Reference Number
ARC-0140
Level of description
collection
Title
Otis Redding Collection
Date
1964-1968, undated
Size
0.07 (Linear feet)
Scope and Contents
The Otis Redding Collection contains contracts, correspondence, photographs, receipts, and sheet music that span 1964 to 1967, and includes some undated materials. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received by the Museum. The collection consists of a few of Redding's treasured personal effects and career mementos that spotlight his life and musical legacy.
Biography / Administrative History
Though his career was relatively brief, cut short by a tragic plane crash, Otis Redding was a singer of such commanding stature that to this day he embodies the essence of soul music in its purist form. His name is synonymous with the term soul: music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying. Redding left behind a legacy of recordings made during the four-year period from his first sessions for Stax / Volt Records in 1963, until his death in 1967. Ironically, although he consistently impacted the rhythm and blues charts, beginning with the Top Ten appearance of "Mr. Pitiful" in 1965, none of his singles fared better than number 21 on the pop Top Forty until the posthumous release of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." That landmark song, recorded just four days before Redding's death, went to number one and stayed there for four weeks in early 1968. It marked a new direction for the singer, toward a soul-folk-pop synthesis that drew from such influences as Bob Dylan and the new breed of performers at the Monterey International Pop Festival, at which Redding had performed on June 17, 1967. Redding stole the show at Monterey, as a wide-eyed new audience enthusiastically opened up to him. Given that launching pad and the breakthrough "Sittin' On (The Dock of the Bay)" was about to become, Redding was poised for superstardom at the time his twin-engine Beechcraft crashed into Wisconsin's Lake Monona on December 10, 1967, killing him and four members of his touring band, the Bar-Kays.
Notes
Acquisition Note: The Otis Redding Collection was received by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, Inc. as a gift from Zelma Redding on September 19, 2011.
Citation: [Identification of Item], Otis Redding Collection, Library and Archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Processing Information: Processed by Jennie Thomas, Head Archivist, and Rachel Somerville, Project Archivist. Completed January 6, 2012. Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS and local processing manual.
Access
Collection is open for research. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights statement on the Researcher Registration form before using this collection. Consult the Library and Archives in advance of your visit to ensure access to these materials is available.
Use
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. has a limited copyright license to the materials within this collection. The transfer of Donor's literary and other property rights does not include works of other individuals and organizations contained in the gift. For more information, please consult the staff of the Library and Archives.
Associated Persons
Associated Subjects
