Otis Redding - King of the Blues

Kings Of The Blues is a website dedicated to the great blues men and the virtuosos who brought us the music genre we now know as "The Blues." This site aims to archive the lyrics, music, and images of some of these kings of the blues. Some played harmonica, some played guitar, but they all sang the blues. We hope you find this site educational and useful on your quest past the crossroads and down those dirt roads that lead to the blues.

Otis Redding (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967)

Otis Redding was an influential American soul singer probably best known for his passionate delivery of Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay.

Redding was born in a small town in Georgia, called Dawson. At age 5 he moved with his family to Macon, Georgia where he sang in the Vineville Baptist Church and became something of a local celebrity as a teenager after winning a local Sunday night talent show 15 weeks in a row.

In 1960 Otis Redding began touring the U.S. South with Johnny Jenkins and The Pinetoppers. That year he also made his first recordings, "She's All Right" and the rockin' "Shout Bamalama" under his group name Otis and The Shooters.

Otis Redding wrote many of his own songs which was somewhat unusual at the time. He also wrote often with Steve Cropper (of the STax house band Booker T & The MG's.)

Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay became famous a year after his death when his plane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin along with The Bar Kays, his backup band. It was the first #1 single and first million-seller. A few more posthumous records were releases inclusing the famous "Hard To Handle" which was even covered by the Black Crowes decades later.