Otis Redding Stax Classics

Presenting the music of Otis Redding, who arrived anonymously at 926 E. McLemore Avenue in Memphis– as a chauffeur for another artist – in 1962, and would go on to become an R&B supernova, with a body of work that helped transform Stax from a small record label to a musical institution. Starting with “These Arms of Mine,” which floored Stax owner Jim Stewart when Redding humbly asked to audition on that fateful day, through a host of bona fide soul classics from “Mr Pitiful,” “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now),” “Security, “Try A Little Tenderness,” and of course the self-penned “Respect,” later immortalized by Aretha Franklin, all included on this collection. The life and career of The Big O tragically ended with a 1967 plane crash, but his legacy was cemented with the posthumous single release, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” a chart topper on both the R&B and pop listings, and a lasting reminder of the true genius of The King Of Soul.

In the annals of Memphis music history, there is little that comes close to the timeless music of the queen, to Otis Redding’s King of Soul™, Carla Thomas. Stax Records’ first star, paired with her father Rufus Thomas on the classic “Cause I Love You,” Carla would go on to hit the charts through both the Atlantic Records-era, and after Stax split off to become an independent powerhouse, with a series of soul-pop gems that are featured on this compilation, from “B-A-B-Y” and “I Like What You’re Doing (To Me)” to “Let Me Be Good To You,” and of course her scorching 1966 duet with The Big O, “Tramp.”

All the classics are here, Booker T, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd, you know the score. All the tracks you associate with the label too. 60 tracks in total over three discs.

Otis Redding helped define soul music in 1966 with Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul. The album, which peaked at #5 on the U.S. R&B charts, was once praised by critic Jon Landau as: "The finest record ever to come out of Memphis and certainly the best example of modern soul ever recorded." Redding recorded his fifth studio album, The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul, at Stax Studios in Memphis. Together with Booker T. & the M.G.'s, pianist Isaac Hayes and the Memphis Horns, Redding recorded 12 songs for the album, including the all-time classics, "Try A Little Tenderness" and "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)." To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark recording, Rhino has released a two-disc edition that includes remastered mono and stereo mixes of the album, plus eight bonus tracks.

Iconic veteran Southern soul man William Bell has been in the business of making records for 66 years, and was with Memphis’ fabled Stax label for virtually its entire 15-year existence (1960-1975). In that time, he composed and recorded many songs that are rightly regarded as classics, from his Stax debut ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ to the classic blues song ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’ to his hit duet with Judy Clay, ‘Private Number’.

With apologies to groups like The Meters, Bar-Kays, and Average White Band, when it comes to all-time great instrumental R&B bands, for most folks Booker T. & the MG's represent the gold standard. And with good reason'or, actually reasons! First of all, as the house band of the hallowed Stax label, The MG's pretty much invented the sound of Southern soul, playing on records by everybody from Otis Redding to Wilson Pickett to Carla Thomas. Second, on their own as Booker T & the MG's, they came up with some of the most indelible instrumental jams of all time, including'but by no means limited to!''Green Onions.' And, third, each member of the band was an absolute monster on their instrument, to this day revered and copied by untold numbers of musicians. Indeed, by the time the mid '60s rolled around, bands on both sides of the Atlantic wanted to sound like Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr, and Lewie Steinberg (replaced about halfway through this collection by the great Donald 'Duck' Dunn).

William Bell is probably the most woefully underappreciated artist in the Stax Records stable. Primarily a ballad singer, Bell avoided the charismatic stage histrionics of singers like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett in favor of a more subtle and melodic approach. He was also a gifted songwriter, penning in conjunction with his writing partner Booker T. Jones (of MGs fame) a handful of country-soul classics, including "You Don't Miss Your Water," a hit for Bell in 1961, and "Born Under a Bad Sign," which became the theme song for blues giant Albert King after his version was released in 1967. Bell wasn't afraid to mix pure country elements into the deep soul stew, as "You Don't Miss Your Water" shows, and his 1967 hit "Everybody Loves a Winner" is as much Merle Haggard as it is Otis Redding. "Eloise (Hang on in There)," another Bell/Jones collaboration, sounds like a great, lost Four Tops song, and is one of the many highlights on this revealing anthology, which works not only as an introduction to this underrated artist, but also as a solid survey of his top moments.