As the architect of the distinctly southern, gospel-inflected style of rhythm & blues associated with Stax Records in Memphis, Redding made music that has long served as the gold standard of 1960s soul. Otis Redding remains an immortal presence in the canon of American music on the strength of such classic hits as “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Respect,” a song he wrote and recorded before Aretha Franklin made it her own. The long-awaited, definitive biography of The King of Soul, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Redding's iconic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. 533pp, photos.The long-awaited, definitive biography of The King of Soul, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Redding's iconic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Fes We are drawn back to the time of the Beatles, Booker T and the MGs, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Steve Cropper, sessions with guitarist Johnny Jenkins, Civil Rights Act of 1964 and racial violence, all about his appeal to white listeners, the record labels, record deals, management contracts, song writing collaborations, interviews, the Monterey Pop Festival and more. The biography summons up the teeming cast of hustlers, visionaries and eccentrics who fed Otis's supernatural talent and his life is brought back in all his raw and flashing glory. Jonathan Gould finally does justice to Redding's incomparable musical artistry and with the cooperation of the Redding family and previously unavailable sources, he presents the singer's background, upbringing and professional career and at the same time a social history of the time and place from which Redding emerged. Yet an aura of myth and mystery has always surrounded his life which was tragically cut short at the height of his career by a plane crash in December 1967. As the architect of the distinctly southern, gospel-inflected style of rhythm and blues associated with Stax Records in Memphis, Otis Redding made music that has long served as the gold standard of 1960s soul. He remains an important presence in the canon of American music on the strength of such classic hits as (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, I've Been Loving You Too Long, Try A Little Tenderness and Respect, a song he wrote and recorded before Aretha Franklin made it her own. Here is the long-awaited definitive biography of the king of soul. William, later Otis, was Laura's firstborn son. 'Negros born in Georgia had to be strong simply to survive' Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography. Otis Redding said of himself: 'It's the most important thing about me - my background.' Among the multitude of African Americans whose lives were uprooted by the conditions that inspired the Great Migration and the backlash of racist terror it unleashed across the South was Laura Fambro Redding, a Georgia woman.

Otis Redding by Jonathan Gould