Otis Redding was born the son of a gospel singer in Georgia in 1941. He was musically talented from a very early age, with Little Richard and Sam Cooke as major influences. After years of playing in bands and winning talent shows, his first big success in the music business came in 1962, with the self-penned #20 R&B hit "These Arms Of Mine", released on Stax Records. It was then followed by "That's What My Heart Needs" (#27 R&B) and "Pain In My Heart" (#11 R&B). The former was again written by Redding himself, whilst the latter was an adaptation of an Allen Toussaint composition (originally recorded by Irma Thomas as "Ruler Of My Heart" in1963).To follow up on these singles' sucesses, his first album came out in the beginning of 1964. Alongside the afore-mentioned singles and other strong originals were covers of songs by Rufus Thomas ("The Dog"), Ben E. King ("Stand By Me"), Sam Cooke ("You Send Me"), Little Richard ("Lucille") and Richard Berry ("Louie Louie"). The instrumental backing throughout came courtesy of the Stax house band, Booker T & The MGs. Pain In My Heart introduced one of the most distinctive voices of southern soul and R&B. It was Redding who would become one of soul music's most recognised artists throughout the 60s, his voice both heartfelt and distinctly gritty. He was soon going to get a great deal more success.
|> The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965)
More from Otis Redding
Download
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment