During the final verse of his Sam Cooke-inspired 1967 hit “Sweet Soul Music,” the late Arthur Conley (a protégé of Otis Redding’s) referred to his mentor as ‘the King of them all, y’all’ and in the royal court of rhythm and blues, Conley was pretty much right on target. Time has a strange way of causing us to sometimes forget musical pioneers whose impact reaches beyond generations. I recently played an Otis Redding track on my weekly UK Solar radio show, “Dedicated To Soul” (which airs on Sundays,10-midnight GMT, 5pm-7pm EST and 2pm-4pm PST at www.solarradio.com) and as I listened, I marveled at Redding’s ability to interpret a song with such soulful feeling. The particular song I featured was “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember,” a tune he co-wrote with wife Zelma that was reissued posthumously after his tragic death in 1967. It’s plaintive, honest and delivered with such emotion that you can truly feel Redding’s mix of angst and passion.

That track is one of the thirteen that legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper chose to include on the 2006 “Stax Profiles” set. Cropper was present and played on Redding’s memorable Memphis sessions: in his accompanying liner notes, he states, “We all looked up to Otis, and when we were in the studio he was in total control of his surroundings. We couldn’t wait to see what he was going to come up with next… We literally had a blast recording Otis.”

The admiration and enjoyment that Cropper, other members of the MGs (Duck Dunn on bass, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Booker T. Jones on keyboards) and the magnificent horn players (inevitably members of The Mar-Keys) is evident on all of Redding’s recordings. The “Stax Profiles” set mixes studio recordings with some live material from Otis’ performances at the Los Angeles Whiskey A Go Go (in April 1966) and his famous appearances in London as part of the Stax/Volt Revue (in March ’67, which I had the pleasure to witness). In either environment – live or in the studio – Redding brought realness to his work. As I listen to his version of Jackie Wilson’s bluesy “A Woman, A Lover, A Friend,” I marvel at his interpretative skills. Like other soul greats – such as Aretha Franklin – he could literally anyone else’s songs and make them his own: other examples on this fine 13-track set include Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” and The Stones’ fast’n’furious “Satisfaction,” two tunes Franklin herself reinvented in ’67.

However it is Redding’s originals that enduringly stay in my memory: as I listen to the fervor of “My Lover’s Prayer” or the understated “Champagne And Wine,” I appreciate the distinctive uniqueness of Redding’s vocalizing. He is singular, one of a kind, his own man – and even when he’s celebrating – as he does with “Happy Song (Dum Dum),” you can feel the joy. It’s no surprise that Cropper picked some brilliant examples of Otis Redding’s power and presence for this CD. There’s not much else to say but listen and marvel at the artistry of one of soul music’s greatest!

David Nathan
a/k/a “The British Ambassador Of Soul”
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com, www.soulmusicglobal.com
Secretary, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation (www.rhythm-n-blues.org)

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