This past week has been quite a time for folks in Macon, Georgia where the anniversary of what would have been the late, great Otis Redding’s 66th birthday has been commemorated with a series of events which culminated in a special memorial concert this past Friday (September 14th) which included included a musical tribute hosted by special guests Kenny Lattimore and Chanté Moore with performances by Dexter and Otis Redding, III (The Reddings), The Macon Symphony Orchestra, the Bar-Kays, Taj Mahal and American Idol finalist, Diana DeGarmo. “It was an evening to remember,” stated Redding’s widow, Zelma. “Seeing my sons perform Otis’ music with the Bar-Kays brought back so many memories of Otis’ days performing with that band. It was an excellent evening and we raised over $100,000 for The Big “O” Youth Educational Dream Foundation.”

Another highlight of the week was the opening of Otis Redding: I’ve Got Dreams To Remember, a multimedia, interactive exhibit which includes 175 artifacts including photographs, handwritten lyrics, posters, letters and other memorabilia that tell the story of Redding’s rise to international stardom. Multimedia kiosks enable visitors to experience his musical evolution as a singer, composer, arranger, producer and performer.

The activities of the week were the start of a fourth-month long celebration of Otis Redding’s life and legacy leading up to the 40th anniversary of his passing on December 10, 1967 in the tragic crash that ended his mere twenty-six years here. The remarkable thing, as I noted when honored to be asked to write the official Otis Redding bio, was the amount of music Otis recorded in the just four years he was signed to Volt, the subsidiary of Stax Records. Beyond the six albums he cut (including the classic “King & Queen” set with labelmate Carla Thomas and the “Live In Europe” LP which derived from his appearances as part of the famous Stax/Volt Revue shows taped in March 1967), Otis left behind enough material for what would be another seven albums released posthumously.

For me, the most impressive of these was “The Immortal Otis Redding,” issued in 1968 by virtue of certain songs – “Champagne And Wine,” a reading of the spiritual “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” “Hard To Handle,” the “Happy Song” and my favorite, the poignantly wistful “I’ve Got Dreams To
Remember.”

That Redding composition (co-penned with his wife Zelma) also gives its name to a great new DVD which Stax/Concord has just released. Featured for the first time on this 90-minute DVD are sixteen full-length performances by Otis including a wealth of staggering performances filmed throughout the United States and Europe culminating in the final two performances of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ and ‘Respect’, taped at a local Cleveland television show less than twenty-four hours before Otis’ death.

Interspersed between the performances are more than forty minutes of exclusive new interviews documenting Otis’ incredible life and career with stirring reminiscences from his wife Zelma and daughter Karla. Also interviewed are Steve Cropper, who co-wrote with Otis and played guitar on virtually every record he made at Stax; Wayne Jackson, the trumpet player for the Mar-keys
(and Memphis Horns) who also played on most of Otis’ recordings, and Jim Stewart, the founder of Stax Records, who gave his first interview in thirteen years. Issued with the full cooperation of his estate, this is the first official DVD anthology of classic archival Otis Redding television performances. Watching it I am reminded of the enormous contribution Otis Redding made to the world of contemporary popular music as an R&B pioneer of the first order.

David Nathan
Aka the British Ambassador Of Soul
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com

ANGIE STONE: BABY!

The choice of who would be the first new artist signed to the revived Stax imprint was likely no ‘walk in the park’ and with such a heralded tradition to uphold, whoever put their name on the dotted line had to bring a little ‘sumthin’ sumthin’ (as the co-writer of the Maxwell hit of a few years ago, Leon Ware – himself a new signing to Stax might observe)!

Well, Angie Stone brings more than a little ‘sumthin’ sumthin’ to Stax, whose mission is to bring music by contemporary and traditional soul artists back to the marketplace. The multi-talented singer/songwriter and self-taught musician has cred (as in credibility), particularly among lovers of neo-soul or retro-soul styles – terms which she is personally quick to let folks know she doesn’t endorse!

Real die-hards know that Angie started out with a female rap trio (The Sequence) from her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, recording for the Sugarhill label (the original ‘home’ for rap) back in the early ‘80s before re-surfacing in the early ‘90s with another trio, Vertical Hold. It took another six years before Angie finally emerged as a solo artist so to say she’s paid some dues would be ever so slight an understatement!

Her first solo album for Arista, “Black Diamond” brought Angie to mainstream attention thanks to “No More Rain (In This Cloud)” which sampled the Gladys Knight & The Pips Motown classic, “Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)” and became a Top 10 R&B hit.
A switch to J Records yielded two more albums (2001’s “Mahogany Soul” and three years later, “Stone Love”) and as of this year, Angie calls Stax her new recording home.

We got a taste of what to expect with her rendition of Maurice White’s “Be Ever Wonderful” on the “Interpretations: Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire” album earlier this year and those of us who were in Memphis and Los Angeles witnessed Angie give Shirley Brown’s classic “Woman To Woman” her own soulful twist.

Coming shortly is her Stax debut “The Art Of Love And War” which has been preceded with the single, “Baby” which features the legendary Betty Wright, always a delight to hear – and see, thanks to her appearance in the video for the song, a well-scripted clip of love gone bad then restored. In keeping with Angie’s past recordings, “Baby” is a tale that will have particularly resonance for many women who consider her their ‘voice’ in the world of contemporary soul music. Can’t wait for the album!

David Nathan
Aka the British Ambassador Of Soul
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com