跟许多灵魂歌手一样,Otis Redding也是在教堂的唱诗班里得到音乐启蒙教育的。他出生于1941年九月,父亲是浸信会的牧师。喜爱音乐的他,高中都没有毕业就辍学了。有一次,他在一家医院里打工,还因为忘情的在大厅里歌唱而遭到开除。
为了能够接近他所喜爱的音乐,他在家乡找了一份工作,替当地一支合唱团担任打杂的小弟,偶而也客串演唱。1962年,他开车送合唱团的成员到曼斐斯的某家唱片公司去试音,由于主角不是他,在录音的过程中,他只好乖乖的坐在角落里,合唱团录完之后,他忍不住表示自己也很希望能有机会录音。在录音时间还剩余二十分钟的情况下,唱片公司老板同意让他试试看。
他录了两首歌,第一首让老板觉得太像他从小崇拜的老牌黑人摇滚歌手Little Richard,第二首则是一首抒情的歌谣曲「These Arms of Mine」,老板虽然并不是特别的欣赏,还是决定予以发行,结果却意外的成了他的第一首进榜单曲。
其后的几年间,Otis Redding陆续又有了其他几首R&B的畅销曲,包括「Pain in My Heart」、「Security」、「I've Been Loving You Too Long」、「Respect」以及替他赢得更多注意的歌曲,翻唱自滚石合唱团经典的「(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction」等等。其中发表于1965年的「Respect」在1967年由Aretha Franklin成功的翻唱并且夺得冠军,轰动了歌坛。
只是当时他的知名度仅限于黑人,对于绝大多数的白人来说,仍然没有几个人认识他。为了替他宣传,唱片公司安排了巡迴演唱的行程,把他的名声传到了欧洲,尤其是英国和法国,接著他们回到美国,参加蒙特利流行音乐节的演出。他是最后上场的,也是那次活动中唯一的灵魂歌手,而在他上台的时候,已经过了午夜,疲累的白人观众很多都在打瞌睡了,根本无心注意这位他们几乎毫不认识的黑人歌手。
Otis Redding以一首充满活力的「Shake」,炒热了现场,使得他在那次演唱会中的表现成了传奇。而由于他也是第一次接触到那种嬉皮听众,他颇有感触,演唱结束之后,他在停靠在旧金山附近的一艘游艇上写下了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」这首歌。1967年十二月七号,他进入录音室,把这首歌曲录制下来,在歌曲的开头,他加上了海浪和海鸥的声音,用柔和的节奏,唱出了一个孤独男人心中的渴望。
三天之后,十二月十号,他结束了威斯康辛的一场演唱之后,登上了他刚刚购买的双引擎小飞机,准备前往康乃狄格去演出。当时的他,可以说是志得意满,因为不但他的「Respect」被灵魂歌后Aretha Franklin唱红,他本人也刚被英国著名的Melody Maker读者票选为全世界最佳的男歌手,取代了过去八年由猫王所霸占的宝座。
那天的气候十分不利于飞行,空中弥漫著浓雾。起飞之后不久,飞机就在离机场四英里的地方失事坠毁,很快的沉没在冰冷的湖水中,Otis Redding就这样结束了他短短的一生,只活了二十六岁。跟他一起丧生的,还包括了飞机的驾驶员、他的仆从和Bar-Keys乐队的四名团员。
四千五百位歌迷和亲友参加了他的丧礼。在他过世之后,唱片公司发行了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」,很快的就直冲榜首,成为他一生之中唯一的冠军曲,可惜他自己却享受不到那些荣誉了。1980年,他的两个儿子跟一个表弟组成了「The Reddings」合唱团,翻唱了「(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay」,并且得到第五十五名,成为有史以来第一首由原唱者的后人重新唱红的冠军曲。
这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第74位。
Otis Redding's third album, and his first fully realized album, presents his talent unfettered, his direction clear, and his confidence emboldened, with fully half the songs representing a reach that extended his musical grasp. More than a quarter of this album is given over to Redding's versions of songs by Sam Cooke, his idol, who had died the previous December, and all three are worth owning and hearing. Two of them, "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Shake," are every bit as essential as any soul recordings ever made, and while they (and much of this album) have reappeared on several anthologies, it's useful to hear the songs from those sessions juxtaposed with each other, and with "Wonderful World," which is seldom compiled elsewhere.
Also featured are Redding's spellbinding renditions of "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), "My Girl," and "You Don't Miss Your Water." "Respect" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long," two originals that were to loom large in his career, are here as well; the former became vastly popular in the hands of Aretha Franklin and the latter was an instant soul classic. Among the seldom-cited jewels here is a rendition of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" that has the singer sharing the spotlight with Steve Cropper, his playing alternately elegant and fiery, with Wayne Jackson and Gene "Bowlegs" Miller's trumpets and Andrew Love's and Floyd Newman's saxes providing the backing. Redding's powerful, remarkable singing throughout makes Otis Blue gritty, rich, and achingly alive, and an essential listening experience.