Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Encyclopedia
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by soul
singer Otis Redding
, released September 15, 1965 on Stax Records
. Most recording sessions took place in April and July 1965 at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
. The album is considered by many critics to be Redding's first fully realized album. By the time of its release, four of the album's tracks had already or would later be released as singles. An expanded reissue of Otis Blue was released on April 22, 2008.
, Redding's idol, who died the previous December in 1964. Their styles couldn't have been more different; Cooke smooth and sure, Redding raw and pleading. But Redding's versions of "Shake
" and "A Change Is Gonna Come
" show how Cooke's sound and message helped shape Redding's Southern soul sound. Redding's singing reaches a new level of expressiveness with this as well as with covers of B. B. King
's "Rock Me Baby
" and the Motown hit "My Girl". Also featured is Redding's rendition of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
", a song epitomizing the fully formed Stax/Volt sound and which Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
originally wrote in tribute to and imitation of Redding's style. Redding had never heard the original before he recorded his version only two months after the Stones' single was released, and changed some of the words, including singing "satisfaction" as "satisfashion". Redding said, "I use a lot of words different than the Stones' version. That's because I made them up".
"Respect" was a Redding original which became much more famous with Aretha Franklin
's cover version. The album opener and B-side to his "Respect" single, "Ole Man Trouble
", is a sign of Redding's emerging mature and reflective side that was to culminate in the posthumous "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
". "I've Been Loving You Too Long
", co-written with Jerry Butler
, was Redding's biggest hit until "The Dock of the Bay". The emotional album closer, "You Don't Miss Your Water
", was written by fellow Stax mate William Bell
four years prior to this recording and is given a deep soul treatment with a passionate shout by Redding as is Solomon Burke
's "Down in the Valley
". The album, with the exception of "I've Been Loving You Too Long", was recorded in a 24-hour session in July by Redding and the Stax house band, which included Isaac Hayes
and Booker T. & the MG's, among others.
ranked it 35 on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time". The album was also ranked 74 on the Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, 92 on Time magazine's list of the All-Time 100 Greatest Albums, and included in Q magazine's Best Soul Albums of All Time list. Rolling Stone
magazine later described the album as "Redding's true dictionary of soul, a stunning journey through the past and future vocabulary of R&B....documenting a masterful artist rising to...the immense challenge of his times." The album appeared in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
reissue
features the stereo and mono versions of the album with bonus tracks that include B-sides
, live tracks, and previously unreleased alternate mixes.
.
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, released September 15, 1965 on Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. Most recording sessions took place in April and July 1965 at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The album is considered by many critics to be Redding's first fully realized album. By the time of its release, four of the album's tracks had already or would later be released as singles. An expanded reissue of Otis Blue was released on April 22, 2008.
Music
Otis Blue includes covers of three songs by Sam CookeSam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, Redding's idol, who died the previous December in 1964. Their styles couldn't have been more different; Cooke smooth and sure, Redding raw and pleading. But Redding's versions of "Shake
Shake (Sam Cooke song)
"Shake" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke .The song was also recorded by Eric Burdon and The Animals, Otis Redding, The Supremes...
" and "A Change Is Gonna Come
A Change Is Gonna Come (song)
"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a 1964 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963 and released under the RCA Victor label shortly after his death in late 1964. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the...
" show how Cooke's sound and message helped shape Redding's Southern soul sound. Redding's singing reaches a new level of expressiveness with this as well as with covers of B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
's "Rock Me Baby
Rock Me Baby (song)
"Rock Me Baby" is a blues standard that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. When B.B. King released "Rock Me Baby" in 1964, it became a Top 40 hit reaching #34 in the Billboard Hot 100. The song is based on earlier blues songs and has been interpreted and recorded by a...
" and the Motown hit "My Girl". Also featured is Redding's rendition of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
" Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
", a song epitomizing the fully formed Stax/Volt sound and which Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
originally wrote in tribute to and imitation of Redding's style. Redding had never heard the original before he recorded his version only two months after the Stones' single was released, and changed some of the words, including singing "satisfaction" as "satisfashion". Redding said, "I use a lot of words different than the Stones' version. That's because I made them up".
"Respect" was a Redding original which became much more famous with Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's cover version. The album opener and B-side to his "Respect" single, "Ole Man Trouble
Ole Man Trouble
"Ole Man Trouble" is a song written by Otis Redding and the first track from his 1965 album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. It was released as the B-side to his hit single "Respect", the second track from Otis Blue. The song is a sign of Redding's emerging mature and reflective side that was to...
", is a sign of Redding's emerging mature and reflective side that was to culminate in the posthumous "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay
" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
". "I've Been Loving You Too Long
I've Been Loving You Too Long
"I've Been Loving You Too Long" is a song written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler. It appeared as the A-side of a 1965 hit single by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul...
", co-written with Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
, was Redding's biggest hit until "The Dock of the Bay". The emotional album closer, "You Don't Miss Your Water
You Don't Miss Your Water
"You Don't Miss Your Water" is a soul song and the debut single written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by Stax Records in 1961...
", was written by fellow Stax mate William Bell
William Bell (singer)
William Bell is an American soul singer and songwriter, and one of the architects of the Stax-Volt sound. As a performer, he is probably best known for 1961's "You Don't Miss Your Water" ; 1968's "Private Number" ; and 1976's "Tryin' To Love Two", Bell's only US top 40 hit, which also hit #1 on the...
four years prior to this recording and is given a deep soul treatment with a passionate shout by Redding as is Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
's "Down in the Valley
Down in the Valley (Solomon Burke song)
Down in the Valley is a 1962 R&B song written by Bert Berns and Solomon Burke and originally recorded by Solomon Burke. It was released on Atlantic as a B-side to "I'm Hanging Up My Heart For You". It was covered by Otis Redding on his album Otis Blue...
". The album, with the exception of "I've Been Loving You Too Long", was recorded in a 24-hour session in July by Redding and the Stax house band, which included Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
and Booker T. & the MG's, among others.
Critical reception
Otis Blue ranks near the top of many "best album" lists in disparate genres. NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
ranked it 35 on their list of the "Greatest Albums of All Time". The album was also ranked 74 on the Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, 92 on Time magazine's list of the All-Time 100 Greatest Albums, and included in Q magazine's Best Soul Albums of All Time list. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine later described the album as "Redding's true dictionary of soul, a stunning journey through the past and future vocabulary of R&B....documenting a masterful artist rising to...the immense challenge of his times." The album appeared in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Track listing
Collector's Edition 2008
An expanded double disc set edition of Otis Blue was released on April 22, 2008. The RhinoRhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
features the stereo and mono versions of the album with bonus tracks that include B-sides
B-Sides
B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
, live tracks, and previously unreleased alternate mixes.
Disc 1
Features mono version of Otis Blue and bonus tracks including selections from In Person at the Whisky a Go GoIn Person at the Whisky a Go Go
-Personnel:* Otis Redding – vocals* James Young – guitar* Robert Holloway – tenor saxophone* Robert Pittman – tenor saxophone* Donald Henry – tenor saxophone* Sammy Coleman – trumpet* John Farris – trumpet* Clarence Johnson – trombone...
.
- "Ole Man Trouble"
- "Respect"
- "Change Gonna Come"
- "Down in the Valley"
- "I've Been Loving You Too Long"
- "Shake"
- "My Girl"
- "Wonderful World"
- "Rock Me Baby"
- "Satisfaction"
- "You Don't Miss Your Water"
- "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (Mono Mix of Stereo Album Version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- "I'm Depending on You" [bonus track]
- "Respect" (Mono Mix of Stereo Album Version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- "Ole Man Trouble" (Mono Mix of Stereo Album Version) [previously unreleased bonus track]
- "Any Ole Way" [bonus track]
- "Shake" (Live 1967, Stereo Mix of Single Version) [bonus track]
- "Ole Man Trouble" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
- "Respect" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
- "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
- "Satisfaction" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
- "I'm Depending on You" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
- "Any Ole Way" (Live at the Whisky a Go Go) [bonus track]
Disc 2
Features stereo version of Otis Blue and bonus tracks including selections from Live in Europe.- "Ole Man Trouble"
- "Respect"
- "Change Gonna Come"
- "Down in the Valley"
- "I've Been Loving You Too Long"
- "Shake"
- "My Girl"
- "Wonderful World"
- "Rock Me Baby"
- "Satisfaction"
- "You Don't Miss Your Water"
- "Respect" (1967 Version) [bonus track]
- "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (Live in Europe) [bonus track]
- "My Girl" (Live in Europe) [bonus track]
- "Shake" (Live in Europe) [bonus track]
- "Satisfaction" (Live in Europe) [bonus track]
- "Respect" (Live in Europe) [bonus track]
Chart history
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| Otis Blue |
|
| "Respect Respect (song) "Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told... " |
Ole Man Trouble "Ole Man Trouble" is a song written by Otis Redding and the first track from his 1965 album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. It was released as the B-side to his hit single "Respect", the second track from Otis Blue. The song is a sign of Redding's emerging mature and reflective side that was to... " Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... No. 35 |
| "I've Been Loving You Too Long I've Been Loving You Too Long "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is a song written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler. It appeared as the A-side of a 1965 hit single by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul... " |
|
| "Shake Shake (Sam Cooke song) "Shake" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke .The song was also recorded by Eric Burdon and The Animals, Otis Redding, The Supremes... " |
You Don't Miss Your Water "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a soul song and the debut single written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by Stax Records in 1961... " |
| "Satisfaction (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction " Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song... " |
Musicians
- Otis ReddingOtis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
– vocals - Steve CropperSteve CropperSteve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
– guitar, producer - Donald Dunn – bass
- Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
– keyboards, producer - Al Jackson, Jr. – drums
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet
- Andrew Love – tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Gene Miller – trumpet
- Fred Newman – baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
Additional personnel
- Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
– engineer - Jim StewartJim Stewart (music)Jim Stewart is a former record company executive and producer who co-founded Stax Records.- Biography :Raised on a farm in Middleton, Tennessee, Stewart moved to Memphis in 1948, after graduating from high school. He worked at Sears, at First National Bank, and then was drafted into the United...
– supervision - Yves Beauvais – reissue producer
- Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch – remasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Pete Sahula – cover photo
- Haig Adishian – cover design
- Bob Rolontz – liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
External links
- Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...