O"s Redding h,p://thehoboride.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-­‐day-­‐in-­‐rock-­‐history-­‐
december-­‐10.html Early Life •  O"s Redding was born on Sept 9th, 1941. •  He is from Dawson, Georgia. •  He dropped out of school at the age of 15, in order to support his family by working for other musicians and singing at talent shows •
(O"s redding) h,p://www.soulwalking.co.uk/O"s
%20Redding.html Early Career h,p://addictedtovinyl.com/blog/2009/08/14/new-­‐o"s-­‐
redding-­‐best-­‐of-­‐due-­‐from-­‐shout-­‐factory-­‐on-­‐october-­‐20th/ •  He started off his musical career by working with Li,le Richard’s band, The Upse,ers •  A few years later, he started working with a different band, The Pinetoppers •
(O"s redding) His Big Break •  While working with the Pinetoppers, Redding finally got his big break. •  He signed with Stax Records and released his first solo album on Jan. 1st, 1964. •  His songs included “Pain In My Heart”, “(Sibn’ On) The Dock of the Bay”, and “These Arms of Mine” •  He was inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 •
(O"s redding) Death •  On Dec. 10th, 1967, the plane carrying O"s Redding and his back up band crashed into Lake Monona on their way to Madison, WI. •  Even though his career was short, Redding made a huge impact on the musical world. •
(O"s redding) h,p://portalwisconsin.wordpress.com/
2010/12/06/the-­‐day-­‐o"s-­‐redding-­‐
dieddecember-­‐10-­‐1967-­‐lake-­‐monona-­‐wi/ Musical Style •  Vocal talent –  O"s had an intriguing voice that “created a new emo"onal standard for southern soul” •
Band –
He was backed by one of the best rhythm sec"ons in history; Booker T. & the M.G.’s Musical Style (cont.) •
No backing vocals –
Started the use of horn dialogue, in place of tradi"onal backing vocals, for call-­‐and-­‐response segments •  The King of Soul –  Music was filled with vocal melismas, extended periods of interpola"on, and improvisa"on –  O"s had a strong connec"on with the music Performance Style •  Stage fright –  O"s never got over his stage fright, and it would show during his performances –  He would prac"cally freeze from the waist down Performance Style (cont.) •  Band leader O"s and The Bar Keys h,p://moonjunk.tumblr.com/post/
10445700307/o"s-­‐redding-­‐and-­‐his-­‐backing-­‐band-­‐
the-­‐bar-­‐keys –  The band members were all friends of O"s and would always have fun on stage together –  O"s was able to command the band just by reac"ng powerfully to the music Performance Style (cont.) •  Audience –  He loved to make a connec"on with his audience –  Constantly aware of the listener, and constantly interac"ng Main Influences •  Li,le Richard –  Went on tour with Li,le Richard –  His inspira"on and idoliza"on gave O"s Redding a style imita"ng Li,le Richard in his youth –  Later, his idol Li,le Richard inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame •  Sam Cooke –  Sam Cooke’s dis"nc"ve trademark high notes are found in much of O"s Reddings’ music •
(Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008; Brennen, 2008) Li,le Richard h,p://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005153/ Other Influences •  Eric Clapton •  Jimi Hendrix •  Both can be heard in his later more rock and roll works like “Hard to Handle” •
(Gulla, 2007) Jimi Hendrix h,p://www.rollingstone.com/music/ar"sts/jimi-­‐
hendrix Influenced by O"s Redding •  Almost all other soul singers of the 1960’s were influenced by O"s Redding •  He is omen referred to as “The King of Soul” because of his strong original influence •  There are many ar"sts that feature covers of his work –  Aretha Franklin, The Doors, Pearl Jam, Kelly Clarkson, Willie Nelson, Al Green, Kanye West, The Black Crows, and many more •
(Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008; Brennen, 2008) Influenced by O"s Redding (cont.) •  His sons Dexter and O"s III also went into music forming the Reddings •  Came out with a Top 10 R&B song called “Remote Control” •  Consider their father a great inspira"on •
(Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008; Brennen, 2008) The Reddings h,p://www.cdandlp.com/item/
2/36918-­‐220204-­‐0-­‐1-­‐0/115371016/the-­‐reddings-­‐if-­‐
looks-­‐could-­‐kill.html Style and Fit •  Music of the 1950’s and early 1960’s consisted mainly of white males. There were very few female ar"st/groups who were popular at that "me. The Bri"sh Invasion of the 1960’s, the emergence of Motown Records, and the evolving nature of Rock and Roll during this period would see ar"st become more experimental, innova"ve and risky with their music. •  During this "me period the roots of rock and roll(Pop, C&W, and R&B) and the emergence of the basic rock and roll styles (Mainstream, Rockabilly, and Som Rock) were the popular genres. •  Folk, Country, and Blues s"ll remained relevant Musical Style of the 1960’s •  Some of the top ar"st during the 1960’s include: h,p://thebeatlesautographs.net/ h,p://www.britannica.com/
EBchecked/media/102011/
The-­‐Supremes-­‐late-­‐1960s h,p://www.eonline.com/celebs/Elvis_Presley/
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The Beatles Elvis Beach Boys Ray Charles Rolling Stones Supremes The Byrds Bob Dylan 4 Seasons Sam Cooke Musical Style of the 1960’s (cont.) •  O"s’ simple style followed some characteris"cs of ‘soul music’ during the era and managed to stay uncomplicated. Although influenced by ar"st like Li,le Richard, Sam Cooke and even the Beatles (Si#ng on the Dock of the Bay), O"s preferred the successful formula of simple, blues influenced ‘soul music’. –  “Basically, I like any music that remains simple and I feel this is the formula that makes 'soul music' successful. When any music form becomes clu,ered and/or complicated you lose the average listener's ear. There is nothing more beau"ful than a simple blues tune. There is beauty in simplicity whether you are talking about architecture, art or music.” (1) – Soul Magazine Social Influences •  Civil Rights Movement –  The Civil Rights Movement was a movement sustained by music. –  Provided ar"st such as O"s the opportunity to pursue business ventures and live the ‘American Dream’ •  Owned O"s Redding Enterprises. •  Through performances, music publishing, royal"es and record sales, he earned more than a million dollars in 1967 alone (2) •  Counterculture Movement –  Movement driven by youth, produced a market for rock, soul, pop, reggae and blues music. Social Influences-­‐People •  There was a constant threat against the lives of blacks and those supported change, from black and white dissenters •  Dr. Mar>n Luther King Jr –  “I Have A Dream” Speech promoted social unity •  John F. Kennedy –  Elec"on changed the poli"cal dynamics of the country –  Assasina"on •  Medgar Evers –  NAACP field secretary. Assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Jackson, Mississippi. •  Malcolm X –  Assassina"on Mar"n Luther King Jr. h,p://muslimma,ers.org/2011/03/03/
what-­‐does-­‐the-­‐civil-­‐rights-­‐movement-­‐
mean-­‐for-­‐muslims/ Poli"cal Influences •  Vietnam War –  An"-­‐war movement par"cipants provided inspira"on to much of the music during the 1960’s –  Dram •  Manager, Phil Walden and brother, Rodgers Redding were both dramed. •  Threats of War h,p://www.boomerslife.org/
protests_rally_iran_neda_agha_soltan.htm –  Cold War –  Made travel strenuous and at "mes difficult Musical Analysis •  The song that we chose to do our musical analysis on is “(Sibn’ On) The Dock of the Bay •  We chose this song because it became a number one hit on both the Pop and R&B charts amer O"s Reddings’ death Musical Analysis Instrumenta"on •  Instrumenta>on: The instruments that we hear used in this par"cular song would be the drums, acous"c guitar, bass guitar, what sounds like a piano or a keyboard, and then there are some brass instruments like a saxophone (I think it might actually be a trombone)and trumpets. •  There are also some parts where I hear an electric guitar as well •  The whistling of O"s Redding is also an instrumenta"on in itself •  There is also some non-­‐musical instrument sounds like the whooshing sound of water at the very beginning of the song to represent waves Musical Analysis Meter and Beat Subdivision •  Meter: The meter of this song would be quadruple meter or duple meter. –  There are four beats per measure. •  Beat Subdivision: The beat subdivision in this song would be a duple subdivision. It’s difficult to hear but if you listen closely to the drums you can pick up on it. Musical Analysis Texture and Form •  Texture: The texture of this song is definitely homophonic melody and accompaniment. I feel it is this because it is the singer only being accompanied by musical instruments and no back-­‐up singers. •  Form: The form is AABA. The B is actually 3 stanzas, so it sounds like AABACAA if you’re actually listening for different part feelings, but I think the idea in AABA is that there is an altered a,en"on grabbing por"on somewhere in the middle, so it would fit with the categoriza"on. Legacy •
Much of Stax Records’ success lies in the work of O"s Redding •  Originally recorded country and rockabilly music •  Following his success there, Stax added “Soulville, USA” to its "tle Legacy (cont.) •  O"s Redding had a profound influence on the history of soul music, as well as rock and roll •  Named “The King of Soul” •  Rolling Stones covered two of his songs •  In 1989, he was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame •  Jay-­‐Z and Kanye West’s song, “O"s,” was Grammy nominated for best rap song in 2011 Resources •
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Brennan, C.(2008). "Cooke, Sam 1931—1964." Contemporary Black Biography. Retrieved June 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: h,p://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-­‐2871900023.html "Eyewitness Tells of O"s Redding's Violent Death". Jet. December 28, 1967. Gulla, B. (2007) “O"s Redding.” Icons of r&b: An encyclopedia of the ar"sts who revolu"onized rhythm (Vol. 1, pp. 412). Ann Arbor, MI: Greenwood Press. Guralnick, Peter (1999). Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. Back Bay Books. Hirsch, E.D. (1993). The DicBonary of Cultural Literacy. Houghton Mifflin. Labrie, Peter (April 1968). "The Flame That Died". Black World/Negro Digest. OBs redding. (n.d.). Retrieved from h,p://rockhall.com/inductees/o"s-­‐redding/bio/ OBs redding. (n.d.). Retrieved from h,p://www.crecon.com/davidwomack/o"s redding.htm Ritz, D. (2012). OBs redding. Retrieved from h,p://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/494636/O"s-­‐Redding Scaruffi, P. (2005). A brief history of soul music. Retrieved from h,p://www.scaruffi.com/history/soul.html Sco, Freeman, OBs!: The OBs Redding Story (New York: St. Mar"n's Griffin Press, 2001); Rhino Records, Los Angeles, OBs!: the definiBve OBs Redding [sound recording], (1993). Shmoop Editorial Team (November 11, 2008).OBs Redding Influences. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from h,p://www.shmoop.com/dock-­‐of-­‐the-­‐bay/influences.html Whatman, R. (2006, May 26). OBs redding: Living at the apollo november 1963. Retrieved from h,p://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/2006/05/o"s-­‐redding-­‐live-­‐at-­‐apollo-­‐
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