BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " OTIS READING "A SINGER KNOWN FOR HIS SINCERE EMOTIONAL DELIVERY AND BECAME THE VOICE OF SOUL : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                            BLACK             SOCIAL            HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Singer-songwriter Otis Reading was born on September 9, 1941, in Dawson, Georgia. He was discovered after recording "These Arms of Mine." Known for his sincere emotional delivery, Reading became the voice of soul music. As his career was taking off, he died in a plane crash on December 19, 1967. The song "(Sitting' on) The Dock of the Bay" became his first and only No. 1 hit in 1968.

Early Life

Otis Ray Reading Jr. was born on September 9, 1941, in Dawson, Georgia. When he was 5 years old, Reading's family moved to Macon, Georgia, where he grew up listening to the music of Sam Cooke and Little Richard. In the late 1950s, Reading joined the Up setters, the band that had formerly backed Little Richard.

Recording Hits

In 1960, Otis Reading moved to Los Angles, California, where he began releasing singles. He returned to Georgia a year later and recorded "Shout Bamalama." He befriended guitarist Johnny Jenkins and joined his band, the Pinetoppers. During one of Jenkins's recording sessions at Memphis's Stax studios, Reading recorded a ballad he'd written, "These Arms of Mine." The song quickly took off, rising to No. 20 on the R&B charts in 1963.

Redding began a career recording at Stax, playing guitar and arranging his own songs. He was known for his energy in the studio and, in 1965, recorded the album Otis Blue: Otis Reading Sings Soul in one day. He released "I've Been Loving Your Too Long (to Stop Now)" that same year, and "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" a year later.

In 1967, Redding released a successful duet album with Carla Thomas. That same year, he produced Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music," which went to No. 2 on the R&B charts. Other artists also made his songs successful. The Rolling Stones made "Satisfaction" famous in 1966, and "Respect" became a classic the following year when Aretha Franklin sang it. Hoping to become more involved behind the scenes, Redding started his own label, Jotis.

Performance Style

In addition to sales, Reading's magnetic stage presence and sincere performances and made him star. On June 17, 1967, Reading performed at the Monterrey International Pop Festival, where he was enthusiastically received. His emotional style and powerful singing became the synonymous with soul music.

Death

On December 6, 1967, Reading recorded "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay." The song hit No. 1 on the pop and R&B charts the following year, but Reading wouldn't live to see his success. Four days after the recording session—on December 10, 1967—Reading and four members of his band, the Bar-Keys, were killed after their chartered plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake.

Legacy

"(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" is credited with influencing the soul movement by combining traditional rhythm and blues with folk. Three albums of Reading's recordings were released posthumously.

In 1989, Otis Reading was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards.