97-491: Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (often referred to simply as Otis Blue ) is the third studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Otis Redding . It was first released on September 15, 1965, as an LP record through the Stax Records subsidiary label Volt. Otis Blue is composed mainly of cover versions of contemporary R&B hits, exploring themes from the blues and love ballads , among others. Three of
194-637: A B-side of " Respect ". The album's fifth track, " I've Been Loving You Too Long ", had been previously recorded in April in mono with Booker T. Jones on piano. It was released as a single that month and became a number-two hit on Billboard ' s R&B chart ; it was re-recorded in stereo for the album. The majority of the tracks on Otis Blue are cover versions, including three songs originally by fellow soul singer Sam Cooke , who had been shot dead in December 1964. According to Jason Mendelsohn of PopMatters ,
291-412: A call and response between the lead and backing vocalists , an especially tense vocal sound, and occasional improvisational additions, twirls, and auxiliary sounds. Soul music is known for reflecting African-American identity and stressing the importance of African-American culture. Soul music dominated the U.S. R&B charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in
388-635: A subsidiary label of Stax. Redding recorded the album with the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s (keyboardist/bandleader Booker T. Jones , guitarist Steve Cropper , bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn , drummer Al Jackson Jr. ); Isaac Hayes on piano; and a horn section consisting of members of the Mar-Keys and the Memphis Horns . The album was largely recorded in a 24-hour session between 10 am on July 9 (a Saturday) and 2 pm on July 10, 1965, with
485-409: A " Third British Invasion " or "British Soul Invasion" in the 2000s and 2010s. Neo soul is a blend of 1970s soul-style vocals and instrumentation with contemporary R&B sounds, hip-hop beats, and poetic interludes. The style was developed in the early to mid-1990s, and the term was coined in the early 1990s by producer and record label executive Kedar Massenburg . A key element in neo-soul
582-538: A Thousand Dances ") and Thee Midniters played brown-eyed R&B music with a rebellious rock and roll edge. Many of these artists drew from the frat rock and garage rock scenes. However, the large Hispanic population on the West Coast began gradually moving away from energetic R&B to romantic soul, and the results were "some of the sweetest soul music heard during the late 1960s and 1970s." Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002)
679-401: A Woman ". Singer Bobby Womack said, "Ray was the genius. He turned the world onto soul music." Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style. Little Richard , who inspired Otis Redding , and James Brown both were equally influential. Brown was nicknamed the "Godfather of Soul Music", and Richard proclaimed himself as
776-495: A better soul record", wrote Stephen Deusner in the Memphis Flyer , crediting the singer's "effortlessly expressive vocals" and the "measured accompaniment " of the Stax house band. Similarly, Spencer praised "Cropper's stinging guitar and the atonal Memphis horns", saying it is "as much their album as Redding's", while Q noted how the performers' individual musical elements coalesce with "a beautiful precision which borders on
873-476: A break from 8 pm Saturday to 2 am on Sunday to allow the house band to play local gigs. As with Redding's previous album, engineer Tom Dowd came to the studio to assist the recording, considering Redding to be a "genius" alongside the likes of Bobby Darin and Ray Charles . " Ole Man Trouble ", placed as the opening track on the LP, was finished in sessions earlier than the other songs and later released as
970-496: A diplomat until 1944 when his father died, founded Atlantic Records in 1947 with his friend Herb Abramson . Ertegun wrote many songs for Ray Charles and the Clovers . He even sang backup vocals for his artist Big Joe Turner on the song, "Shake Rattle and Roll". Dominated by Berry Gordy 's Motown Records empire, Detroit's soul is strongly rhythmic and influenced by gospel music. The Motown sound often includes hand clapping ,
1067-488: A distinctive New Orleans soul sound that generated a passel of national hits. Other notable New Orleans hits came from Robert Parker, Betty Harris , and Aaron Neville . While record labels in New Orleans largely disappeared by the mid-1960s, producers in the city continued to record New Orleans soul artists for other mainly New York City and Los Angeles–based record labels—notably Lee Dorsey for New York-based Amy Records and
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#17328700402891164-538: A distinctive sound, which included putting vocals further back in the mix than most contemporary R&B records, using vibrant horn parts in place of background vocals, and a focus on the low end of the frequency spectrum. The vast majority of Stax releases were backed by house bands Booker T & the MGs (with Booker T. Jones , Steve Cropper , Duck Dunn , and Al Jackson ) and the Memphis Horns (the splinter horn section of
1261-638: A franchise that saw the creation of a record label ( Soul Train Records ) that distributed music by the Whispers , Carrie Lucas , and an up-and-coming group known as Shalamar . Numerous disputes led to Cornelius spinning off the record label to his talent booker, Dick Griffey , who transformed the label into Solar Records , itself a prominent soul music label throughout the 1980s. The TV series continued to air until 2006, although other predominantly African-American music genres such as hip-hop began overshadowing soul on
1358-508: A huge impact on the pop and R&B charts and a huge direct influence on the birth of Funk music. The principal architect of Crescent City's soul was a songwriter, arranger, and producer Allen Toussaint . He worked with such artists as Irma Thomas ("the Soul Queen of New Orleans"), Jessie Hill, Chris Kenner , Benny Spellman, and Ernie K-Doe on the Minit/Instant label complex to produce
1455-468: A kind of Southern soul sorcery ... arguably the hottest and strongest half-hour in soul". Angus Taylor of BBC Music found Otis Blue to be "at the crossroads of pop, rock, gospel, blues and soul", with a series of "short, punchy" songs "flawlessly ordered to ebb and flow between stirring balladry and foot stomping exuberance", making it Redding's "definitive statement". Harold, in PopMatters , also praised
1552-515: A newfound sophisticated musicality and ambitious lyricism in black pop. Among these musicians were Sly Stone , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Curtis Mayfield , and George Clinton . In discussing the progressive soul of the 1970s, Martin cites this period's albums from Wonder ( Talking Book , Innervisions , Songs in the Key of Life ), War ( All Day Music , The World Is a Ghetto , War Live ), and
1649-536: A powerful bassline , strings , brass and vibraphone . Motown Records' house band was the Funk Brothers . AllMusic cites Motown as the pioneering label of pop-soul, a style of soul music with raw vocals, but polished production and toned-down subject matter intended for pop radio and crossover success. Artists of this style included Diana Ross , the Jackson 5 , Stevie Wonder , and Billy Preston . Popular during
1746-405: A series of soul ballads characterized by unabashedly sentimental lyrics usually begging forgiveness or asking a girlfriend to come home... He soon became known as "Mr. Pitiful" and earned a reputation as the leading performer of soul ballads. The most important female soul singer to emerge was Aretha Franklin , originally a gospel singer who began to make secular recordings in 1960 but whose career
1843-556: A sound, it’s also a look. It comes with fashion that breaks barriers and shows creativity. The whole aesthetic is art, from the sound to the look. Neo-soul is a blend of music and culture and its impact in the music industry is timeless. Its impact can still be seen and felt across many genres and artists. Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in the late 1960s out of the British mod subculture in Northern England and
1940-491: A successful pop music career. Furthermore, his 1962 recording of " Bring It On Home To Me " has been described as "perhaps the first record to define the soul experience". Jackie Wilson, a contemporary of both Cooke and James Brown, also achieved crossover success, especially with his 1957 hit " Reet Petite ". He even was particularly influential for his dramatic delivery and performances. Husband-wife duo Ike & Tina Turner emerged as "leading exponents" of soul music in
2037-477: A woman for more respect, while Franklin ironically countered the song and transformed it into a " feminist hymn". The next song is an energetic version of Sam Cooke's ballad, " Change Gonna Come "; a protest against racial segregation and disrespect for black people. " Down in the Valley " is a funky cover of Solomon Burke 's original, with whom Redding toured before the recording. Nate Patrin of Pitchfork felt that
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#17328700402892134-449: Is R&B or soul music performed by white artists. The meaning of blue-eyed soul has evolved over the decades. Originally the term was associated with mid-1960s white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music released by Motown Records and Stax Records . The Righteous Brothers, the Rascals , Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood , Van Morrison & Them, and
2231-516: Is brown-eyed soul , or soul music or R&B created and performed mainly by Latinos in Southern California during the 1960s, continuing through to the early 1980s. The genre of soul music occasionally draws from Latin , and often contains rock music influences. This contrasts with blue-eyed soul, soul music performed by non-Hispanic white artists. Ritchie Valens , one of the original pioneers of brown-eyed soul music, also became one of
2328-658: Is a popular music genre that originated in African-American communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues . Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, and U.S. record labels such as Motown , Atlantic and Stax were influential in its proliferation during the civil rights movement . Soul also became popular worldwide, directly influencing rock music and
2425-408: Is a heavy dose of Fender Rhodes or Wurlitzer electric piano "pads" over a mellow, grooving interplay between the drums (usually with a rim shot snare sound) and a muted, deep funky bass. The Fender Rhodes piano sound gives the music a warm, organic character. Notable artists include Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu. Also newer artists like H.E.R and Sza are influenced by Neo Soul. Neo Soul
2522-430: Is credited as the engineer who popularized the eight-track recording system for commercial music and popularized the use of stereophonic sound . He also pioneered the use of linear channel faders as opposed to rotary controls on audio mixers. He devised various methods for altering sound after the initial recording. In 2003, director Mark Moormann premiered an award-winning documentary about his life entitled Tom Dowd and
2619-399: Is full of deep lyrics and soulful sounds that resonate with listeners. Neo Soul has had a lasting impact on the music industry, Along with a deep soulful sound, it also includes very soulful lyrics that touch on topics of love and even loss. This genre comes from African American culture and is connected to genres like gospel and blues. Fashion is also very important to this genre. It’s not just
2716-551: The English Midlands , based on a particular style of soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. The phrase northern soul was coined by a journalist Dave Godin and popularised through his column in Blues and Soul magazine. The rare soul records were played by DJs at nightclubs , and included obscure 1960s and early 1970s American recordings with an uptempo beat, such as those on Motown and smaller labels, not necessarily from
2813-556: The Manhattan Project , which developed the atomic bomb . The purpose of the work was unclear until 1945. Dowd planned to obtain a degree in nuclear physics when he completed his work on the Manhattan Project. However, because his work was top secret, the university did not recognize it, and Dowd decided not to continue, since the university's curriculum would not have been able to further his physics education. His research for
2910-662: The Northern United States . Many artists in various genres of electronic music (such as house , drum n bass , UK garage , and downtempo ) are heavily influenced by soul, and have produced many soul-inspired compositions. The impact of soul music was manifold; internationally, white and other non-black musicians were influenced by soul music. British soul and Northern soul , rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in Northern England, are examples. Several terms were introduced, such as " blue-eyed soul ", which
3007-623: The UK Albums Chart , while three of its singles became top 40 hits: the Redding original " I've Been Loving You Too Long ", the Rolling Stones cover " Satisfaction ", and " Respect " (later repopularized by Aretha Franklin ). Released at the beginning of the album era , Otis Blue is considered by critics to be Redding's first fully realized LP and the definitive soul album of its period. It ranks frequently and highly on professional listings of
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-578: The music of Africa . It had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenre neo soul , which incorporated modern production elements and hip hop influences. The genre emerged from the power struggle to increase black Americans' awareness of their African ancestry, as a newfound consciousness led to new styles of music that boasted pride in being black. Soul music primarily combines elements of gospel, R&B and jazz . Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body movements, are an important hallmark of soul. Other characteristics are
3201-562: The " Motown sound ", a more rhythmic and pop -friendly style that originated from the eponymous label; Southern soul , a driving, energetic variety combining R&B with southern gospel music influences; Memphis soul , a shimmering, sultry style; New Orleans soul , which emerged from the rhythm and blues style; Chicago soul , a lighter gospel-influenced sound; and Philadelphia soul , a lush orchestral variety with doo-wop -inspired vocals. Soul music has its roots in traditional African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues and as
3298-486: The "King of Rockin' and Rollin', Rhythm and Blues Soulin ' ", because his music embodied elements of all three, and since he inspired artists in all three genres. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also are often acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the lead singer of the gospel group the Soul Stirrers , before controversially moving into secular music. His recording of " You Send Me " in 1957 launched
3395-518: The "first clear evidence of soul music shows up with the "5" Royales , an ex-gospel group that turned to R&B and in Faye Adams , whose "Shake A Hand" becomes an R&B standard". Important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter , Hank Ballard , and Etta James . Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the soul music genre with his series of hits, starting with 1954's " I Got
3492-688: The "greatest studio-recorded soul LP" from the 1960s. In a retrospective review for Pitchfork , Patrin went on to call Otis Blue "a hell of a record, the crowning achievement of a man who could sound pained and celebratory and tender and gritty and proud all at once, with a voice that everyone from John Fogerty to Swamp Dogg to Cee-lo owes a debt to". Bruce Eder from AllMusic explained further that "Redding's powerful, remarkable singing throughout makes Otis Blue gritty, rich, and achingly alive, and an essential listening experience", showcasing "his talent unfettered, his direction clear, and his confidence emboldened". "Song for song, it's difficult to imagine
3589-494: The 1940s and '50s occasionally used the term as part of their names. The jazz style that originated from gospel became known as soul jazz . As singers and arrangers began using techniques from both gospel and soul jazz in African-American popular music during the 1960s, soul music gradually functioned as an umbrella term for African-American popular music at the time. According to the Acoustic Music Organization,
3686-584: The 1960s which were unable to connect with the mainstream market. Nevertheless, soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s including bands of the British Invasion , most significantly the Beatles . There were a handful of significant British blue-eyed soul acts, including Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones . In the 1970s Carl Douglas , the Real Thing and Delegation had hits in
3783-610: The 1960s, the style became glossier during the 1970s and led to disco . In the late 2000s, the style was revisited by contemporary soul singers such as Amy Winehouse , Raphael Saadiq (specifically his 2008 album The Way I See It ) and Solange Knowles (her 2008 album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams ). The terms "deep soul" and "Southern soul" generally refer to a driving, energetic soul style combining R&B 's energy with pulsating southern United States gospel music sounds. Memphis, Tennessee , label Stax Records nurtured
3880-695: The 1960s. Their debut single " A Fool in Love " crossed over to the pop charts in 1960. They earned a Grammy nomination for their song " It's Gonna Work Out Fine " in 1962. Along with the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes , they toured the Chitlin’ Circuit as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Writer Peter Guralnick is among those to identify Solomon Burke as a key figure in the emergence of soul music, and Atlantic Records as
3977-780: The Dells and Billy Stewart . Curtis Mayfield not only scored many hits with his group, the Impressions , but wrote many hit songs for Chicago artists and produced hits on his own labels for the Fascinations , Major Lance , and the Five Stairsteps . Based primarily in the Philadelphia International record label, Philadelphia soul (or Philly Soul) had lush string and horn arrangements and doo-wop -inspired vocals. Thom Bell , and Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff are considered
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-567: The Dominos , Rod Stewart , Wishbone Ash , New Model Army , Cream , Lulu , Chicago , the Allman Brothers Band , Joe Bonamassa , the J. Geils Band , Meat Loaf , Sonny & Cher , the Rascals , The Spinners , Willie Nelson , Diana Ross , Eagles , the Four Seasons , Kenny Loggins , James Gang , Dusty Springfield , Eddie Harris , Charles Mingus , Herbie Mann , Booker T. &
4171-637: The Grass Roots were famous blue-eyed soul musicians in the 1960s. The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British media to refer to a new generation of singers who adopted elements of the Stax and Motown sounds. To a lesser extent, the term has been applied to singers in other music genres that are influenced by soul music. Artists like Hall & Oates , David Bowie , Teena Marie , Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds , Frankie Valli , Christina Aguilera , Amy Winehouse and Adele are known as blue-eyed soul singers. Another term
4268-521: The Isley Brothers ( 3 + 3 ). Isaac Hayes 's 1969 recording of " Walk on By " is considered a "classic" of prog-soul, according to City Pages journalist Jay Boller. Later prog-soul music includes recordings by Prince , Peter Gabriel , Meshell Ndegeocello , Joi , Bilal , Dwele , Anthony David , Janelle Monáe , and the Soulquarians , an experimental black-music collective active during
4365-771: The Knife". He captured jazz performances by John Coltrane , Ornette Coleman , Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker . It was Dowd's idea to cut Ray Charles' recording of " What'd I Say " into two parts and release them as the A-side and B-side of the same single record. Dowd worked as an engineer and producer from the 1940s until the beginning of the 21st century. While working for Atlantic Records, he lived in Westwood, NJ with his wife Jackie and his sons, Steven and Todd. He recorded albums by many artists including Eddie Money , Bee Gees , Eric Clapton , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Black Oak Arkansas , Derek and
4462-455: The LP's eleven songs were written by Redding, and three others were written by fellow soul singer Sam Cooke , who had died several months before the album was made. Except for one track, Otis Blue was recorded in the span of 24 hours from July 9 to 10, 1965, at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee . As with Redding's previous records, he was backed by the Stax house band Booker T. &
4559-533: The M.G.'s , Otis Redding , Aretha Franklin , Ronnie Earl , Joe Castro and Primal Scream . He was also an employee of Apex Studios in the 1950s. Dowd received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in February 2002. He died of emphysema on October 27, 2002, in Florida , where he had been living and working at Criteria Studios for many years, a week after his 77th birthday. Dowd helped to shape
4656-531: The M.G.'s , a horn section featuring members of the Mar-Keys and the Memphis Horns , and pianist Isaac Hayes , providing a rhythmic Southern soul accompaniment for the singer's exuberant and forceful performances. Otis Blue was a crossover success for Redding and proved one of his best-selling LPs with more than 250,000 copies sold. It was his first to top the US R&;B LPs chart and also reached number 6 on
4753-428: The Mar-Keys , trumpeter Wayne Jackson and saxophonist Andrew Love ). "Memphis soul" is a shimmering, sultry style of soul music produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee . It featured melancholic and melodic horns, Hammond organ , bass, and drums, as heard in recordings by Hi's Al Green and Stax's Booker T. & the M.G.'s . The latter group also sometimes played in
4850-814: The Meters . More versatile groups such as War , the Commodores , and Earth, Wind and Fire became popular around this time. During the 1970s, some slick and commercial blue-eyed soul acts like Philadelphia's Hall & Oates and Oakland's Tower of Power achieved mainstream success, as did a new generation of street-corner harmony or "city-soul" groups such as the Delfonics and the historically black Howard University 's Unifics . The syndicated music/dance variety television series Soul Train , hosted by Chicago native Don Cornelius , debuted in 1971. The show provided an outlet for soul music for several decades, also spawning
4947-476: The Meters for New York–based Josie and then LA-based Reprise. Chicago soul generally had a light gospel-influenced sound, but the large number of record labels based in the city tended to produce a more diverse sound than other cities. Vee Jay Records , which lasted until 1966, produced recordings by Jerry Butler , Betty Everett , Dee Clark , and Gene Chandler . Chess Records , mainly a blues and rock and roll label, produced several major soul artists, including
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#17328700402895044-620: The R&;B racks". The woman in the image, a stock photo , has never been definitively identified, but is believed to be German model Dagmar Dreger. Although Otis Blue only reached number 75 on the Pop LPs chart in 1966, three of its singles charted on the Billboard Hot 100 : "I've Been Loving You Too Long" charted for 11 weeks and peaked at number 21, "Respect" spent 11 weeks and reached number 35, and "Shake" spent six weeks and reached number 47. Both
5141-621: The U.S., United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Many prominent soul artists, including Ray Charles , Sam Cooke , Otis Redding , James Brown , Aretha Franklin , and various acts under the Motown label, such as The Supremes and The Temptations , were highly influential in the genre's development and all gained widespread popularity during this time. By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists moved to funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, and in some cases more socially conscious varieties. By
5238-678: The U.S., including New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Memphis , New Orleans , Philadelphia , and Muscle Shoals, Alabama (the home of FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios ) became noted for different subgenres of the music and recording styles. By 1968, while at its peak of popularity, soul began to fragment into different subgenres. Artists such as James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone evolved into funk music, while other singers such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green developed slicker, more sophisticated and in some cases more politically conscious varieties of
5335-507: The UK. Otis Blue ' s commercial performance helped Redding cross over into the pop market. Summarizing its mainstream impact, Alan Lewis from Record Collector called Otis Blue "the soul album that sealed [Redding's] world reputation as the soul singer. The one whose title, with hindsight, probably did most to establish the use of the word 'soul' to define the music previously known as R&B." It also served as evidence that "the album era
5432-492: The UK. American soul was extremely popular among some youth sub-cultures like the mod , Northern soul and modern soul movements, but a clear genre of British soul did not emerge until the 1980s when several artists including George Michael , Sade , Simply Red , Lisa Stansfield and Soul II Soul enjoyed commercial success. The popularity of British soul artists in the U.S., most notably Amy Winehouse , Adele , Estelle , Duffy , Joss Stone and Leona Lewis , led to talk of
5529-663: The Vandellas , and the Jackson Five . Hits were made using a quasi-industrial " production-line " approach. The producers and songwriters brought artistic sensitivity to the three-minute tunes. Brian Holland , Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland were rarely out of the charts for their work as songwriters and record producers for the Supremes , the Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas . They allowed important elements to shine through
5626-440: The album is a "set of soul standards, blues and rock covers, Motown hits, and original material". The album opens with the "mournfully harried" "Ole Man Trouble", described by fellow PopMatters writer Claudrena N. Harold as one of Redding's most phantasmagoric tunes. The lyrics deal with a man, who is "unable to escape the brutal realities of the blues", and has been compared with Paul Robeson 's "Ole Man River". "Respect"
5723-409: The artists that he worked with, and because he worked with an array of great artists on some of the world's greatest recordings, Dowd was highly influential in creating the sound of the second half of the 20th century. He encouraged Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records to install an Ampex eight-track recorder , enabling Atlantic to be the first recording company to record using multiple tracks. Dowd
5820-464: The best albums, including Rolling Stone magazine's " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " (at number 78) and Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Greatest Albums" (at number 92). A two-disc collector's edition of Otis Blue was released in 2008 by Rhino Records . Stax Records president Jim Stewart had released Otis Redding 's " These Arms of Mine " as a single after hearing him sing it at an audition in 1962. When it charted , he signed Redding to
5917-488: The day. They tended to have smaller ensembles marked by expressive gospel-tinged vocals. Brass and saxophones were also used extensively. Stax Records , founded by siblings Estelle and James Stewart, was the second most successful record label behind Motown Records . They were responsible for releasing hits by Otis Redding , Wilson Pickett , the Staple Singers , and many more. Ahmet Ertegun, who had anticipated being
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#17328700402896014-677: The definitive album of the soul era", while Rolling Stone described it as "Redding's true dictionary of soul, a stunning journey through the past and future vocabulary of R&B ... documenting a masterful artist rising to ... the immense challenge of his times." In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Paul Evans named it Redding's "first masterwork", and fellow Rolling Stone critic David Fricke called it "perfect". Writing for Blender , Christgau appraised it as "the first great album by one of soul's few reliable long-form artists", while The Mojo Collection regarded it as "the definitive Southern soul album" and Patrin deemed it
6111-461: The dense musical texture. The rhythm was emphasized by handclaps or tambourine . Smokey Robinson was another writer and record producer who added lyrics to " The Tracks of My Tears " by his group the Miracles , which was one of the most important songs of the decade. Stax Records and Atlantic Records were independent labels that produced high-quality dance records featuring many well-known singers of
6208-674: The development of neo-soul around 1994. Berry Gordy 's successful Tamla/Motown group of labels was notable for being African-American owned, unlike most of the earlier independent R&B labels. Notable artists under this label were Gladys Knight & the Pips , the Supremes , the Temptations , the Miracles , the Four Tops , the Marvelettes , Mary Wells , Jr. Walker & the All-Stars , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Tammi Terrell , Martha and
6305-457: The diverse sound, which, according to her, is a mixture of "Motown pop, the blues, British rock, and Southern Soul", although she cited Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966) as Redding's best album. Otis Blue has featured on many professional lists of the best albums. According to Lewis, it is "predictably named as a Top 100 album, the token soul set in lists compiled by trendies who surely never bought it at
6402-439: The early 1970s, soul music had begun to absorb influences from psychedelic rock and progressive rock , among other genres, leading to the creation of psychedelic soul and progressive soul . Prominent soul artists of this era include Marvin Gaye , Stevie Wonder , Curtis Mayfield , Isaac Hayes , Al Green , and Bill Withers . Neo soul , which adopted hip hop influences, emerged around 1994. Other subgenres of soul include
6499-499: The evolution of soul music, although their recordings were considered more in a pop music vein than those of Redding, Franklin and Carr. Although stylistically different from classic soul music, recordings by Chicago -based artists are often considered part of the genre. By the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres. Artists like James Brown led soul towards funk music, which became typified by 1970s bands like Parliament-Funkadelic and
6596-513: The first brown-eyed soul artists to bring traditional Latin music and rock and roll influences into the genre. Latino groups on the East and West Coast also drew from the funk -influenced Philadelphia soul, or "Philly" soul . The West Coast Latin rock scene continued to influence brown-eyed soul artists as well. Inspired by Valens, 1960s and 1970s bands such as Cannibal & the Headhunters (" Land of
6693-688: The founders of Philadelphia soul, which produced hits for Patti LaBelle , the O'Jays , the Intruders , the Three Degrees , the Delfonics , the Stylistics , Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes , and the Spinners . By the 1970s, African-American popular musicians had drawn from the conceptual album-oriented approach of the then-burgeoning progressive rock development. This progressive-soul development inspired
6790-472: The genre. However, soul music continued to evolve, informing most subsequent forms of R&B from the 1970s-onward, with pockets of musicians continuing to perform in traditional soul style. Mitchell's Hi Records continued in the Stax tradition of the previous decade, releasing a string of hits by Green, Ann Peebles , Otis Clay , O.V. Wright and Syl Johnson . Bobby Womack , who recorded with Chips Moman in
6887-423: The harder-edged Southern soul style. The Hi Records house band ( Hi Rhythm Section ) and producer Willie Mitchell developed a surging soul style heard in the label's 1970s hit recordings. Some Stax recordings fit into this style but had their own unique sound. The New Orleans soul scene directly came out of the rhythm and blues era, when such artists as Little Richard , Fats Domino , and Huey Piano Smith made
6984-416: The hybridization of their respective religious and secular styles – in both lyrical content and instrumentation – that began in the 1950s. The term "soul" had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States. According to musicologist Barry Hansen , Though this hybrid produced a clutch of hits in the R&B market in the early 1950s, only
7081-419: The influence of psychedelic soul continued on and remained prevalent through the 1970s. In the early 1960s, small soul scenes began popping up around the UK. Liverpool in particular had an established black community from which artists such as Chants and Steve Aldo emerged and go on to record within the British music industry. As a result, many recordings were commercially released by British soul acts during
7178-491: The key record label . Burke's early 1960s songs, including " Cry to Me ", " Just Out of Reach " and "Down in the Valley" are considered classics of the genre. Guralnick wrote: Soul started, in a sense, with the 1961 success of Solomon Burke's "Just Out Of Reach". Ray Charles, of course, had already enjoyed enormous success (also on Atlantic), as had James Brown and Sam Cooke — primarily in a pop vein. Each of these singers, though, could be looked upon as an isolated phenomenon; it
7275-466: The label. The moderately successful LP albums Pain in My Heart (1964) and The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965) followed, with both performing well on the newly established R&B LPs chart (published by Billboard ), although not on its pop counterpart . Preparations for a third album followed soon after, which would also serve as Redding's second to be released through Volt Records,
7372-549: The late 1960s, continued to produce soul recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. In Detroit , producer Don Davis worked with Stax artists such as Johnnie Taylor and the Dramatics . Early 1970s recordings by the Detroit Emeralds , such as Do Me Right , are a link between soul and the later disco style. Motown Records artists such as Marvin Gaye , Michael Jackson , Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson contributed to
7469-418: The late 1990s and early 2000s. Psychedelic soul, sometimes known as "black rock", was a blend of psychedelic rock and soul music in the late 1960s, which paved the way for the mainstream emergence of funk music a few years later. Early pioneers of this subgenre of soul music include Jimi Hendrix , Sly and the Family Stone , Norman Whitfield , and Isaac Hayes . While psychedelic rock began its decline,
7566-501: The lyric was still there"; Sims adds: "He told me I would get a credit, but I never did". Sims also states that he sang the backing vocals in the chorus. Essentially a ballad , "Respect" is an uptempo and energetic song, which took "a day to write, 20 minutes to arrange, and one take to record", according to Redding. Aretha Franklin covered this song in 1967 and with it topped the Billboard R&;B and Pop charts. Redding shouted to
7663-615: The military was more advanced than academic courses at that time. Dowd took a job at a classical music recording studio until he obtained employment at Atlantic Records . His first hit was Eileen Barton 's " If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake ". He soon became a top recording engineer there and recorded popular artists such as Ray Charles , the Drifters , the Coasters , The Spinners , Ruth Brown and Bobby Darin , including Darin's rendition of Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht 's "Mack
7760-540: The most adventurous white fans felt its impact at the time; the rest had to wait for the coming of soul music in the 1960s to feel the rush of rock and roll sung gospel-style. According to AllMusic, "Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the '60s." The phrase "soul music" itself, referring to gospel-style music with secular lyrics, was first attested in 1961. The term "soul" in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride and culture. Gospel groups in
7857-433: The most successful acts in this era include Smokey Robinson, Jeffry Osbourne, Peabo Bryson , Chaka Khan , and Larry Graham . After the decline of disco and funk in the early 1980s, soul music became influenced by electro music . It became less raw and more slickly produced, resulting in a style is known as contemporary R&B , which sounded very different from the original rhythm and blues style. The United States saw
7954-647: The pop charts in the U.S. Otis Redding was a huge success at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The genre also became highly popular in the UK, where many leading acts toured in the late 1960s. "Soul" became an umbrella term for an increasingly wide variety of R&B-based music styles – from the dance and pop-oriented acts at Motown Records in Detroit , such as the Temptations , Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder , to " deep soul " performers such as Percy Sledge and James Carr . Different regions and cities within
8051-399: The show beginning in the 1980s. As disco and funk musicians had hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s, soul went in the direction of quiet storm . With its relaxed tempos and soft melodies, quiet storm soul took influences from fusion and adult contemporary . Some funk bands, such as EW&F, the Commodores and Con Funk Shun would have a few quiet storm tracks on their albums. Among
8148-449: The song "ratchets up both the gospel beatitude and the secular lust". The love song "I've Been Loving You Too Long" was co-written by Redding and the Impressions ' lead singer Jerry Butler in a hotel near the Atlanta airport . Redding's rendition of Cooke's " Shake " is again funkier. The song is about the club dancing in the so-called discothèques, which debuted in the early 1960s. The song
8245-539: The stereo and mono versions of Otis Blue charted in the United Kingdom; the former spent 21 weeks and reached number six in 1966, and the latter spent 54 weeks and reached number seven in 1967. Two different pressings of the song "My Girl" also charted in the UK; a 7-inch single peaked at number 11 and charted for 16 weeks in 1965, and a reissued single in 1968 reached number 36 and charted for nine weeks. "Satisfaction" peaked at number 33 and "Shake" peaked at number 28 in
8342-618: The time." In 1993, NME ranked it 35th on the magazine's "Greatest Albums of All Time" issue and 405th on a similar list in 2013. The album was also ranked at number 74 on Rolling Stone ' s " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " (2003), number 78 in a 2012 revised edition of the list, and number 178 in a 2020 revised edition. Time placed it at number 92 on the magazine's "All-Time 100 Greatest Albums". It has also appeared in Q magazine's "Best Soul Albums of All Time" and Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . An expanded double-disc collector's edition of Otis Blue
8439-533: Was a concertmaster . Dowd graduated from Stuyvesant High School in June 1942 at the age of 16. He continued his musical education at City College of New York . Dowd also played in a band at New York's Columbia University , where he became a conductor . He was also employed at the physics laboratory of Columbia University. At age 18, Dowd was drafted into the military with the rank of sergeant . He continued his work in physics at Columbia University . He worked on
8536-456: Was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records . He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues , jazz , pop , rock , and soul records. Born in Manhattan , New York City, Dowd grew up playing piano, tuba, violin, and string bass. His mother was an opera singer and his father
8633-450: Was characterized as "sorrowful country blues", and has "one of the most devastating pleading-man lead vocals in the entire Stax catalog." "Satisfaction" sounded so plausible that a journalist even accused the Stones of stealing the song from Redding, and that they performed it after Redding. Music writer Robert Christgau describes it as an "anarchic reading" of the Stones' original. Otis Blue
8730-491: Was described as "a hard-swinging, full-throated 2:40 of precision ferocity with a force that would flat-out explode during his live sets." The last five songs are all covers by popular artists: the Temptations ' " My Girl ", written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White ; Cooke's " Wonderful World "; B.B. King 's " Rock Me Baby "; the Rolling Stones ' " Satisfaction ", on which Redding sings "fashion" instead of "faction"; and William Bell 's " You Don't Miss Your Water ", which
8827-520: Was here", according to music journalist Mat Snow , who cites it among a series of mid-1960s rock LPs – the Rolling Stones' Aftermath , the Beach Boys ' Pet Sounds , Bob Dylan 's Blonde on Blonde , the Beatles ' Revolver , and the Who 's A Quick One – proving hit singles were "no longer pop's most important money spinners and artistic statements". PopMatters journalist Eric Klinger added that it
8924-447: Was later revitalized by her recordings for Atlantic. Her 1967 recordings, such as " I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) ", " Respect " (written and originally recorded by Otis Redding), and " Do Right Woman, Do Right Man " (written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn ), were significant and commercially successful recordings. Soul music dominated the U.S. African-American music charts in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into
9021-557: Was only with the coming together of Burke and Atlantic Records that you could begin to see anything even resembling a movement. Ben E. King also achieved success in 1961 with " Stand By Me ", a song directly based on a gospel hymn. By the mid-1960s, the initial successes of Burke, King, and others had been surpassed by new soul singers, including Stax artists such as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett , who mainly recorded in Memphis, Tennessee , and Muscle Shoals, Alabama . According to Jon Landau : Between 1962 and 1964 Redding recorded
9118-433: Was possibly inspired by a quote of drummer Al Jackson Jr. , who allegedly said to Redding after a tour, "What are you griping about? You're on the road all the time. All you can look for is a little respect when you come home." An alternative story is told by Redding's friend and road manager, Earl "Speedo" Sims, who states that the song "came from a group I was singing with", and that even though Redding rewrote it, "a lot of
9215-611: Was released in 2008 by Rhino Records . It includes both the stereo and mono versions of the original album alongside bonus tracks in B-sides , live recordings, and previously unreleased alternate mixes. Christgau graded the edition with four out of five stars, saying it "comes with many useless alternate takes, but also with live tracks that preserve for history Redding's country-goes-uptown style of fun". Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Musicians Additional personnel Soul music See also: Soul music
9312-525: Was released on September 15, 1965, with Volt issuing the album in the US and Atlantic Records releasing it in the UK. The album sold more than 250,000 copies, according to music journalist Tony Fletcher , who notes its use of a photo of a white woman on the cover in comparison to the self-representative cover of Redding contemporary Wilson Pickett 's " In the Midnight Hour " (1965), which, conversely, "languished in
9409-591: Was uniquely successful as a soul LP, noting that "outside of rock music, the album was a basically untapped medium. LPs were almost an afterthought, with a couple of recent hit singles and enough filler to justify the $ 2.98 cost." In 2022 it was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry , indicating 100,000 equivalent-units in the UK. Otis Blue has been regarded by music critics as Redding's best work. Uncut magazine's Neil Spencer called it "the greatest album of his career [and] arguably
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