Otis Redding - Legacy

Legacy

Otis Redding has been called the "King of Soul", an honorific title also given to James Brown and Sam Cooke. He remains one of the most recognized artists in soul music. His lean and powerful style exemplified the Stax Sound, and gave Stax a new identity; he was sometimes said to be its "heart and soul", while artists such as Al Jackson, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Steve Cropper also helped to expand its structure. His open-throated singing, the tremolo/vibrato, the manic, electrifying stage performances, and honesty were particular hallmarks, along with the use of interjections, for example "gotta, gotta, gotta", some of which came from Sam Cooke. Producer Jim Stewart thought the "begging singing" was stress-induced and also caused by Redding's extreme, early shyness.

Artists from many genres named Redding as a musical influence. The Beatles were generally influenced by the soul music of Motown Records and Stax. Guitarist George Harrison called "Respect" an important influence for "Drive My Car". The Rolling Stones also mentioned Redding an important influence. Other artists who have acknowledged the influence of Redding are bands like Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors; and virtually every soul/R&B musicians from the early years, such as Al Green, Etta James, William Bell, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Arthur Conley. Several musicians from the late 20th century have covered or mixed his songs, perhaps the most notable being the Grammy Award-winning "Otis" by Kanye West and Jay-Z. According to band colleague Sam Andrew, Janis Joplin was influenced by his singing style. She herself stated that she learned "to push a song instead of just sliding over it" after hearing Redding.