding starb am 10. Dezember 1967, als er zusammen mit vier Mitgliedern seiner damaligen Begleitband The Bar Kays verunglückte. Sein zweimotoriges Flugzeug vom Typ Beechcraft Model 18 war auf dem Weg von einem Fernsehauftritt in Cleveland, Ohio zu einem Konzert in Madison (Wisconsin), als es bei Nebel, Regen und schlechter Sicht, einige Meilen vor der Landung auf dem Flughafen Madison-Dane County, in den eisigen Monona-See abstürzte, wobei nur das Bandmitglied Ben Cauley überlebte. Zu Reddings Beerdigung kamen 4500 Menschen. [2]
Posthumer Erfolg
Während seines kurzen Lebens war es ihm nicht vergönnt, einen sogenannten Crossover-Hit zu landen, einen Hit also, der nicht nur in die Top 20 der Soulcharts gelangte, sondern auch die Popcharts erobern konnte. Lediglich vier seiner zu Lebzeiten veröffentlichten Singles erreichten zumindest Top-30-Platzierungen in den Pop-Charts. Seine erst am 7. Dezember 1967 aufgenommene Single (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay wurde posthum veröffentlicht und Anfang 1968 zu seinem einzigen Nr.-1-Hit in den R&B-Charts, der gleichzeitig auch die Pop-Charts anführte.[3] Die Single war für sein damaliges Werk recht poppig und hatte weniger Soul-Anklänge. Er hatte den Song während seines Sommerurlaubs in der San Francisco Bay geschrieben. Direkt vor der Aufnahme hatte sich Redding die Polypen entfernen lassen; alle an den Aufnahmen Beteiligten sagten, dass er gesanglich in der Form seines Lebens gewesen sei. Für das Werk erhielt er 1969 posthum einen Grammy Award. Am 11. März 1968 wurde die Single für die Verkaufszahlen in den USA mit einer Goldenen Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.[4]
Nach seinem Tod wurden zahlreiche weitere Singles und Langspielplatten bis 1970 mit bisher unveröffentlichten Liedern auf den Markt gebracht, die ihm weitere Top-10- und Top-20-Platzierungen in den R&B-Charts brachten. Viele davon waren in der Session direkt vor seinem tragischen Unfall aufgenommen worden.
The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) (1968)
Amen (1968)
I’ve got dreams to Remember (1968)
Papa’s got a brand new bag (1968), Live-Aufnahme des James-Brown-Hits von 1966
Love Man (1969)
The Great Man Thomas B (posthum 2008)
Reddings Werk umfasst acht Langspielplatten, darunter das vielgerühmte Album Otis Blue aus dem Jahre 1965. Otis Redding gründete 1965 sein eigenes Platten-Label, Jotis, um neuen Künstlern eine Chance zu geben (unter anderem John Whitehead).
1969 veröffentlichten The Doors auf ihrem Album The Soft Parade das Lied Runnin* Blue (geschrieben von Robby Krieger), das vom Tod Reddings handelt (Poor Otis dead and gone / left me here to sing his song). Seine Söhne Dexter Redding (Bass, Vocals) und Otis II Redding (Gitarre) gründeten in den späten 1970er Jahren zusammen mit ihrem Cousin Mark Locket (Schlagzeug und Keyboards) die Gruppe The Reddings, eine Funk- und Disco-Band. Im Jahr 2011 produzierten die beiden Rapper Jay-Z und Kanye West den Song Otis für ihr gemeinsames Album Watch the Throne. Das Lied beinhaltet ein Sample von Reddings Try A Little Tenderness.
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 the history of American popular music and a seminal 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 the US state of Georgia, Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and also performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern states as a 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 Redding's debut album Pain in My Heart two years later.
Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached a wider American popular music audience. Along with his group, he first played small gigs in the American South, then performed in the western states at the popular Los Angeles night club Whisky a Go Go. European appearances included London, Paris and other major cities.
After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Redding wrote and recorded his 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's premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire song catalog.
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 songs.
Early life
Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia to gospel singer Otis Redding, Sr., and his wife Fannie Redding. Redding senior worked as a sharecropper, then at Robins Air Force Base, besides being a part-time preacher. When Otis 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, in west Macon. That house was lost in a fire and the family returned to Tindall.[3] At an early age, Redding 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.[4][5] 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."[6][7]
At age 15, Redding left formal schooling in order to work and help financially support his family because his father had contracted tuberculosis and so was hospitalized, leaving his mother as the family's primary income earner.[3] Otis later worked as a well digger, a filling (gas) station attendant and guest musician in the ensuing years. Pianist Gladdy Williams, a well-known Macon musician and another who inspired Redding, often performed at Hillview Springs Social Club, where Redding sometimes played piano with her music groups.[8] When Williams hosted Sunday talent shows, Redding accompanied his friends from the neighborhood, like Little Willie Jones and bassist Eddie Ross.[9]
Around the time when his tonsils were removed, Redding doubted he would ever be able to sing, but his father encouraged him.[8] Redding's breakthrough came in 1958 on disc jockey Hamp Swain's "The Teenage Party," a talent contest at the local Roxy and Douglass Theatres.[10][5] As Otis's backing band was not professional, pro guitarist and event attendee Johnny Jenkins offered musical accompaniment. Redding sang Little Richard's "Heebie Jeebies." The combination enabled Redding to win Swain's talent contest for fifteen consecutive weeks; the cash prize was $5.[11] Jenkins later worked as lead guitarist and played with Redding during several later gigs.[12] Redding was soon invited to replace Willie Jones as frontman of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, featuring Johnny Jenkins.[9] Otis was then hired by the Upsetters when Little Richard abandoned rock and roll in favor of gospel music. Redding was well paid at about $25 per gig,[3][4] but did not stay for long.[13]
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.[14] In mid-1960, Otis moved to Los Angeles with his sister, Deborah, where he wrote his first songs including "She's Allright," "Tuff Enuff," "Gamma Lamma," and the song "Gettin' Hip," Redding's first composition released as a 45 RPM single recording.[4]
Career
Early career
A member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, Redding toured the Southern United States on the Chitlin' circuit. These venues were the only ones available for African American musicians during the era of racial segregation that lasted into the early 1960s.[15] Jenkins left the band to become the featured artist with the Pinetoppers.[16] Around this time, Redding met Phil Walden, the future founder of the recording company Phil Walden and Associates, and later Bobby Smith, who ran the small label Confederate Records. He signed with Confederate and recorded his second single, "Shout Bamalama" (a rewrite of "Gamma Lamma") and "Fat Girl", together with his band Otis and the Shooters.[4][17] Around this time he and the Pinetoppers attended a "Battle of the Bands" show in Lakeside Park.[18] Wayne Cochran, the only solo artist signed to Confederate, became the Pinetoppers' bassist.[16]
When Walden started to look for a record label for Jenkins, Atlantic Records representative Joe Galkin showed interest and around 1962 sent him to a Stax studio in Memphis. Redding drove Jenkins to the session, as the latter did not have a driver's license.[19] Jenkins, backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, performed on that session which ended early; Redding was allowed to perform two songs. The first was "Hey Hey Baby", which studio chief Jim Stewart thought sounded too much like Little Richard. The second was "These Arms of Mine", featuring Jenkins on piano and Steve Cropper on guitar. Stewart later praised Redding's performance noting, "Everybody was fixin' to go home, but Joe Galkin insisted we give Otis a listen. There was something different about [the ballad]. He really poured his soul into it."[14][20] Stewart signed Redding and released "These Arms of Mine", with "Hey Hey Baby" on the B-side. The single was released on Volt on October 1962, but charted in March the following year.[21] It became one of his most successful songs, selling more than 800,000 copies.[22]
Apollo Theater and Otis Blue
"These Arms of Mine" and other songs from the 1962–1963 sessions were included on Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart. "That's What My Heart Needs" and "Mary's Little Lamb" were recorded in June 1963. The latter is the only Redding track with both background singing and brass. It became his worst-selling single.[21][23] The title track, recorded in September 1963, sparked copyright issues, as it sounded like Irma Thomas' "Ruler of My Heart".[21] Despite this, Pain in My Heart was released on January 1, 1964 and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 85 on the R&B chart.
In November 1963, Redding and his brother Rodgers accompanied former boxer Sylvester Huckaby to the Apollo Theater in New York to perform. Redding and his band were paid $400 per week, but had to pay $450 to King Curtis' band for the arrangement sheets, leaving them in financial difficulty. The trio asked Walden for money. Huckaby explained their circumstances living in the rundown Theresa Hotel in Peter Guralnick's book, Sweet Soul Music. He noted meeting Muhammad Ali and other celebrities. Ben E. King, who performed with Redding at the Apollo, gave him $100 when he learned about Redding's situation. The resulting album featured King, the Coasters, Doris Troy, Rufus Thomas, the Falcons and Redding.[24] Around this time Walden and Rodgers were drafted by the army; Walden's younger brother Alan joined Redding on tour, while Earl "Speedo" Sims replaced Rodgers.[25]
The majority of Redding songs after "Security", a song from his first album, had a slow tempo. Disc jockey A. C. Moohah Williams accordingly labeled him "Mr. Pitiful",[26] and subsequently Cropper and Redding wrote the eponymous song.[14] That and top 100 singles "Chained And Bound", "Come To Me" and "That's How Strong My Love Is"[27] were included on Redding's second studio album, The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, released in March 1965.[28] Jenkins began working independently from the group out of fear Galkin, Walden and Cropper would plagiarize his playing style, and so Cropper became Redding's leading guitarist.[29] Around 1965, Redding co-wrote "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with the Impressions lead singer Jerry Butler. That summer, Redding and the studio crew arranged new songs for his next album. Ten of the eleven songs were written over 24 hours during July 9–10 in Memphis. Two songs, "Ole Man Trouble" and "Respect", had been finished earlier during the Otis Blue session. "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You" were later recut in stereo. The album, entitled Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, was released in September 1965.[30]
Whisky a Go Go and "Try a Little Tenderness"
Redding's success allowed him to buy a 300-acre (1.2 km2) ranch in Georgia, which he called the "Big O Ranch."[33] Stax was also doing well. Walden signed more musicians, including Percy Sledge, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and Eddie Floyd, and together with Redding they founded two production companies. "Jotis Records" (derived from Joe Galkin and Otis) released four recordings, two by Arthur Conley and one by Billy Young and Loretta Williams. The other was named Redwal Music (derived from Redding and Walden), which was shut down shortly after its creation.[34] Since Afro-Americans still formed the majority of fans, Redding chose to perform at Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Redding was one of the first soul artists to perform in the western United States. His performance received critical acclaim, including positive press in the Los Angeles Times and he penetrated mainstream popular culture. Bob Dylan attended the performance and offered Redding an altered version of one of his songs, "Just Like a Woman".[14]
In late 1966, Redding returned to the Stax studio. At this session he recorded tracks including "Try a Little Tenderness", originally written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Harry M. Woods in 1932.[31] This song had previously been covered by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and the publishers unsuccessfully tried to stop Redding from recording the song from a "negro perspective'. Today often considered his signature song,[35] Jim Stewart reckoned, "If there's one song, one performance that really sort of sums up Otis and what he's about, it's 'Try a Little Tenderness'. That one performance is so special and so unique that it expresses who he is." On this version Redding was backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, while staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement.[36][37] "Try a Little Tenderness" was included on his next album, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul. The song and the album were critically and commercially successful—the former peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 4 on the R&B chart.[38]
The spring of 1966 marked the first time that Stax booked concerts for its artists.[39] The majority of the group arrived in London on March 13,[37][40] but Redding had flown in days earlier for interviews, such as at the "The Eamonn Andrews Show". When the crew arrived in London, the Beatles sent a limousine to pick them up.[39] Booking agent Bill Graham proposed that Redding play at the Fillmore Auditorium in late 1966. The gig was commercially and critically successful, paying Redding around $800 to $1000 a night.[41][37] It prompted Graham to remark afterwards, "That was the best gig I ever put on in my entire life."[42] Redding began touring Europe six months later.[43]
Carla Thomas
A year after the Fillmore, Redding released the gold record-winning album King & Queen, with Carla Thomas. It was Jim Stewart's idea to produce a duet album, as he expected that "[Redding's] rawness and [Thomas'] sophistication would work".[44] The album was recorded in January 1967, while Thomas was earning her M.A. in English at Howard University. Six out of ten songs were cut during their joint session; the rest were overdubbed by Redding in the days following, due to concert obligations. Three singles were lifted from the album: "Tramp" was released in April, followed by "Knock on Wood" and "Lovey Dovey". All three reached at least the top 60 on both the R&B and Pop charts.[44] The album charted at number 5 and 36 on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts, respectively.[27]
Redding returned to Europe to perform at the Paris Olympia. The live album Otis Redding: Live in Europe was released three months later, featuring this and other live performances in London and Stockholm, Sweden.[33] Redding was criticized for his arrogant and contrived performances in these concerts.[citation needed] His decision to take his protege Conley (whom Redding and Walden had contracted directly to Atco/Atlantic Records rather than to Stax/Volt) on the tour, instead of more established Stax/Volt artists such as Rufus Thomas and William Bell, produced negative reactions.[37][45]
Monterey Pop
In 1967, Redding performed at the influential Monterey Pop Festival as the closing act on Saturday night, the second day of the festival. He was invited through the efforts of promoter Jerry Wexler.[46] Until that point, Redding was still performing mainly for black audiences.[47] His act, which included his own song "Respect" and a version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction",[48] was well received by the audience. Redding and his backing band (Booker T. & the M.G.'s with the Mar-Keys horn section) opened with Cooke's "Shake" before he delivered an impulsive speech in which he asked the audience if they were the "love crowd", looking for a big response. The ballad "I've Been Loving You" followed. The last song was "Try a Little Tenderness", including an additional chorus. "I got to go, y'all, I don't wanna go", said Redding and left the stage of his last major concert.[35] According to Booker T. Jones, "I think we did one of our best shows, Otis and the MG's. That we were included in that was also something of a phenomenon. That we were there? With those people? They were accepting us and that was one of the things that really moved Otis. He was happy to be included and it brought him a new audience. It was greatly expanded in Monterey."[49] According to Sweet Soul Music, musicians such as Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix were captivated by his performance; Robert Christgau wrote in Esquire, "The Love Crowd screamed one's mind to the heavens."[50]
After Monterey, Redding wanted to record with Conley, but Stax was against the idea. The two moved from Memphis to Macon to continue writing. The result was "Sweet Soul Music", based on Cooke's "Yeah Man".[34] It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[51][52] By that time Redding had developed polyps on his larynx, which he tried to treat with tea and lemon or honey. He was hospitalized in September 1967 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to undergo surgery.[53]
Dock of the Bay
In early December 1967, Redding again recorded at Stax. One new song was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", which was written with Cropper while they were staying with their friend, Earl "Speedo" Sims, on a houseboat in Sausalito.[54] Redding was inspired by the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and tried to create a similar sound against the label's wishes. His wife Zelma disliked its atypical melody. The Stax crew were also dissatisfied with the new sound; Stewart thought that it was not R&B, while bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn feared it would damage Stax's reputation. However, Redding wanted to expand his musical style and thought it was his best song and correctly believed it would top the charts.[55] Redding whistled at the end, either forgetting Cropper's "fadeout rap",[56] or paraphrasing it intentionally.[57]
Death
By 1967 the band was traveling to performances in Redding's 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 club called Leo's Casino.[51][58][59] After a phone call with Zelma and their children, Redding's next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub, near the University of Wisconsin.[58][60]
Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, the plane took off.[61] Four miles (6.4 km) 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 accident's sole survivor,[51] 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.[53] A non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others.[62] The cause of the crash was never determined.[63] James Brown claimed in his autobiography The Godfather of Soul that he had warned Redding not to fly in the plane.[64]
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."[65] Other victims were pilot Richard Fraser,[66] drummer Matthew Kelly, lead guitarist of the Bar-Kays Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell and drummer Carl Cunningham.[67]
Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched.[68] The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to 18 so that more could attend.[65] 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 attend, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Redding's.[69] Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon.[70] Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy.[71] Redding died just three days after recording The Dock of the Bay.[72][51] He was survived by Zelma and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla.[73] Otis, Dexter and cousin Mark Lockett later founded The Reddings, a band managed by Zelma.[74] She also maintained or worked at the janitorial service Maids Over Macon, several nightclubs and booking agencies.[75] On November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.[76]
Posthumous releases and proposed recordings
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released in January 1968 and became Redding's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first posthumous number-one single in US chart history.[77] It sold approximately four million copies worldwide and received more than eight million airplays.[78][79] The album The Dock of the Bay was the first posthumous album to reach the top spot on the UK Albums Chart.[80]
Shortly after Redding's death, Atlantic Records, distributor of the Stax/Volt releases, was purchased by Warner Bros. Stax was required to renegotiate its distribution deal and was surprised to learn that Atlantic actually owned the entire Stax/Volt catalog. Stax was unable to regain the rights to its recordings and severed its Atlantic relationship. Atlantic also held the rights to all unreleased Otis Redding masters.[81] It had enough material for three studio albums—The Immortal Otis Redding (1968), Love Man (1969), and Tell the Truth (1970)—all issued on its Atco Records.[81] A number of successful singles emerged from these LPs, among them "Amen" (1968), "Hard to Handle" (1968), "I've Got Dreams to Remember" (1968), "Love Man" (1969), and "Look at That Girl" (1969).[81] Singles were also lifted from two live Atlantic-issued Redding albums, In Person at the Whisky a Go Go, recorded in 1966 and issued in 1968 on Atco, and Monterey International Pop Festival, a Reprise Records release featuring some of the live Monterey Pop Festival performances of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on side one and Redding's performance on side two.
In September 2007, the first official DVD anthology of Redding's live performances was released by Concord Music Group, then owners of the Stax catalog. Dreams To Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding featured 16 full-length performances and 40 minutes of new interviews documenting his life and career.[82] On May 18, 2010, Stax Records released a two-disc recording of three complete sets from his Whisky a Go Go date in April 1966.[83]
Carla Thomas claimed that the pair had planned to record another duet album in December the same year, but Phil Walden denied this. Redding had proposed to record an album featuring cut and rearranged songs in different tempos; for example, ballads would be uptempo and vice versa.[44] Another suggestion was to record an album entirely consisting of country standards.[84]
Personal life and wealth
Redding, who was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg), was an athletic family man who loved football and hunting.[85][86] He was described as vigorous, trustworthy,[87] full of fun[73] and a successful businessman. According to several people, Redding's personality never fully matured either on stage or in public life. His brother Rodgers thought he was "confused", while Alan Walden described him as "naive". He was active in philanthropic projects. His keen interest in black youth led to plans for a summer camp for disadvantaged children.[88]
Redding's music made him wealthy. According to several advertisements, he had around 200 suits and 400 pairs of shoes, and he earned about $35,000 per week for his concerts.[89] He spent about $125,000 in the "Big O Ranch". As the owner of Otis Redding Enterprises, his performances, music publishing ventures and royalties from record sales earned him more than a million dollars in 1967 alone.[65] That year, one columnist said, "he sold more records than Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin combined."[90] After the release of Otis Blue, Redding became a "catalogue" artist, meaning his albums were not immediate blockbusters, but rather sold steadily over time.[34]
Musicianship
Style
Early on Redding copied the rock and soul style of his role model Little Richard. He was also influenced by soul musicians such as Sam Cooke, whose live album Sam Cooke at the Copa was a strong influence,[87] but later explored other popular genres. He studied the recordings of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. His song "Hard to Handle" has elements of rock and roll and influences of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.[91] Most of his songs were categorized as Southern soul[92] and Memphis soul.[93]
His hallmark was his raw voice and ability to convey strong emotion. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic noted his "hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads."[94] In the book Rock and Roll: An Introduction, authors Michael Campbell and James Brody suggested that "Redding's singing calls to mind a fervent black preacher. Especially in up-tempo numbers, his singing is more than impassioned speech but less than singing with precise pitch."[95] According to the book, "Redding finds a rough midpoint between impassioned oratory and conventional singing. His delivery overflows with emotion" in his song "I Can't Turn You Loose".[95] Booker T. Jones described Otis' singing as energetic and emotional, but said that his vocal range was limited, reaching neither low nor high notes.[96] Peter Buckley of The Rough Guide To Rock describes his "gruff voice, which combined Sam Cooke's phrasing with a brawnier delivery" and later suggested he "could testify like a hell-bent preacher, croon like a tender lover or get down and dirty with a bluesy yawp".[97]
Redding received advice from Rufus Thomas about his clumsy stage appearance. Jerry Wexler said Redding "didn't know how to move", and stood still, moving only his upper body, although he acknowledged that Redding was well received by audiences for his strong message.[98] Guralnick described Redding's painful vulnerability in Sweet Soul Music, as an attractive one for the audience, but not for his friends and partners. His early shyness was well known.[99]
Songwriting
In his early career Redding mostly covered songs from popular artists, such as Richard, Cooke and Solomon Burke. Around the mid-1960s he began writing his own songs—always taking along his cheap, red acoustic guitar—and sometimes asked for Stax members' opinion of his lyrics. He often worked on lyrics with other musicians, such as Sims, Rodgers, Huckaby, Phil Walden and Cropper. During his recovery from his throat operation, Redding wrote about 30 songs in two weeks.[85] Redding was the sole copyright holder on all of his songs.[100]
In "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" he abandoned familiar romantic themes for "sad, wistful introspections, amplified by unforgettable descending guitar riffs by Cropper".[101] The official website of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, noted that the song "was a kind of brooding, dark voicing of despair, ('I've got nothin' to live for/Look like nothin' gonna come my way')" although "his music, in general, was exultant and joyful". According to journalist Ruth Robinson, author of the liner notes for the 1993 box-set, "It is currently a revisionist theory to equate soul with the darker side of man's musical expression, blues. That fanner of the flame of 'Trouble's got a hold on me' music, might well be the father of the form if it is, the glorified exaltation found in church on any Sunday morning is its mother." And further on the site declares that "glorified exaltation indeed was an apt description of Otis Redding's songwriting and singing style."[102] Booker T. Jones compared Redding with Leonard Bernstein stating, "He was the same type person. He was a leader. He'd just lead with his arms and his body and his fingers."[99]
Otis Redding favored short and simple lyrics; when asked whether he intended to cover Dylan's "Just Like a Woman", he responded that the lyrics contained "too much text".[87] Furthermore, he stated in an interview:
Basically, I like any music that remains simple and I feel this is the formula that makes 'soul music' successful. When any music form becomes cluttered and/or complicated you lose the average listener's ear. There is nothing more beautiful than a simple blues tune. There is beauty in simplicity whether you are talking about architecture, art or music.[88]
Redding also authored his (sometimes difficult) recordings' horn arrangements, humming to show the players what he had in mind. The recording of "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" reflects his habit of humming with the horn section.[103]
Legacy
Otis Redding has been called the "King of Soul",[104] an honorific also given to Brown[105] and Cooke.[106][107][108] He remains one of the genre's most recognized artists. His lean and powerful style exemplified the Stax Sound,[97][109][110] and gave Stax a new identity; he was said to be its "heart and soul",[111] while artists such as Al Jackson, Dunn and Cropper helped to expand its structure.[110] His open-throated singing,[109] the tremolo/vibrato, the manic, electrifying stage performances[112] and perceived honesty were particular hallmarks, along with the use of interjections, for example "gotta, gotta, gotta", some of which came from Cooke.[87][111] Producer Stewart thought the "begging singing" was stress-induced and enhanced by Redding's extreme, early shyness.[99]
Artists from many genres named Redding as a musical influence. George Harrison called "Respect" an important influence for "Drive My Car".[113] The Rolling Stones also mentioned Redding as an important influence.[114][115] Other artists include Led Zeppelin,[116][117] Grateful Dead,[118] Lynyrd Skynyrd,[119] the Doors;[118] and virtually every soul/R&B musicians from the early years, such as Al Green, Etta James,[33] William Bell,[118] Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Conley.[120] Musicians have covered or mixed his songs, most recently Kanye West and Jay-Z with their Grammy Award-winning song "Otis".[19][33] According to band colleague Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin was influenced by his singing style. She stated that she learned "to push a song instead of just sliding over it" after hearing Redding.[121]
Awards and honors
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1989, declaring Redding's name to be "synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying."[122] Readers of the British music newspaper Melody Maker voted him as the top vocalist of 1967, superseding Elvis Presley, who had topped the list for the prior 10 years.[78][120][123] In 1988, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.[79] Five years later, the United States Post Office issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp in his honor.[124] Redding was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994,[102] and in 1999 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[125] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed three Redding recordings, "Shake", "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", and "Try a Little Tenderness," among its list of "The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."[126] American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Redding at number 21 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time"[127] and eighth on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".[96] Q ranked Redding fourth among "100 Greatest Singers", after only Frank Sinatra, Franklin and Presley.[128]
Five of his albums, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology, The Dock of the Bay, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul and Live in Europe, were ranked by Rolling Stone on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The first album was singled out for praise by music critics; apart from the Rolling Stone listing at number 74, NME ranked it 35 on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time".[129] Music critic Robert Christgau said that Otis Blue was "the first great album by one of soul's few reliable long-form artists",[130] and that Redding's "original LPs were among the most intelligently conceived black albums of the '60s".[131]
In 2002, the city of Macon honored its native son by unveiling a memorial statue (32°50′19.05″N 83°37′17.30″W) in the city's Gateway Park. The park is next to the Otis Redding Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Ocmulgee River The Otis Redding Memorial Library is also housed in the city.[132] The Rhythm and Blues Foundation named Redding as the recipient of its 2006 Pioneer Award.[133] Billboard awarded Redding the "Otis Redding Excellence Award" the same year.[33] A year later he was inducted into the Hollywood's Rockwalk in California.[79] In Cleveland, Ohio also the city were Redding did his last show at Leo's Casino. On August 17, 2013 Otis Redding was inducted into the inaugural class of The Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State Univ.
Redding erhielt als Sohn eines schwarzen Baptistenpredigers in Dawson, Georgia, sehr früh ein Gefühl für Soulmusik. Bereits als Jugendlicher sang er in einem Kirchenchor. Im Alter von 15 Jahren besuchte er die High School in Macon, Georgia, dem Geburtsort von Little Richard, den er ebenso bewunderte wie Sam Cooke und aus deren beiden Stilen er seinen Gesang formte. Mit Little Richards Song Heeby-Jeebies gewann er mehrere Wochen hintereinander einen örtlichen Talentwettbewerb.[1] Nach Abbruch der Studien schloss er sich Little Richards damaliger Band an, den Upsetters.
Karriere
Ab 1960 arbeitete er mit Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers zusammen und nahm mit der Band im Juli desselben Jahres unter dem Namen Otis and the Shooters seine erste Platte auf (She’s all right). Gerade bei diesen frühen Aufnahmen (so auch bei Shout Bamalama, ebenfalls aus dem Jahre 1960) ist noch stark die Anlehnung an Little Richard zu erkennen.
Der Durchbruch zu seiner eigenen Solokarriere kam aber erst im Jahre 1962. Im Oktober 1962 nutzte Otis Redding seine Chance, als er am Ende eines erfolglosen Aufnahmetages von Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers die Möglichkeit bekam, in der verbleibenden Zeit eine eigene Platte aufzunehmen. Das selbst komponierte Lied These Arms of Mine wurde in Windeseile aufgenommen und entwickelte sich nach der Veröffentlichung im November 1962 zu seinem ersten kleinen Hit (Platz 20 in den US-R&B-Charts, Platz 85 in den US-Pop-Charts).
Diese Aufnahme war bei Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, entstanden, das zu einem der wichtigsten Soul-Labels der Sechziger und Siebziger Jahre werden sollte. Bis zu seinem frühen Tod war Otis einer der wichtigsten Künstler der Firma und nach Meinung aller damals Beteiligter musikalisches Herz und Inspiration für alle anderen Beteiligten. Er wurde damit zu einer maßgeblichen Figur des Memphis Soul.
Nach weiteren Single-Veröffentlichungen mit mittleren Platzierungen in den R&B/Soul-Charts in den Jahren 1963 und 1964 konnte er mit Mr. Pitiful Anfang 1965 seinen ersten Top-10-Hit in den R&B-/Soulcharts landen. Es folgten bis 1967 etliche weitere Top-10- und Top-20-Hits in diesen Charts:
That’s how strong my love is (1965), B-Seite von Mr. Pitiful. Das Stück wurde unter anderem von den Rolling Stones gecovert.
I’ve been loving you too long (1965)
Respect (1965), später ein Nr.-1-Hit für Aretha Franklin
I can’t turn you loose/Just one more day (1965), Doppelsingle-Erfolg
Satisfaction (1966), seine eigenwillige Version des Rolling-Stones-Klassikers
My lover’s prayer (1966)
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) (1966)
Try a little tenderness (1966)
Tramp (1967), Duett mit Carla Thomas
Knock on wood (1967), Duett mit Carla Thomas
Shake (1967), Liveversion, Studioversion von 1965
The glory of love (1967)
Otis Redding war insbesondere für seine Live-Auftritte bekannt. So wurde ein Live-Mitschnitt seines Auftritts im New Yorker Apollo Theater besonders durch Shake und Satisfaction ein LP-Erfolg.
Redding schrieb viele seiner Lieder selbst, manche in Zusammenarbeit mit Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s). Auf einer Europa-Tournee des Stax Labels erlebte er es 1967 das erste Mal, wie ihm weiße Fans in Massen zujubelten. Im selben Jahr trat er auf dem bekannten Monterey Pop Festival auf, das ihm einen großen Popularitätsschub beim weißen Publikum einbrachte. Das Festival war das erste große Festival der Flower-Power-Bewegung; die Auftritte wurden zwar nicht bezahlt, jedoch bot das gemeinsame Auftreten mit vielen Größen der damaligen Musik eine gewisse Chance der Publizität. Andere, die hier ihre ersten großen Konzertauftritte hatten, waren Jimi Hendrix oder Janis Joplin. Redding brachte das Publikum nach damaligen Augenzeugenberichten bis an den Rand der Ekstase.
Redding brachte für Arthur Conley den Durchbruch, als er mit ihm zusammen den ursprünglich von Sam Cooke stammenden Titel Yeah Man in Sweet Soul Music umschrieb. Es wurde ein absoluter Hit, der bis auf die Nummer zwei in den US-Charts aufstieg und die Top Ten mehrerer europäischer Länder erreichte. Sweet Soul Music wurde allein in den USA über eine Million Mal verkauft und mit einer Goldenen Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.
Tod
Otis Redding starb am 10. Dezember 1967, als er zusammen mit vier Mitgliedern seiner damaligen Begleitband The Bar Kays verunglückte. Sein zweimotoriges Flugzeug vom Typ Beechcraft Model 18 war auf dem Weg von einem Fernsehauftritt in Cleveland, Ohio zu einem Konzert in Madison (Wisconsin), als es bei Nebel, Regen und schlechter Sicht, einige Meilen vor der Landung auf dem Flughafen Madison-Dane County, in den eisigen Monona-See abstürzte, wobei nur das Bandmitglied Ben Cauley überlebte. Zu Reddings Beerdigung kamen 4500 Menschen. [2]
Posthumer Erfolg
Während seines kurzen Lebens war es ihm nicht vergönnt, einen sogenannten Crossover-Hit zu landen, einen Hit also, der nicht nur in die Top 20 der Soulcharts gelangte, sondern auch die Popcharts erobern konnte. Lediglich vier seiner zu Lebzeiten veröffentlichten Singles erreichten zumindest Top-30-Platzierungen in den Pop-Charts. Seine erst am 7. Dezember 1967 aufgenommene Single (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay wurde posthum veröffentlicht und Anfang 1968 zu seinem einzigen Nr.-1-Hit in den R&B-Charts, der gleichzeitig auch die Pop-Charts anführte.[3] Die Single war für sein damaliges Werk recht poppig und hatte weniger Soul-Anklänge. Er hatte den Song während seines Sommerurlaubs in der San Francisco Bay geschrieben. Direkt vor der Aufnahme hatte sich Redding die Polypen entfernen lassen; alle an den Aufnahmen Beteiligten sagten, dass er gesanglich in der Form seines Lebens gewesen sei. Für das Werk erhielt er 1969 posthum einen Grammy Award. Am 11. März 1968 wurde die Single für die Verkaufszahlen in den USA mit einer Goldenen Schallplatte ausgezeichnet.[4]
Nach seinem Tod wurden zahlreiche weitere Singles und Langspielplatten bis 1970 mit bisher unveröffentlichten Liedern auf den Markt gebracht, die ihm weitere Top-10- und Top-20-Platzierungen in den R&B-Charts brachten. Viele davon waren in der Session direkt vor seinem tragischen Unfall aufgenommen worden.
The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) (1968)
Amen (1968)
I’ve got dreams to Remember (1968)
Papa’s got a brand new bag (1968), Live-Aufnahme des James-Brown-Hits von 1966
Love Man (1969)
The Great Man Thomas B (posthum 2008)
Reddings Werk umfasst acht Langspielplatten, darunter das vielgerühmte Album Otis Blue aus dem Jahre 1965. Otis Redding gründete 1965 sein eigenes Platten-Label, Jotis, um neuen Künstlern eine Chance zu geben (unter anderem John Whitehead).
1969 veröffentlichten The Doors auf ihrem Album The Soft Parade das Lied Runnin* Blue (geschrieben von Robby Krieger), das vom Tod Reddings handelt (Poor Otis dead and gone / left me here to sing his song). Seine Söhne Dexter Redding (Bass, Vocals) und Otis II Redding (Gitarre) gründeten in den späten 1970er Jahren zusammen mit ihrem Cousin Mark Locket (Schlagzeug und Keyboards) die Gruppe The Reddings, eine Funk- und Disco-Band. Im Jahr 2011 produzierten die beiden Rapper Jay-Z und Kanye West den Song Otis für ihr gemeinsames Album Watch the Throne. Das Lied beinhaltet ein Sample von Reddings Try A Little Tenderness.
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 the history of American popular music and a seminal 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 the US state of Georgia, Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and also performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern states as a 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 Redding's debut album Pain in My Heart two years later.
Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached a wider American popular music audience. Along with his group, he first played small gigs in the American South, then performed in the western states at the popular Los Angeles night club Whisky a Go Go. European appearances included London, Paris and other major cities.
After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Redding wrote and recorded his 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's premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire song catalog.
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 songs.
Early life
Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia to gospel singer Otis Redding, Sr., and his wife Fannie Redding. Redding senior worked as a sharecropper, then at Robins Air Force Base, besides being a part-time preacher. When Otis 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, in west Macon. That house was lost in a fire and the family returned to Tindall.[3] At an early age, Redding 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.[4][5] 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."[6][7]
At age 15, Redding left formal schooling in order to work and help financially support his family because his father had contracted tuberculosis and so was hospitalized, leaving his mother as the family's primary income earner.[3] Otis later worked as a well digger, a filling (gas) station attendant and guest musician in the ensuing years. Pianist Gladdy Williams, a well-known Macon musician and another who inspired Redding, often performed at Hillview Springs Social Club, where Redding sometimes played piano with her music groups.[8] When Williams hosted Sunday talent shows, Redding accompanied his friends from the neighborhood, like Little Willie Jones and bassist Eddie Ross.[9]
Around the time when his tonsils were removed, Redding doubted he would ever be able to sing, but his father encouraged him.[8] Redding's breakthrough came in 1958 on disc jockey Hamp Swain's "The Teenage Party," a talent contest at the local Roxy and Douglass Theatres.[10][5] As Otis's backing band was not professional, pro guitarist and event attendee Johnny Jenkins offered musical accompaniment. Redding sang Little Richard's "Heebie Jeebies." The combination enabled Redding to win Swain's talent contest for fifteen consecutive weeks; the cash prize was $5.[11] Jenkins later worked as lead guitarist and played with Redding during several later gigs.[12] Redding was soon invited to replace Willie Jones as frontman of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, featuring Johnny Jenkins.[9] Otis was then hired by the Upsetters when Little Richard abandoned rock and roll in favor of gospel music. Redding was well paid at about $25 per gig,[3][4] but did not stay for long.[13]
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.[14] In mid-1960, Otis moved to Los Angeles with his sister, Deborah, where he wrote his first songs including "She's Allright," "Tuff Enuff," "Gamma Lamma," and the song "Gettin' Hip," Redding's first composition released as a 45 RPM single recording.[4]
Career
Early career
A member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, Redding toured the Southern United States on the Chitlin' circuit. These venues were the only ones available for African American musicians during the era of racial segregation that lasted into the early 1960s.[15] Jenkins left the band to become the featured artist with the Pinetoppers.[16] Around this time, Redding met Phil Walden, the future founder of the recording company Phil Walden and Associates, and later Bobby Smith, who ran the small label Confederate Records. He signed with Confederate and recorded his second single, "Shout Bamalama" (a rewrite of "Gamma Lamma") and "Fat Girl", together with his band Otis and the Shooters.[4][17] Around this time he and the Pinetoppers attended a "Battle of the Bands" show in Lakeside Park.[18] Wayne Cochran, the only solo artist signed to Confederate, became the Pinetoppers' bassist.[16]
When Walden started to look for a record label for Jenkins, Atlantic Records representative Joe Galkin showed interest and around 1962 sent him to a Stax studio in Memphis. Redding drove Jenkins to the session, as the latter did not have a driver's license.[19] Jenkins, backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, performed on that session which ended early; Redding was allowed to perform two songs. The first was "Hey Hey Baby", which studio chief Jim Stewart thought sounded too much like Little Richard. The second was "These Arms of Mine", featuring Jenkins on piano and Steve Cropper on guitar. Stewart later praised Redding's performance noting, "Everybody was fixin' to go home, but Joe Galkin insisted we give Otis a listen. There was something different about [the ballad]. He really poured his soul into it."[14][20] Stewart signed Redding and released "These Arms of Mine", with "Hey Hey Baby" on the B-side. The single was released on Volt on October 1962, but charted in March the following year.[21] It became one of his most successful songs, selling more than 800,000 copies.[22]
Apollo Theater and Otis Blue
"These Arms of Mine" and other songs from the 1962–1963 sessions were included on Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart. "That's What My Heart Needs" and "Mary's Little Lamb" were recorded in June 1963. The latter is the only Redding track with both background singing and brass. It became his worst-selling single.[21][23] The title track, recorded in September 1963, sparked copyright issues, as it sounded like Irma Thomas' "Ruler of My Heart".[21] Despite this, Pain in My Heart was released on January 1, 1964 and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 85 on the R&B chart.
In November 1963, Redding and his brother Rodgers accompanied former boxer Sylvester Huckaby to the Apollo Theater in New York to perform. Redding and his band were paid $400 per week, but had to pay $450 to King Curtis' band for the arrangement sheets, leaving them in financial difficulty. The trio asked Walden for money. Huckaby explained their circumstances living in the rundown Theresa Hotel in Peter Guralnick's book, Sweet Soul Music. He noted meeting Muhammad Ali and other celebrities. Ben E. King, who performed with Redding at the Apollo, gave him $100 when he learned about Redding's situation. The resulting album featured King, the Coasters, Doris Troy, Rufus Thomas, the Falcons and Redding.[24] Around this time Walden and Rodgers were drafted by the army; Walden's younger brother Alan joined Redding on tour, while Earl "Speedo" Sims replaced Rodgers.[25]
The majority of Redding songs after "Security", a song from his first album, had a slow tempo. Disc jockey A. C. Moohah Williams accordingly labeled him "Mr. Pitiful",[26] and subsequently Cropper and Redding wrote the eponymous song.[14] That and top 100 singles "Chained And Bound", "Come To Me" and "That's How Strong My Love Is"[27] were included on Redding's second studio album, The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, released in March 1965.[28] Jenkins began working independently from the group out of fear Galkin, Walden and Cropper would plagiarize his playing style, and so Cropper became Redding's leading guitarist.[29] Around 1965, Redding co-wrote "I've Been Loving You Too Long" with the Impressions lead singer Jerry Butler. That summer, Redding and the studio crew arranged new songs for his next album. Ten of the eleven songs were written over 24 hours during July 9–10 in Memphis. Two songs, "Ole Man Trouble" and "Respect", had been finished earlier during the Otis Blue session. "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You" were later recut in stereo. The album, entitled Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, was released in September 1965.[30]
Whisky a Go Go and "Try a Little Tenderness"
Redding's success allowed him to buy a 300-acre (1.2 km2) ranch in Georgia, which he called the "Big O Ranch."[33] Stax was also doing well. Walden signed more musicians, including Percy Sledge, Johnnie Taylor, Clarence Carter and Eddie Floyd, and together with Redding they founded two production companies. "Jotis Records" (derived from Joe Galkin and Otis) released four recordings, two by Arthur Conley and one by Billy Young and Loretta Williams. The other was named Redwal Music (derived from Redding and Walden), which was shut down shortly after its creation.[34] Since Afro-Americans still formed the majority of fans, Redding chose to perform at Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Redding was one of the first soul artists to perform in the western United States. His performance received critical acclaim, including positive press in the Los Angeles Times and he penetrated mainstream popular culture. Bob Dylan attended the performance and offered Redding an altered version of one of his songs, "Just Like a Woman".[14]
In late 1966, Redding returned to the Stax studio. At this session he recorded tracks including "Try a Little Tenderness", originally written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Harry M. Woods in 1932.[31] This song had previously been covered by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and the publishers unsuccessfully tried to stop Redding from recording the song from a "negro perspective'. Today often considered his signature song,[35] Jim Stewart reckoned, "If there's one song, one performance that really sort of sums up Otis and what he's about, it's 'Try a Little Tenderness'. That one performance is so special and so unique that it expresses who he is." On this version Redding was backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, while staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement.[36][37] "Try a Little Tenderness" was included on his next album, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul. The song and the album were critically and commercially successful—the former peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 4 on the R&B chart.[38]
The spring of 1966 marked the first time that Stax booked concerts for its artists.[39] The majority of the group arrived in London on March 13,[37][40] but Redding had flown in days earlier for interviews, such as at the "The Eamonn Andrews Show". When the crew arrived in London, the Beatles sent a limousine to pick them up.[39] Booking agent Bill Graham proposed that Redding play at the Fillmore Auditorium in late 1966. The gig was commercially and critically successful, paying Redding around $800 to $1000 a night.[41][37] It prompted Graham to remark afterwards, "That was the best gig I ever put on in my entire life."[42] Redding began touring Europe six months later.[43]
Carla Thomas
A year after the Fillmore, Redding released the gold record-winning album King & Queen, with Carla Thomas. It was Jim Stewart's idea to produce a duet album, as he expected that "[Redding's] rawness and [Thomas'] sophistication would work".[44] The album was recorded in January 1967, while Thomas was earning her M.A. in English at Howard University. Six out of ten songs were cut during their joint session; the rest were overdubbed by Redding in the days following, due to concert obligations. Three singles were lifted from the album: "Tramp" was released in April, followed by "Knock on Wood" and "Lovey Dovey". All three reached at least the top 60 on both the R&B and Pop charts.[44] The album charted at number 5 and 36 on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts, respectively.[27]
Redding returned to Europe to perform at the Paris Olympia. The live album Otis Redding: Live in Europe was released three months later, featuring this and other live performances in London and Stockholm, Sweden.[33] Redding was criticized for his arrogant and contrived performances in these concerts.[citation needed] His decision to take his protege Conley (whom Redding and Walden had contracted directly to Atco/Atlantic Records rather than to Stax/Volt) on the tour, instead of more established Stax/Volt artists such as Rufus Thomas and William Bell, produced negative reactions.[37][45]
Monterey Pop
In 1967, Redding performed at the influential Monterey Pop Festival as the closing act on Saturday night, the second day of the festival. He was invited through the efforts of promoter Jerry Wexler.[46] Until that point, Redding was still performing mainly for black audiences.[47] His act, which included his own song "Respect" and a version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction",[48] was well received by the audience. Redding and his backing band (Booker T. & the M.G.'s with the Mar-Keys horn section) opened with Cooke's "Shake" before he delivered an impulsive speech in which he asked the audience if they were the "love crowd", looking for a big response. The ballad "I've Been Loving You" followed. The last song was "Try a Little Tenderness", including an additional chorus. "I got to go, y'all, I don't wanna go", said Redding and left the stage of his last major concert.[35] According to Booker T. Jones, "I think we did one of our best shows, Otis and the MG's. That we were included in that was also something of a phenomenon. That we were there? With those people? They were accepting us and that was one of the things that really moved Otis. He was happy to be included and it brought him a new audience. It was greatly expanded in Monterey."[49] According to Sweet Soul Music, musicians such as Brian Jones and Jimi Hendrix were captivated by his performance; Robert Christgau wrote in Esquire, "The Love Crowd screamed one's mind to the heavens."[50]
After Monterey, Redding wanted to record with Conley, but Stax was against the idea. The two moved from Memphis to Macon to continue writing. The result was "Sweet Soul Music", based on Cooke's "Yeah Man".[34] It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[51][52] By that time Redding had developed polyps on his larynx, which he tried to treat with tea and lemon or honey. He was hospitalized in September 1967 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York to undergo surgery.[53]
Dock of the Bay
In early December 1967, Redding again recorded at Stax. One new song was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", which was written with Cropper while they were staying with their friend, Earl "Speedo" Sims, on a houseboat in Sausalito.[54] Redding was inspired by the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and tried to create a similar sound against the label's wishes. His wife Zelma disliked its atypical melody. The Stax crew were also dissatisfied with the new sound; Stewart thought that it was not R&B, while bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn feared it would damage Stax's reputation. However, Redding wanted to expand his musical style and thought it was his best song and correctly believed it would top the charts.[55] Redding whistled at the end, either forgetting Cropper's "fadeout rap",[56] or paraphrasing it intentionally.[57]
Death
By 1967 the band was traveling to performances in Redding's 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 club called Leo's Casino.[51][58][59] After a phone call with Zelma and their children, Redding's next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub, near the University of Wisconsin.[58][60]
Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, the plane took off.[61] Four miles (6.4 km) 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 accident's sole survivor,[51] 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.[53] A non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others.[62] The cause of the crash was never determined.[63] James Brown claimed in his autobiography The Godfather of Soul that he had warned Redding not to fly in the plane.[64]
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."[65] Other victims were pilot Richard Fraser,[66] drummer Matthew Kelly, lead guitarist of the Bar-Kays Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell and drummer Carl Cunningham.[67]
Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched.[68] The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to 18 so that more could attend.[65] 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 attend, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Redding's.[69] Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon.[70] Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy.[71] Redding died just three days after recording The Dock of the Bay.[72][51] He was survived by Zelma and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla.[73] Otis, Dexter and cousin Mark Lockett later founded The Reddings, a band managed by Zelma.[74] She also maintained or worked at the janitorial service Maids Over Macon, several nightclubs and booking agencies.[75] On November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.[76]
Posthumous releases and proposed recordings
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released in January 1968 and became Redding's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first posthumous number-one single in US chart history.[77] It sold approximately four million copies worldwide and received more than eight million airplays.[78][79] The album The Dock of the Bay was the first posthumous album to reach the top spot on the UK Albums Chart.[80]
Shortly after Redding's death, Atlantic Records, distributor of the Stax/Volt releases, was purchased by Warner Bros. Stax was required to renegotiate its distribution deal and was surprised to learn that Atlantic actually owned the entire Stax/Volt catalog. Stax was unable to regain the rights to its recordings and severed its Atlantic relationship. Atlantic also held the rights to all unreleased Otis Redding masters.[81] It had enough material for three studio albums—The Immortal Otis Redding (1968), Love Man (1969), and Tell the Truth (1970)—all issued on its Atco Records.[81] A number of successful singles emerged from these LPs, among them "Amen" (1968), "Hard to Handle" (1968), "I've Got Dreams to Remember" (1968), "Love Man" (1969), and "Look at That Girl" (1969).[81] Singles were also lifted from two live Atlantic-issued Redding albums, In Person at the Whisky a Go Go, recorded in 1966 and issued in 1968 on Atco, and Monterey International Pop Festival, a Reprise Records release featuring some of the live Monterey Pop Festival performances of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on side one and Redding's performance on side two.
In September 2007, the first official DVD anthology of Redding's live performances was released by Concord Music Group, then owners of the Stax catalog. Dreams To Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding featured 16 full-length performances and 40 minutes of new interviews documenting his life and career.[82] On May 18, 2010, Stax Records released a two-disc recording of three complete sets from his Whisky a Go Go date in April 1966.[83]
Carla Thomas claimed that the pair had planned to record another duet album in December the same year, but Phil Walden denied this. Redding had proposed to record an album featuring cut and rearranged songs in different tempos; for example, ballads would be uptempo and vice versa.[44] Another suggestion was to record an album entirely consisting of country standards.[84]
Personal life and wealth
Redding, who was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg), was an athletic family man who loved football and hunting.[85][86] He was described as vigorous, trustworthy,[87] full of fun[73] and a successful businessman. According to several people, Redding's personality never fully matured either on stage or in public life. His brother Rodgers thought he was "confused", while Alan Walden described him as "naive". He was active in philanthropic projects. His keen interest in black youth led to plans for a summer camp for disadvantaged children.[88]
Redding's music made him wealthy. According to several advertisements, he had around 200 suits and 400 pairs of shoes, and he earned about $35,000 per week for his concerts.[89] He spent about $125,000 in the "Big O Ranch". As the owner of Otis Redding Enterprises, his performances, music publishing ventures and royalties from record sales earned him more than a million dollars in 1967 alone.[65] That year, one columnist said, "he sold more records than Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin combined."[90] After the release of Otis Blue, Redding became a "catalogue" artist, meaning his albums were not immediate blockbusters, but rather sold steadily over time.[34]
Musicianship
Style
Early on Redding copied the rock and soul style of his role model Little Richard. He was also influenced by soul musicians such as Sam Cooke, whose live album Sam Cooke at the Copa was a strong influence,[87] but later explored other popular genres. He studied the recordings of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. His song "Hard to Handle" has elements of rock and roll and influences of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.[91] Most of his songs were categorized as Southern soul[92] and Memphis soul.[93]
His hallmark was his raw voice and ability to convey strong emotion. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic noted his "hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads."[94] In the book Rock and Roll: An Introduction, authors Michael Campbell and James Brody suggested that "Redding's singing calls to mind a fervent black preacher. Especially in up-tempo numbers, his singing is more than impassioned speech but less than singing with precise pitch."[95] According to the book, "Redding finds a rough midpoint between impassioned oratory and conventional singing. His delivery overflows with emotion" in his song "I Can't Turn You Loose".[95] Booker T. Jones described Otis' singing as energetic and emotional, but said that his vocal range was limited, reaching neither low nor high notes.[96] Peter Buckley of The Rough Guide To Rock describes his "gruff voice, which combined Sam Cooke's phrasing with a brawnier delivery" and later suggested he "could testify like a hell-bent preacher, croon like a tender lover or get down and dirty with a bluesy yawp".[97]
Redding received advice from Rufus Thomas about his clumsy stage appearance. Jerry Wexler said Redding "didn't know how to move", and stood still, moving only his upper body, although he acknowledged that Redding was well received by audiences for his strong message.[98] Guralnick described Redding's painful vulnerability in Sweet Soul Music, as an attractive one for the audience, but not for his friends and partners. His early shyness was well known.[99]
Songwriting
In his early career Redding mostly covered songs from popular artists, such as Richard, Cooke and Solomon Burke. Around the mid-1960s he began writing his own songs—always taking along his cheap, red acoustic guitar—and sometimes asked for Stax members' opinion of his lyrics. He often worked on lyrics with other musicians, such as Sims, Rodgers, Huckaby, Phil Walden and Cropper. During his recovery from his throat operation, Redding wrote about 30 songs in two weeks.[85] Redding was the sole copyright holder on all of his songs.[100]
In "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" he abandoned familiar romantic themes for "sad, wistful introspections, amplified by unforgettable descending guitar riffs by Cropper".[101] The official website of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, noted that the song "was a kind of brooding, dark voicing of despair, ('I've got nothin' to live for/Look like nothin' gonna come my way')" although "his music, in general, was exultant and joyful". According to journalist Ruth Robinson, author of the liner notes for the 1993 box-set, "It is currently a revisionist theory to equate soul with the darker side of man's musical expression, blues. That fanner of the flame of 'Trouble's got a hold on me' music, might well be the father of the form if it is, the glorified exaltation found in church on any Sunday morning is its mother." And further on the site declares that "glorified exaltation indeed was an apt description of Otis Redding's songwriting and singing style."[102] Booker T. Jones compared Redding with Leonard Bernstein stating, "He was the same type person. He was a leader. He'd just lead with his arms and his body and his fingers."[99]
Otis Redding favored short and simple lyrics; when asked whether he intended to cover Dylan's "Just Like a Woman", he responded that the lyrics contained "too much text".[87] Furthermore, he stated in an interview:
Basically, I like any music that remains simple and I feel this is the formula that makes 'soul music' successful. When any music form becomes cluttered and/or complicated you lose the average listener's ear. There is nothing more beautiful than a simple blues tune. There is beauty in simplicity whether you are talking about architecture, art or music.[88]
Redding also authored his (sometimes difficult) recordings' horn arrangements, humming to show the players what he had in mind. The recording of "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" reflects his habit of humming with the horn section.[103]
Legacy
Otis Redding has been called the "King of Soul",[104] an honorific also given to Brown[105] and Cooke.[106][107][108] He remains one of the genre's most recognized artists. His lean and powerful style exemplified the Stax Sound,[97][109][110] and gave Stax a new identity; he was said to be its "heart and soul",[111] while artists such as Al Jackson, Dunn and Cropper helped to expand its structure.[110] His open-throated singing,[109] the tremolo/vibrato, the manic, electrifying stage performances[112] and perceived honesty were particular hallmarks, along with the use of interjections, for example "gotta, gotta, gotta", some of which came from Cooke.[87][111] Producer Stewart thought the "begging singing" was stress-induced and enhanced by Redding's extreme, early shyness.[99]
Artists from many genres named Redding as a musical influence. George Harrison called "Respect" an important influence for "Drive My Car".[113] The Rolling Stones also mentioned Redding as an important influence.[114][115] Other artists include Led Zeppelin,[116][117] Grateful Dead,[118] Lynyrd Skynyrd,[119] the Doors;[118] and virtually every soul/R&B musicians from the early years, such as Al Green, Etta James,[33] William Bell,[118] Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Conley.[120] Musicians have covered or mixed his songs, most recently Kanye West and Jay-Z with their Grammy Award-winning song "Otis".[19][33] According to band colleague Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin was influenced by his singing style. She stated that she learned "to push a song instead of just sliding over it" after hearing Redding.[121]
Awards and honors
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1989, declaring Redding's name to be "synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying."[122] Readers of the British music newspaper Melody Maker voted him as the top vocalist of 1967, superseding Elvis Presley, who had topped the list for the prior 10 years.[78][120][123] In 1988, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.[79] Five years later, the United States Post Office issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp in his honor.[124] Redding was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994,[102] and in 1999 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[125] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed three Redding recordings, "Shake", "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", and "Try a Little Tenderness," among its list of "The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."[126] American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Redding at number 21 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time"[127] and eighth on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".[96] Q ranked Redding fourth among "100 Greatest Singers", after only Frank Sinatra, Franklin and Presley.[128]
Five of his albums, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology, The Dock of the Bay, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul and Live in Europe, were ranked by Rolling Stone on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The first album was singled out for praise by music critics; apart from the Rolling Stone listing at number 74, NME ranked it 35 on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time".[129] Music critic Robert Christgau said that Otis Blue was "the first great album by one of soul's few reliable long-form artists",[130] and that Redding's "original LPs were among the most intelligently conceived black albums of the '60s".[131]
In 2002, the city of Macon honored its native son by unveiling a memorial statue (32°50′19.05″N 83°37′17.30″W) in the city's Gateway Park. The park is next to the Otis Redding Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Ocmulgee River The Otis Redding Memorial Library is also housed in the city.[132] The Rhythm and Blues Foundation named Redding as the recipient of its 2006 Pioneer Award.[133] Billboard awarded Redding the "Otis Redding Excellence Award" the same year.[33] A year later he was inducted into the Hollywood's Rockwalk in California.[79] In Cleveland, Ohio also the city were Redding did his last show at Leo's Casino. On August 17, 2013 Otis Redding was inducted into the inaugural class of The Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State Univ.
Best Songs Otis Redding Of All Time - New Update 2015- The King Of Soul
Best Songs Otis Redding Of All Time - New Update 2015- The King Of Soul
========================================================
PLAYLIST
01. These Arms of Mine
02. Hey Hey Baby
03. That's What My Heart Needs
04. Mary's Little Lamb
05. Pain In My Heart
06. Something Is Worrying Me
07. Come To Me
08. Don't Leave Me This Way
09. Security
10. Chained and Bound
11. Your One and Only Man
12. That's How Strong My Love Is
13. Mr. Pitiful
14. A Woman, a Lover, a Friend
15. Nothing Can Change This Love
16. It's Too Late
17. For Your Precious Love
18. Home In Your Heart
19. I've Been Loving You Too Long (Remastered) [Mono]
20. I'm Depending On You (Remastered) [Stereo] [Single Version]
21. Respect (Remastered) [Mono]
22. Ole Man Trouble (Remastered) [Mono]
23. Change Gonna Come (Remastered) [Mono]
24. Shake (Remastered) [Mono]
25. Satisfaction (I Can't Get No) [Remastered] [Mono]
26. Down In the Valley (Remastered) [Mono]
27. My Girl (Remastered) [Mono]
28. Rock Me Baby (Remastered) [Mono]
29. You Don't Miss Your Water (Remastered) [Mono]
30. I Can't Turn You Loose
31. Just One More
32. Any Ole Way
33. It's Growing
34. Cigarettes and Coffee
35. Chain Gang
36. Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)
37. Good To Me
38. Everybody Makes a Mistake
========================================================
PLAYLIST
01. These Arms of Mine
02. Hey Hey Baby
03. That's What My Heart Needs
04. Mary's Little Lamb
05. Pain In My Heart
06. Something Is Worrying Me
07. Come To Me
08. Don't Leave Me This Way
09. Security
10. Chained and Bound
11. Your One and Only Man
12. That's How Strong My Love Is
13. Mr. Pitiful
14. A Woman, a Lover, a Friend
15. Nothing Can Change This Love
16. It's Too Late
17. For Your Precious Love
18. Home In Your Heart
19. I've Been Loving You Too Long (Remastered) [Mono]
20. I'm Depending On You (Remastered) [Stereo] [Single Version]
21. Respect (Remastered) [Mono]
22. Ole Man Trouble (Remastered) [Mono]
23. Change Gonna Come (Remastered) [Mono]
24. Shake (Remastered) [Mono]
25. Satisfaction (I Can't Get No) [Remastered] [Mono]
26. Down In the Valley (Remastered) [Mono]
27. My Girl (Remastered) [Mono]
28. Rock Me Baby (Remastered) [Mono]
29. You Don't Miss Your Water (Remastered) [Mono]
30. I Can't Turn You Loose
31. Just One More
32. Any Ole Way
33. It's Growing
34. Cigarettes and Coffee
35. Chain Gang
36. Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)
37. Good To Me
38. Everybody Makes a Mistake
Brian Quinn *09.09.
Brian Quinn was born and raised in the small town of Athens, Ohio. He began playing piano at the age of six, but found his calling when he took up the bass at the age of fourteen.
After high school, Brian attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship, where he studied with world-class musicians such as Kenwood Dennard, Livingston Taylor, and Matthew Garrison. At Berklee Brian had the experience of performing with guest artists such as Victor Wooten and George Porter Jr. (of the Meters). Brian finished college early, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
Over the past 7 years, Brian has been working as a professional bass player and freelance music instructor in Chicago; playing, touring, and recording with a variety of artists and projects. Brian has played with Mississippi Heat since 2011.
After high school, Brian attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship, where he studied with world-class musicians such as Kenwood Dennard, Livingston Taylor, and Matthew Garrison. At Berklee Brian had the experience of performing with guest artists such as Victor Wooten and George Porter Jr. (of the Meters). Brian finished college early, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
Over the past 7 years, Brian has been working as a professional bass player and freelance music instructor in Chicago; playing, touring, and recording with a variety of artists and projects. Brian has played with Mississippi Heat since 2011.
Mississippi Heat "New Orleans Man"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHjAG9-SY5Q#t=54
http://worldofharmonica.blogspot.de/2012/09/larry-scott-dixon-sr.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Dixon-BhD-The-Blues-Physician/789977011064034?sk=timeline
Larry Scott Dixon *09.09.1947
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Dixon-BhD-The-Blues-Physician/789977011064034?sk=timeline
Larry S. Dixon AKA Dr. Dixon Bh.D "The Blues Physician", was born in Atlanta GA in 1947. He was raised in a home where the blues was listened to, danced to, and celebrated. In the spring of 1966 in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA while listening to a band the guitarist started to play a harmonica and Dixon heard it and felt it within his heart ! "From that moment I knew the sun would not go down without my having a harmonica" he recalls. A great Blues Revival was taking place in America that same year and everyone whom his parents played their Blues records in the home and went out to night clubs like the "Royal Peacock" on Atlanta's Southside in the 50's and the "Magnolia Ballroom" were real Blues Hot Spots where Muddy Waters, B.B King, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and so many more Blues Masters performed "Live" were now playing Atlanta's Northside to young White audiences. Being 19 years old and able to go to Atlanta's northside clubs where Dixon met, played with and was befriended by Blues Greats like George "Harmonica" Smith the first real Blues Harpman he met along with Big Mama Thornton playing with her also too ! Never timid in the pursuit of his art he continued go everywhere Live Blues was being played, Dixon recalls when he went to see Muddy Waters for the first time saying he went straight to the dressing room introducing himself saying he loved the Blues and played harmonica ! When Muddy Waters got ready to go on stage he turned to Dixon saying "Come on son we're going to the bandstand now, I wanna see what you can do !" So there he was standing next to the Great Bluesman Muddy Waters playing "Hoochie Coochie Man" !!! Johnny Shines whom Dixon played with often told him "If you ever get a chance to see Big Walter Horton, DO !!!" In 1974 Big Walter came to Atlanta with Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars !!! "My first lesson from Big Walter was to switch from "Old Standby's" over to "Marine Band" harmonica's", Dixon remembers. Well in 1976 Dixon got Muddy Waters ok to ride with Muddy's Band from Atlanta to "Sweet Home Chicago" !!! Sadly when we arrived the Sad News all over Chicago was that Howlin' Wolf had just passed !!! "I got to play with him when he came to Atlanta, he treated me like I was his Son, so kind to me I'll never forget Him" !!! Dixon an accomplished artist did a 30"x40" portrait of him that was presented to his widow at Wolf's funeral. If you have the vinyl album of Muddy Waters "King Bee" on the liner sleeve is a picture of Muddy with his family, "well on the back wall is a portrait I did of Muddy for his birthday in 1972" !!! "I don't know who in Muddy's family has it now but I'd love to see it again" !!! "Did one of my mentor Big Walter Horton when living in Chicago 1976-77 Dixon recalls".
Voted Best Blues Harmonica 1994 Midlands Blues Society Columbia, S.C., Dr. Dixon Bh.D "The Blues Physician"
Dr. Dixon - Evan's Shuffle
Coy "Hot Shot" Love *09.09.1914
Coy "Hot Shot" Love was a renaissance man, of a kind, in blues: sign-painter, street denizen, and a magician with a harmonica, who liked to adorn his leather jacket and his bicycle, and other personal items with messages regarding his outlook on life. He lived on Gayoso Street in Memphis, an itinerant musician and sometime sign-painter who got his one moment of glory in the recording studio on January 8, 1954, when he entered Sam Phillips' Sun Studios to record "Wolf Call Boogie" b/w "Harmonica Jam," backed by Mose Vinson at the piano, Pat Hare on guitar, Kenneth Banks on bass, and Houston Stokes on the drums. The A-side, of which an outtake exists, is practically a monologue with musical accompaniment, set at a tavern and filled with insults directed at a bartender and wry observations on life and love. The B-side is a duet between Love and Pat Hare, with the former getting the better of the guitar player, vocally and blowing some Sonny Terry-style harp, in a mismatched competition. Love never cut another single for Sun -- accounts suggest he was juggling relationships with as many as seven women at once, indicating that he had better things to do than go into the recording studio -- but "Wolf Call Boogie" is one of the most anthologized of all Sun blues tracks, appearing on numerous compilations from Rhino, Rounder, Charly, and Bear Family, and is regarded, at least in its freewheeling style and raunchy subject matter, as a step forward on the road from country blues to rock & roll. Love survived for decades after his one claim to recorded music legend, and died in a car accident in Interstate 55.
Harpin'
On It: Coy 'Hot Shot' Love
Hot
Shot Love Harmonica Jam SUN 196
Duffy Power *09.09.1941
Duffy Power (* 9. September 1941 in Fulham, London, England; † 19. Februar 2014[1]), eigentlich Ray Howard, war ein britischer Pop- und Blues-Sänger. Er gehörte zu den Künstlern, die Larry Parnes unter Vertrag hatte.
Parnes entdeckte den 17-jährigen Ray Howard 1959 bei einem Talentwettbewerb. Er nahm ihn unter Vertrag und gab ihm den Namen Duffy Power. Mit Coverversionen bekannter Songs wie Dream Lover und Ain’t She Sweet hatte Power mäßigen Erfolg. Seine Bühnenshow soll jedoch beeindruckend gewesen sein.
Power freundete sich mit zwei Kollegen aus dem Stall von Parnes an, Billy Fury und Dickie Pride; zeitweise wohnten sie auch zusammen. 1961 trennte sich Power im Streit von Parnes. Der Erfolg stagnierte, Power unternahm sogar einen Suizidversuch mit Gas.
In einem Club hörte Power die Musik, der er sich in Zukunft widmete: den Blues. Mit Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce und John McLaughlin schloss er sich Graham Bond an. 1963 hatten sie mit dem Beatles-Song I Saw Her Standing There einen Hit.
Solo war Power mit Tired, Broke and Busted erfolgreich. Er machte auch mit Alexis Korners Blues Incorporated Aufnahmen. 1968 war wieder ein Tiefpunkt seiner Karriere erreicht. Power hatte mit mentalen Problemen zu kämpfen.
In den 1970ern und 1980ern ging es auf und ab. Power schrieb Songs und Filmmusik und war an Alexis Korners The Party Album (1978) beteiligt. 1992 erschien das Album Blues Power, eine Werkschau der über 30-jährigen Karriere von Duffy Power.
Parnes entdeckte den 17-jährigen Ray Howard 1959 bei einem Talentwettbewerb. Er nahm ihn unter Vertrag und gab ihm den Namen Duffy Power. Mit Coverversionen bekannter Songs wie Dream Lover und Ain’t She Sweet hatte Power mäßigen Erfolg. Seine Bühnenshow soll jedoch beeindruckend gewesen sein.
Power freundete sich mit zwei Kollegen aus dem Stall von Parnes an, Billy Fury und Dickie Pride; zeitweise wohnten sie auch zusammen. 1961 trennte sich Power im Streit von Parnes. Der Erfolg stagnierte, Power unternahm sogar einen Suizidversuch mit Gas.
In einem Club hörte Power die Musik, der er sich in Zukunft widmete: den Blues. Mit Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce und John McLaughlin schloss er sich Graham Bond an. 1963 hatten sie mit dem Beatles-Song I Saw Her Standing There einen Hit.
Solo war Power mit Tired, Broke and Busted erfolgreich. Er machte auch mit Alexis Korners Blues Incorporated Aufnahmen. 1968 war wieder ein Tiefpunkt seiner Karriere erreicht. Power hatte mit mentalen Problemen zu kämpfen.
In den 1970ern und 1980ern ging es auf und ab. Power schrieb Songs und Filmmusik und war an Alexis Korners The Party Album (1978) beteiligt. 1992 erschien das Album Blues Power, eine Werkschau der über 30-jährigen Karriere von Duffy Power.
Duffy Power (born Raymond Leslie Howard; 9 September 1941 – 19 February 2014) was an English blues and rock and roll singer, who achieved some success in the 1960s and continued to perform and record intermittently later.
Career
Ray Howard was born in Fulham, South West London.[1] He was discovered in 1959 by impresario Larry Parnes, singing at a talent show with his group Duffy and the Dreamers. He was renamed Duffy Power in the style of Parnes' other discoveries, such as Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Vince Eager and Georgie Fame.[1] He recorded a series of cover versions of such songs as "Dream Lover" and "Ain't She Sweet" as singles for the Fontana label over the next two years, but unlike some of his stablemates failed to achieve commercial success.
He left Parnes in 1961, suffering from depression. However, he was introduced by a friend to the growing London blues club scene, and in 1963 teamed up with Graham Bond, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and John McLaughlin to record "I Saw Her Standing There", one of the first cover versions of a Beatles song.[1] He continued to record for Parlophone Records through the 1960s, both as a solo artist, often backed by top session musicians, and with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated,[1] but the critical acclaim for his performances failed to be matched by sales.
Power also worked as a session musician, and played on the soundtrack of the 1969 film The Italian Job. An album of tracks recorded in 1969 and produced by Peter Eden was issued on the Spark label whilst in 1971 tracks recorded between 1965 and 1967 were released on Transatlantic as Innovations.[2] In 1972 he finally released a solo album, Duffy Power, on the GSF label (GSF 502), produced in conjunction with Andrew Loog Oldham and featuring Korner. Dana Gillespie and others.[1] Although by this time he was widely recognised as an impressive singer, his albums still failed to sell. His personal life was aggravated by depression and drug use and he succumbed to mental illness[2] curtailing regular performances although the power and virtuosity of his harmonica playing gave an unusual dimension to Kathryn Tickell's 1997 album The Gathering.
Most of his Parlophone material including unreleased recordings from the 1960s were issued on CD in 2002 as Leapers and Sleepers. In 2006 a further retrospective Vampers and Champers that included the re release of his Translantic LP Innovations was released.
Power died on 19 February 2014 at the age of 72.
Career
Ray Howard was born in Fulham, South West London.[1] He was discovered in 1959 by impresario Larry Parnes, singing at a talent show with his group Duffy and the Dreamers. He was renamed Duffy Power in the style of Parnes' other discoveries, such as Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Vince Eager and Georgie Fame.[1] He recorded a series of cover versions of such songs as "Dream Lover" and "Ain't She Sweet" as singles for the Fontana label over the next two years, but unlike some of his stablemates failed to achieve commercial success.
He left Parnes in 1961, suffering from depression. However, he was introduced by a friend to the growing London blues club scene, and in 1963 teamed up with Graham Bond, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and John McLaughlin to record "I Saw Her Standing There", one of the first cover versions of a Beatles song.[1] He continued to record for Parlophone Records through the 1960s, both as a solo artist, often backed by top session musicians, and with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated,[1] but the critical acclaim for his performances failed to be matched by sales.
Power also worked as a session musician, and played on the soundtrack of the 1969 film The Italian Job. An album of tracks recorded in 1969 and produced by Peter Eden was issued on the Spark label whilst in 1971 tracks recorded between 1965 and 1967 were released on Transatlantic as Innovations.[2] In 1972 he finally released a solo album, Duffy Power, on the GSF label (GSF 502), produced in conjunction with Andrew Loog Oldham and featuring Korner. Dana Gillespie and others.[1] Although by this time he was widely recognised as an impressive singer, his albums still failed to sell. His personal life was aggravated by depression and drug use and he succumbed to mental illness[2] curtailing regular performances although the power and virtuosity of his harmonica playing gave an unusual dimension to Kathryn Tickell's 1997 album The Gathering.
Most of his Parlophone material including unreleased recordings from the 1960s were issued on CD in 2002 as Leapers and Sleepers. In 2006 a further retrospective Vampers and Champers that included the re release of his Translantic LP Innovations was released.
Power died on 19 February 2014 at the age of 72.
Duffy Power Leaving Blues
Duffy Power Gin House Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4632CxqwQ48
Tutu Jones *09.09.1966
Tutu Jones (born September 9, 1966) is an American electric blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.[1] He has cited Freddie King and Z. Z. Hill as influences on his playing style.[2] Since 1994, Jones has released five albums.[1]
Life and career
John Jones Jr. was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of a Dallas-based R&B guitarist, Johnny B. Jones. Through his father's work, he was introduced to house guests such as Freddie King, L. C. Clark, Ernie Johnson and Little Joe Blue. Jones began playing the guitar by the age of five, by which time he had acquired his nickname Tutu from his father.[3]
He began his career in adolescence, as a drummer, graduating from backing his uncles Barefoot Miller and L. C. Clark (the latter in 1976)[2] to working with Z. Z. Hill and R. L. Burnside.[1][4]
Meanwhile, working on his own guitar playing, by 1989 Jones had moved on to fronting his own bands.[3] This in led to the recording of his debut album, I'm For Real, on JSP Records in 1994.[1] It was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award.[2] Blues Texas Soul followed two years later, and Staying Power in 1998.[1][4]
A live album, Tutu Jones Live, was issued in 2005 by Doc Blues Records. A journalist at the Austin Chronicle then stated, "bluesmen are traditionalists, but Jones learns how to mesh soulful wails with syrupy blues that are as sweaty live as they are in quiet studios."[5]
His album Inside Out was released by CD Baby in 2009.
Life and career
John Jones Jr. was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of a Dallas-based R&B guitarist, Johnny B. Jones. Through his father's work, he was introduced to house guests such as Freddie King, L. C. Clark, Ernie Johnson and Little Joe Blue. Jones began playing the guitar by the age of five, by which time he had acquired his nickname Tutu from his father.[3]
He began his career in adolescence, as a drummer, graduating from backing his uncles Barefoot Miller and L. C. Clark (the latter in 1976)[2] to working with Z. Z. Hill and R. L. Burnside.[1][4]
Meanwhile, working on his own guitar playing, by 1989 Jones had moved on to fronting his own bands.[3] This in led to the recording of his debut album, I'm For Real, on JSP Records in 1994.[1] It was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award.[2] Blues Texas Soul followed two years later, and Staying Power in 1998.[1][4]
A live album, Tutu Jones Live, was issued in 2005 by Doc Blues Records. A journalist at the Austin Chronicle then stated, "bluesmen are traditionalists, but Jones learns how to mesh soulful wails with syrupy blues that are as sweaty live as they are in quiet studios."[5]
His album Inside Out was released by CD Baby in 2009.
The son of Dallas-based R&B guitarist Johnny B. Jones, “Tutu” Jones was truly a product of his environment -- growing up in a house frequently populated by guests including Freddie King, Little Joe Blue and Ernie Johnson, his own future as a bluesman was never in doubt. Born John Jones Jr. on September 9, 1966 in South Dallas, Texas. As a child, Tutu was constantly surrounded by blues luminaries such as Ernie Johnson, Little Joe Blue, and even Jones’ uncle L.C. Clark who was a fine guitar player in his own right. Tutu grew up steeped in in-house jam sessions of truly stellar quality. He was 4 ½ years old when he first began his musical career as a drummer. “Next thing I know, I’m playin’ drums in some club in Southeast Dallas,” says Tutu. Jones turned pro with R.L. Griffin, with whose band Tutu took on the road. He became a professional drummer while still a teen, backing his uncles Curly "Barefoot" Miller and L.C. Clark before moving on to work with the likes of Z.Z. Hill and R.L. Burnside. His life became a dizzying mélange of tours and Texas dates, hiring out as drummer for Z.Z. Hill, Al “TNT” Braggs, Ernie Johnson, and Little Joe Blue.
One night, Tutu was fooling around with Joe Blue’s guitar backstage at a gig in the part of Dallas called Oak Cliff (turf to T-Bone Walker and more recently, the Vaughn Brothers). Joe Blue told him, if he could play guitar that well he should be fronting his own band. Not long after, Tutu started showing up at the myriad blues jams in the clubs in North Dallas. Joe Blue’s advice had been good, and things started happening for Tutu Jones. As Jones steadily honed his guitar and songwriting skills, he eventually began fronting bands of his own; he cut his solo debut “I'm for Real” in 1994, followed by “Blue Texas Soul” in 1996. Two years later, he released “Staying Power”.
Tutu is more than the sum of his influences (though distinguished influences they are!) He is first and foremost an individualist, who puts a very personal stamp on every note that he plays and every syllable that he sings. You could call him the living personification of the sound of South Dallas, where Blues and Soul meet and are stronger for it.
Tutu Jones has released a red hot CD aptly titled “Tutu Jones Live”. This CD contains what many of the critics have called “One of the hottest live Blues to be released in quite some time”. Tutu is truly one of our brightest stars in the future of the blues in the 21st Century.
One night, Tutu was fooling around with Joe Blue’s guitar backstage at a gig in the part of Dallas called Oak Cliff (turf to T-Bone Walker and more recently, the Vaughn Brothers). Joe Blue told him, if he could play guitar that well he should be fronting his own band. Not long after, Tutu started showing up at the myriad blues jams in the clubs in North Dallas. Joe Blue’s advice had been good, and things started happening for Tutu Jones. As Jones steadily honed his guitar and songwriting skills, he eventually began fronting bands of his own; he cut his solo debut “I'm for Real” in 1994, followed by “Blue Texas Soul” in 1996. Two years later, he released “Staying Power”.
Tutu is more than the sum of his influences (though distinguished influences they are!) He is first and foremost an individualist, who puts a very personal stamp on every note that he plays and every syllable that he sings. You could call him the living personification of the sound of South Dallas, where Blues and Soul meet and are stronger for it.
Tutu Jones has released a red hot CD aptly titled “Tutu Jones Live”. This CD contains what many of the critics have called “One of the hottest live Blues to be released in quite some time”. Tutu is truly one of our brightest stars in the future of the blues in the 21st Century.
"I PLAY THE BLUES FOR YOU" - TUTU JONES
Tutu Jones playing the Albert King classic, "I Play The Blues For You",
at one of the top blues clubs in Dallas, Pearl At Commerce on Nov. 7,
2009. This was the CD release party for his newest CD entitled "Inside
Out" on Soul Tone Records.
Real Street Blues featuring TuTu Jones
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