Maps of Music

Pain in My Heart (1964)

Where the lyrics of Pain in My Heart take you, and where it was really made.

The title song was written by Allen Toussaint under a pseudonym, and the album came out on Atco rather than on Volt, the label that released its singles.

Key places

Redding's first session at Stax (1962)

Recording site Stax Studios — Redding sang 'These Arms of Mine' during his first session at Stax in Memphis. The performance led to his signing with the label, and the song became his first single for Stax. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pain in My Heart: debut album by soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding
• Recorded for Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records based in Memphis, Tennessee
• Volt LPs were initially issued on the Atco label, which released this album; the singles came out on Volt
• Title song written and arranged by Allen Toussaint under the pseudonym Naomi Neville
• Four singles released in 1962 and 1963: 'These Arms of Mine', 'That's What My Heart Needs', 'Security', and the title track
• Released 17 March 1964 by Atco Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records

Background

• Redding toured the Southern United States as a member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, mostly on the Chitlin' Circuit
• Atlantic representative Joe Galkin proposed sending guitarist Johnny Jenkins to the Stax studio in Memphis around 1962
• During that trip Redding drove Jenkins, who had no driver's license, to a Pinetoppers session
• When the session ended early, Redding got the chance to sing two songs for studio chief Jim Stewart
• Stewart felt 'Hey Hey Baby' sounded too much like Little Richard
• 'These Arms of Mine' was the song that led to Redding being signed by Stax

Recording

• Songs come from Redding's 1962 to 1963 sessions
• 'These Arms of Mine' was released by Volt in October 1962 and charted in March of the following year
• 'That's What My Heart Needs' and 'Mary's Little Lamb' were cut in June 1963
• The title track sparked copyright issues because it sounded like Irma Thomas's 'Ruler of My Heart'
• The other album tracks are covers of popular songs, including 'The Dog', 'Louie Louie', 'Lucille', and 'Stand by Me'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• Pain in My Heart received positive critical reception
• Cash Box described the title track as a blueser with that funky Memphis sound and a heartfelt reading

Reappraisal

• Bruce Eder of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars in a retrospective review
• Eder found elements of hard rock in 'Hey Hey Baby' and praised Redding's version of 'You Send Me'
• Rolling Stone gave the album 4 out of 5 stars in a review of several Redding albums, noting that the title track set the pattern for all his ballads to come

Records

• Peaked at number 20 on Billboard's R&B chart
• Peaked at number 85 on Billboard's Hot 100
• The title track peaked at number 60 on the Hot 100
• 'Security' was released in April 1964 and reached number 97 on the Hot 100
• 'These Arms of Mine' sold more than 800,000 copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title song was written and arranged by Allen Toussaint under the pseudonym Naomi Neville, so the album credits a different name for it.
• Johnny Jenkins had no driver's license, so Redding drove him to the Stax session.
• Studio chief Jim Stewart thought 'Hey Hey Baby' sounded too much like Little Richard, so Redding sang 'These Arms of Mine' next.
• 'Mary's Little Lamb' became one of the worst-selling singles by Redding.
• Rob Bowman wrote that 'Otis sings with a harsh, impassioned gospel voice' on two songs from the 1963 session.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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