History Music / OtisRedding

* SpellingSong: "[[Music/OtisBlue Respect]]"

Redding, who at age 26 seemed like he was poised to make a breakout as a major music star, died suddenly toward the end of 1967 while on a concert tour, when a private plane flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Madison, Wisconsin had an equipment malfunction as it tried to make a landing in cold, foggy conditions, then plummeted into the freezing waters of Lake Monona. The crash killed Redding, his pilot, and four of the six members of The Bar-Kays, the Stax band that Redding had recently enlisted as a backing band.[[note]]Bar-Kays trumpeter Ben Cauley was the sole survivor of the crash, while bassist Jimmy Alexander was booked on a separate commercial flight after getting tasked with the return of a rental car in Cleveland.[[/note]]. 5,000 people attended his funeral, including practically every big name in southern Soul (even Music/JamesBrown). His song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" went on to be a major posthumous hit, and came to be seen as his SignatureSong. His music influenced dozens of other artists and earned him the well-deserved title of King of Soul.

Redding, who at age 26 seemed like he was poised to make a breakout as a major music star, died suddenly toward the end of 1967 while on a concert tour, when a private plane flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Madison, Wisconsin had an equipment malfunction as it tried to make a landing in cold, foggy conditions, then plummeted into the freezing waters of Lake Monona. The crash killed Redding, his pilot, and four of the six members of The Bar-Kays, the Stax band that Redding had recently enlisted as a backing band.[[note]]Bar-Kays trumpeter Ben Cauley was the sole survivor of the crash, while bassist Jimmy Alexander was booked on a separate commercial flight after getting tasked with the return of a rental car in Cleveland.[[/note]]. His song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" went on to be a posthumous hit, and came to be seen as his SignatureSong. His music influenced dozens of other artists and earned him the well-deserved title of King of Soul.

Redding, along with most of his band, was killed in a plane crash at the height of his fame, when he was only twenty-six years old. His song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" went on to be a posthumous hit, and came to be seen as his SignatureSong. His music influenced dozens of other artists and earned him the well-deserved title of King of Soul.

* ArtShift: "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is quite different to much of his other work, as Redding wanted to evoke a different emotional style. If that's what you know him for, it can be jarring to hear his other work, which tends more strongly to Rock and Soul and high energy perforances than to contemplative pieces (for instance, "Hard to Handle").

* ArtShift: "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is quite different to much of his other work, as Redding wanted to evoke a different emotional style. If that's what you know him for, it can be jarring to hear his other work, which tends more strongly to Rock and Soul and high energy perforances than to contemplative pieces.

* BittersweetEnding: Not only did he die a matter of months after his triumphant Monterey Pop Festival performance and Aretha Franklin taking "Respect" to #1, he also died one day before the anniversary of the death of his idol Music/SamCooke.

* ShesGotLegs: From his set at the Film/MontereyPop Festival:
-->'''Redding''': This one goes out to all the miniskirts... I dig.

* CoverVersion: Redding did quite a few covers across several genres -- gospel, traditional pop, straight-up {{blues}}, CountryMusic, early {{funk}}, and UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion rock -- with his most famous probably being the 1930s standard "Try a Little Tenderness", Music/SamCooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and Music/TheRollingStones' "Satisfaction". His own songs have been subject to a great many covers over the years as well.

* BittersweetEnding: Not only did he die a matter of months after his triumphant Monterey Pop Festival performance and Aretha Franklin taking "Respect" to #1, he also died one day before the anniversary of the death of his idol Music/SamCooke

-->"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f74f2bc40c0ef6de937347124ca94808.jpg]]

Redding died along with most of his band in a plane crash at the height of his fame, when he was only twenty-six years old. His song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" went on to be a posthumous hit, and came to be seen as his SignatureSong. His music influenced dozens of other artists and earned him the well-deserved title of King of Soul.

Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American {{Soul}} singer famous for his distinctive voice and energetic live performances. Born in Georgia, he was influenced by GospelMusic as well as the output of fellow Georgia native Music/LittleRichard, whose raw, emotional vocals he greatly admired. When he came to Creator/StaxRecords he recorded with the backing of house bands Booker T. and the [=MGs=] and the Mar-Kays, often recording songs he had written himself. Redding's songwriting and performing, which combined soul with rock and roll codified southern soul, and he is often credited as the TropeMaker for the Deep Soul subgenre.

* ShesGotLegs: From the Film/MontereyPop Festival
-->'''Redding''': This one goes out to all the miniskirts...I dig.

* CoverVersion: Redding did quite a few covers across several genres - gospel, traditional pop, straight-up {{blues}}, CountryMusic, early {{funk}}, and UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion rock - with his most famous probably being "Try A Little Tenderness", Music/SamCooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and Music/TheRollingStones' "Satisfaction". His own songs have been subject to a great many covers over the years as well.
* FakeOutFadeOut: Odd live-only variant; live versions of "Try A Little Tenderness" often featured Redding and the band jumping back into the song after an apparent conclusion.
* GenerationXerox: The Reddings, featuring his sons Dexter and Otis III, had a few R&B hits in TheEighties, including a CoverVersion of "(Sittin' on) The Dock Of The Bay".

* {{Rockumentary}}: 2007's ''Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of Otis Redding''.
* SeductionLyric: “Hard to Handle” is an upfront seduction in which the singer mostly seems to be offering experience and technical competence.

* CelebritiesHangOutInHeaven: "Rock and Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers imagines Redding with several deceased other musicians -- including Music/JimiHendrix, Music/JanisJoplin, Music/JimMorrison, Music/JimCroce, and Music/BobbyDarin -- in Heaven together forming a hell of a band, band, band!

** One of his most exuberant songs opens with the line "They call me [[TitleDrop Mr. Pitiful]]".

* {{Rockumentary}}: 2007's ''Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of Otis Redding''