Maps of Music

Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

Where the lyrics of Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul take you, and where it was really made.

Except for one track, the whole album was recorded in under 24 hours, yet it became one of Redding's best-selling LPs.

Key places

Stax studio in Memphis (1965)

Recording site Stax Studios — Most of the album was recorded here in under 24 hours, in two sessions from 9 to 10 July 1965. The point marks the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, at the listed coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul: third studio album by Otis Redding
• First released 15 September 1965 as an LP through Volt, a Stax Records subsidiary
• Composed mainly of cover versions of contemporary R&B hits
• Explores themes from the blues and love ballads, among others
• Three of the eleven songs were written by Redding; three others by Sam Cooke
• Cooke had died several months before the album was made
• Backed by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a horn section, and pianist Isaac Hayes
• Southern soul accompaniment suits the singer's exuberant and forceful performances

Background

• Stax president Jim Stewart signed Redding after the single "These Arms of Mine" charted
• Pain in My Heart (1964) and The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965) came before this album
• Both earlier LPs performed well on Billboard's R&B LPs chart, not on the pop chart
• Preparations for the third album followed soon after
• This album was Redding's second release through Volt

Recording

• Recorded at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee
• Except one track, recorded in under 24 hours in two sessions within a 28-hour period
• Sessions ran from 10 am on July 9, 1965 (a Saturday) to 2 pm on July 10, 1965
• A break from 8 pm Saturday to 2 am Sunday let the house band play local gigs
• Engineer Tom Dowd assisted the recording
• "I've Been Loving You Too Long" had been recorded earlier in April in mono, then re-recorded in stereo for the album

Cover

• The cover photo shows a white woman, a stock photo
• Cover photo credited to Pete Sahula
• Cover design credited to Haig Adishian

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Otis Ray Redding Jr. was born September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia, and raised in Macon.
• He left school at 15 to support his family, performing in local talent contests and at Macon's Douglass Theatre.
• In 1958 he joined Johnny Jenkins' band, the Pinetoppers, touring the Southern states as singer and driver.
• A Stax Records session in 1962 led to a contract and his first hit, "These Arms of Mine".

Career

• His debut album Pain in My Heart was released by Stax in 1964; he later reached a wider pop audience.
• He performed at Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, toured Europe, and played the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967.
• "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was recorded shortly before his death and released January 1968, becoming his only Billboard Hot 100 number one.
• He died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967 in Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin.
• He is known as the "King of Soul" and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released 15 September 1965, with Volt issuing the album in the US and Atlantic Records releasing it in the UK
• Commercial success helped Redding cross over into the pop market
• Only reached number 75 on the Pop LPs chart in 1966

Reappraisal

• Music critics regard it as Redding's best work
• Rolling Stone described it as "Redding's true dictionary of soul"
• Pitchfork's Nate Patrin called it "the greatest studio-recorded soul LP" of the 1960s in a list cited by the site
• AllMusic's Bruce Eder said Redding's singing makes the album "gritty, rich, and achingly alive"

Records

• Sold more than 250,000 copies
• First of Redding's LPs to top the US R&B LPs chart
• Reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart
• Three singles reached the top 40: "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "Satisfaction", and "Respect"
• Billboard Hot 100: "I've Been Loving You Too Long" peaked at number 21, "Respect" at number 35, "Shake" at number 47
• UK: certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 2022
• Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: number 178 in the 2020 revised edition
• Time's All-Time 100 Greatest Albums: number 92

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover shows a stock photo of a woman who has never been definitively identified; she is believed to be German model Dagmar Dreger.
• Redding's friend and road manager Earl "Speedo" Sims says he sang the backing vocals in the chorus of "Respect".
• "Ole Man Trouble" opens the LP and was finished in sessions earlier than the other songs.
• "Ole Man Trouble" was later released as a B-side of "Respect".
• Redding's "Satisfaction" has him sing "fashion" instead of "faction".
• Reissue producer Yves Beauvais and remastering by Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch are credited on the album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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