Redding Otis

Otis Redding grew up and developed his career in the American South during a period of profound racial inequality and social change. Segregation remained deeply embedded in Georgia and throughout much of the South, while the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s challenged discriminatory laws and practices and demanded equal rights for African Americans.

Soul music emerged within this environment, combining the traditions of African American gospel with rhythm and blues. Stax Records in Memphis, where Redding made his most important recordings, became notable for cooperation between Black and white musicians at a time when much of Southern society remained segregated. Its house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, was racially integrated, making the studio an unusual creative environment in the segregated South.

Redding's rise also coincided with the rapid expansion of youth culture during the 1960s, when the boundaries between soul, rhythm and blues, folk and rock were increasingly being crossed. His appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 brought him before a new generation of listeners and demonstrated the growing ability of soul music to cross racial and musical boundaries.