Will John Boyega nail his role as Otis Redding in Channing Godfrey People’s Otis & Zelma? 

Otis Redding’s posthumous albums are coming out as a multi-colored vinyl box set. Otis Forever: The Albums & Singles (1968-1970) compiles six albums and 24 singles.  The ’60s’ soul star had a blazing moment during the decade with “These Arms Of Mine” and  “Try A Little Tenderness” in a repertoire which also saw Aretha Franklin popularize his single “Respect. Redding’s lone number one hit  “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” was released after his untimely death in a 1967 plane crash. The Dock Of The Bay, The Immortal Otis Redding, Love Man, and Tell The Truth, will be available in different colored vinyl as well as all black. The Singles 1968-1970 is a double album of 24 songs. Redding recorded a lot of music between 1962-1967 many times with Stax’s house band Booker T. & the MGs. His output for the label helped Stax Records achieve worldwide recognition and respect that still holds today. 

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” was the first song to posthumously snag the number one slot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Redding’s achievements after death continue with Grammys, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a postage stamp and being the subject of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis.” The release of Otis Forever: The Albums & Singles (1968-1970) comes not too long after the passing of Otis Redding III who died in April. The box set comes out on June 9th and can be pre-ordered through Rhino’s website. 

Otis Redding was the tenth artist to record “Try A Little Tenderness” when he included it on his 1966 fifth album. The publishers of the song did not want Redding to record a “negro version” but Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke had already covered it in 1962 and 1964. Percy Sledge also covered “Try A Little Tenderness” in 1966. Redding and Isaac Hayes rearranged it and the slow beginning changed into a frenetic climax of Redding’s pleas. Redding incorporated Duke Ellington and Lee Gaines’s “Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me)” into his cover and the popular phrase “sock it to me.”  “Try A Little Tenderness” was one of the hits to propel Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul up the charts. His intense performance gave him ownership of the song in the pop realm despite it having been written and recorded by others. The album was adored by critics and widely accepted by the public and “Try A Little Tenderness” became Redding’s signature song. Dictionary Of Soul was the last album of Redding’s to come out before his death in a 1967 plane crash. There are no less than 30 versions of “Try A Little Tenderness” including a Frank Sinatra cover but Otis Redding’s recording is still the most recognized one. The song has also been sampled most famously by Jay-Z and Kanye West for their Watch The Throne single “Otis.” The Otis Redding Foundation is currently in the process of creating the Otis Redding Center for the Arts in Redding’s native Macon, Georgia. 

[youtube id=”rTVjnBo96Ug”]Otis Redding and Steve Cropper wrote, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” in reference to Redding’s experience of living on a houseboat in 1967 not long after his famed Monterrey Pop Festival performance. Redding sang about leaving his home in Georgia to perform in San Francisco. He noted the ships he saw coming and going as well as the seagulls in the sky. His performance at the festival and “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” were turning points in his career taking him from a mostly Black audience into the white mainstream. Redding was inspired by The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and told his wife that he wanted to try a different sound. Some of his colleagues feared that the song would ruin Stax Records’ reputation as a soul label and alienate Redding’s Black fans. The November recording sessions would be his last because he died in a plane crash December 10th.”(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” became the first song to hit the number one spot posthumously in the history of the charts. It was also Redding’s only song to take the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Otis Redding is one of the few artists referred to as the King of Soul along with James Brown. His influence went beyond his peers and his legacy is alive in the powerful emotion embedded in every relevant soul and R&B artist to emerge since his passing. Redding’s music is still talked about and he has been honored with a memorial statue in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a bridge, a library, Billboard’s Otis Redding Excellence Award and placement into Hollywood’s Rockwalk. The Otis Redding Foundation was created in 2007 by his widow, Zelma Redding, and its mission is to empower youth through music education.