Otis!!!

One of my first Otis Redding memories is when I bought the Monterey Pop album with him on one side and Jimi Hendrix on the other. I will admit I was more interested in the Jimi Hendrix stuff, because after all I saw the video of him lighting his guitar on fire and I was really impressed. I played the Hendrix side a lot and I decided to explore the other side, and I am glad that I did.

Otis Redding is now one of my favorite performers. I should rephrase that; he is one of my favorite singers. He is the reason I fell in love with R&B and Soul. His voice was pure and he could create such an emotion like no one could. He was one my favorite singers for a few reasons. He had the best backing band in the world, and to top it all off, they could play to match his voice. Another reason was the fact he could write. On the album I am talking about Live in Europe he wrote five of the ten songs. And lastly he probably wrote one of the best songs ever. "Respect" is one of the best songs in popular music.



When I first started liking Otis Redding I saw him on Television. It was part of the Stax/Volt Revue that included Booker T. And the MG's. I was in awe on how the band and him worked as one. They were amazing. What was great to hear was a fresh voice of Otis. I never heard anyone song like him. He was my new favorite singer. I quickly went to the record store and picked up a greatest hits. The man at the counter told me that if I like that then he would recommend Otis Redding In Person At The Whisky A Go Go. The next day I came back and picked it up.

I asked my father if he knew about him and he told me only knew a few songs. He told me if you want to hear his stuff you should listen to the oldies station because, they play him more often then other stations. Around a year later I was going through my bi-monthly Grateful Dead mailings. I used to get a Grateful Dead Newsletter that was about 20 pages or so and in the Newsletter would be advanced ticket information or music to buy. Also included was a member of the Grateful Dead who would have a column and they would talk about recently liked music or just promoting something that interested them. This issue featured Phil Lesh. Phil was known for his likes of Classical and Jazz, but in this issue he talked about Otis Redding. He talked about some of his favorite Otis albums and songs. One of the albums was Otis Redding In Person At The Whisky A Go Go.



Like Phil, I loved everything that Otis Redding did. In this blog it was hard to pick just one. If you had to chose an Otis Redding, I would recommend this album. His energy live was amazing. Having said that I think you would love this album. If you don't own any of his albums you should at least seek out some of his studio stuff, but it's in far contrast that his live stuff is where he shined. Have fun, kick back and hear some great R&B and Soul.