Otis Redding

Tonight I was thinking about Otis Redding. I really loved his music. And I was thinking about what I could say that would describe it adequately. Silly me. You can actually see him perform.

Here he is on the Stax tour of Europe in 1967:



About Try A Little Tenderness:

A popular version in an entirely new form was recorded by soul artist Otis Redding in 1966. Redding was backed on his version by Booker T. & the MG's, and Stax staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement. [1] Redding's recording features a slow soulful opening that eventually builds into a frenetic R&B conclusion. It has been named on a number of "best songs of all time" lists, including those from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is in the 204th position on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

It is remarkable that 42 years after this performance was recorded, it is still fresh. And nobody who has covered this song (including Chris Brown and Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke) does it as well.