0:00:02 > 0:00:04AUDIENCE: Otis! Otis! Otis!
0:00:04 > 0:00:09# With you my life
0:00:11 > 0:00:13# Has been so wonderful...
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# ..I can't stop now. #
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Otis Redding was the ultimate soul voice of the American South.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29But he'd had to fight for recognition.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I feared no man when I travelled with Otis Redding.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38I feared no man as long as he was by my side. No matter where we were.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43When we came to the UK, and Otis felt it,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47because he had been through hell,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49he was treated like a human being.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Otis discovered a new self-confidence
0:00:53 > 0:00:55when he toured Europe in 1967.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00It would change his life and music and inspire those who saw him.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03When he came over to England,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I just stood in the wings watching him, you know,
0:01:06 > 0:01:11and just picking up pointers, because he had a style.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15It was "Road to Damascus" for me.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17The whole evening blew me away.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21That's really when I decided that this is what I wanted to do.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26In the early days, I would always try and sound like Otis
0:01:26 > 0:01:31and in doing so, that developed the voice that has become my own.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Like all great singers,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37you always think they are singing for you and just you alone.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39# ..more than words can say, baby I get lost... #
0:01:43 > 0:01:45AUDIENCE: Otis! Otis! Otis!
0:01:53 > 0:01:57In 1965, before he had even arrived in the UK,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Otis's records had gained an almost tribal loyalty
0:02:00 > 0:02:02among some British teenagers.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05# What you want Honey, you've got it
0:02:05 > 0:02:09# And what you need Baby, you've got it... #
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Most of the dances would have been termed,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15in the modern world, as mods or modernists.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19They were very interested in anything that was R&B
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and, of course, they always had the best rhythms to dance to.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26# All I'm asking
0:02:26 > 0:02:29# Is for a little respect When I come home. #
0:02:29 > 0:02:34It was a very cool thing to dance to Otis records.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I think Britons were anoraks when it came to soul music.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41A lot of soul musicians and artists were more popular over here
0:02:41 > 0:02:44than they were in their own country. They had a bigger following.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Those kids were fanatics. They knew their stuff.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48They really knew their stuff.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51There's the Otis Redding type of soul coming out and that time was priceless.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It was peerless. It has never been bettered.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01But his record covers at that time didn't feature Otis.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05So his British fans neither knew what he looked like nor where he came from.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09# Down in the valley... #
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Neither did Otis know anything about his mod fans in Britain.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16That same year, he was busy travelling America's Deep South
0:03:16 > 0:03:18with his Otis Redding Orchestra,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21expanding their loyal black fan base.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It was a time of segregation and prejudice.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26# ..Now can't you hear the wind blow
0:03:26 > 0:03:28# My love? #
0:03:28 > 0:03:33I feared no man when I travelled with Otis Redding because I knew
0:03:33 > 0:03:37that Otis Redding was one of the best fist slingers there was around.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39If you ever saw him in action,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43you would wonder why he didn't pursue a fighting career
0:03:43 > 0:03:45because he was very, very good at it.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47He was an overcomer.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52He did not allow anything to stop him.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56He did not allow anything to throw him off from his pursuit.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59He did not believe in, "It can't be done."
0:04:00 > 0:04:03But Otis had this lovable personality.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Even if you were a prejudiced white person,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10you probably ended up having respect for him when you walked away
0:04:10 > 0:04:15because he was that good at handling people.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18I looked at Otis as an older brother.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I always just assumed he was older than me
0:04:22 > 0:04:25because he was so much more streetwise and he was a big man.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29He was six foot four. I was six even. He kind of towered over me.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34You really had to push him up against the wall
0:04:34 > 0:04:39and force him to get into any type of fight.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44But if you did, you would get a whipping that you would remember for the rest of your life.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48# I love you, baby Yes I do
0:04:48 > 0:04:51# Hip shakin' mama I told you... #
0:04:51 > 0:04:54The black clubs of the so-called Chitlin' Circuit
0:04:54 > 0:04:58were a tough testing ground for the rough edged 23-year-old from Georgia.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00# ..Let me hear you
0:05:02 > 0:05:04# Got to keep holdin' on
0:05:04 > 0:05:06# Never going to turn you loose
0:05:08 > 0:05:10# Got to keep a grip on you Babe
0:05:12 > 0:05:15# I can't turn you loose now
0:05:15 > 0:05:18# I'm in love with the prettiest thing
0:05:18 > 0:05:20# I'll never never turn you loose now
0:05:20 > 0:05:23# Because joy and true love you can bring me
0:05:23 > 0:05:26# I can't turn you loose to nobody
0:05:26 > 0:05:29# I love you Baby, yes I do
0:05:29 > 0:05:32# Hip shakin' mama I told you
0:05:32 > 0:05:35# I'm in love with only you
0:05:35 > 0:05:39# Honey, baby Do it, baby, why don't you?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42# I want to give you everything that you want
0:05:43 > 0:05:45# Got to keep holdin' on
0:05:47 > 0:05:50# I'm never going to turn you loose
0:05:50 > 0:05:52# Got to keep a grip on you, baby... #
0:05:56 > 0:06:00By now, people were aware of who Otis Redding was as a vocalist.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04If you took a little of Sam Cooke and a little of Little Richard
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and poured it in a jar and shook it up and pour it out, you'd get Otis Redding.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12He could croon ballads just like Sam Cooke and he could scream
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and jump around with all the energy of Little Richard.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19That's what he had. He had that roughness and he had that real softness too.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21# Aha
0:06:21 > 0:06:23# Oh, yeah
0:06:23 > 0:06:25# It's all right... #
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Just like his hero, Little Richard,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Otis was living in the small southern city of Macon in Georgia.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37# ..You know that little girl
0:06:37 > 0:06:39# She's so fine
0:06:39 > 0:06:43# I'd like to make her mine All mine. #
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Macon was a mixture of the devil's playground
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and, at least on Sundays, the Lord's stomping ground.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57His father was a minister. They were brought up in the church.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Of course, I didn't know Otis then.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03So he had a strong religious background
0:07:03 > 0:07:07because he had to go to church every Sunday, he had to sing in the choir.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12You know, he was that little boy who went to Sunday school every day.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17So he always knew that God was on his side
0:07:17 > 0:07:19because he was raised that way.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22He loved to talk about the church
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and how he used to sing in the church as a boy.
0:07:26 > 0:07:33I sang spiritual songs in my father's church from the age of about seven
0:07:33 > 0:07:36up until I was grown and then I started singing rhythm and blues.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40It's the most important part of my life.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45My background is the most important part.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47In order to sing the blues, you've got to feel it
0:07:47 > 0:07:49so it all comes from the heart.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57We met with him performing locally at a theatre
0:07:57 > 0:08:00on Saturday mornings in a talent contest.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03# Down in Alabama
0:08:03 > 0:08:06# I'm shouting Bamalama
0:08:06 > 0:08:08# Down in Louisiana
0:08:08 > 0:08:12# Well nobody's going to set him down... #
0:08:12 > 0:08:16His father, he didn't want him singing rock 'n' roll,
0:08:16 > 0:08:22but Otis bought his father a brand-new Ford when his father was preaching
0:08:22 > 0:08:25and Otis had started having real success.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27He wanted his daddy to be proud of him.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30I don't think his daddy ever saw him perform.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33But he believed in himself.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38He was very flamboyant, very sure of himself.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44So we got married in August 1961 and at that time,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48my eldest son was nine months old.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50# If you want it
0:08:50 > 0:08:52# You can get it... #
0:08:52 > 0:08:58Otis Redding always believed he could do anything that he wanted to do.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04He wanted to always prove to himself, "I can do this."
0:09:04 > 0:09:10And his dream as a boy when we met was, "One day I'm going to be rich."
0:09:10 > 0:09:16I said, "Whatever. You just need to get a job and let's get a life here."
0:09:16 > 0:09:19# If you want it You can get it... #
0:09:19 > 0:09:22So the 19-year-old took a string of low-paid jobs,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25starting as a pump attendant.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26# ..If you want it. #
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Otis was known to keep a job a week.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Long enough to get one pay cheque.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39But he knew from a very early age that he wanted to be a singer.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43And that was the only thing he wanted to be.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- What did you do before you sang? - I used to be a well driller.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- A water well type thing?- Yes. - Not oil?- No, not oil.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I didn't have that much experience. I did water wells.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57How did you get to be a singer from being a well driller?
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I was taking a friend of mine to Memphis, Tennessee,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02to record a record.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05His name was Johnny Jenkins. And I took him up there.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09They paid me to take him. I think they paid me about 10 to take him up there.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- Just hired you as a driver or something? - Yes, to drive him up there.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14After he finished the session,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17I asked them to let me do a song called These Arms Are Mine.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The record came out and it was a pretty big record.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- So the driver got the hit out of the session?- Right! That was it!
0:10:23 > 0:10:30# These arms of mine
0:10:30 > 0:10:34# They are lonely... #
0:10:34 > 0:10:37This soulful ballad, borrowed from Johnny Jenkins,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41became Otis's first big hit among R&B fans.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46# ..These arms of mine
0:10:46 > 0:10:51# They are yearning
0:10:53 > 0:10:57# Yearning from wanting you. #
0:10:57 > 0:10:59A discovery had been made.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04It was like, I guess, you know, if a miner is sifting through dirt
0:11:04 > 0:11:06and he sees a diamond, he's changed.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09It's never going to be the same again.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15But the success of Otis's early recordings
0:11:15 > 0:11:19was still mostly limited to the black population of the South
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and he would struggle to cross over during the next four years.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27During that time, all his songs would be recorded in a musical oasis
0:11:27 > 0:11:30deep within the racial turmoil of the South.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Stax Records in Memphis.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36When you walked through the doors of Stax in the morning,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38it was much like walking into church.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42There's a feeling of calmness and a feeling of safety.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44You just feel protected.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54We were integrated here at Stax from the very beginning.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Outside the door was racism, but we had our oasis internally.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02We didn't see any more than what was on TV.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06We knew what was going on, but it did not happen at Stax.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08There was no colour at Stax. Period.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13You'd have me, Al Jackson and any of the African Americans,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17we'd have to go back to our communities and hear what we heard there.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19But then you'd have Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23they'd have to go back to their communities and be called nigger lovers and all of that.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28But we'd still come here integrated in the bowels of segregation.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30They were drinking out of the same bottle,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32passing the bottle around the room.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37To me, that was something I had never witnessed ever in my life.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40It was just taboo at that time.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47A convergence of that many strong energies creates something new.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It seemed like we were infused with a togetherness.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56When we walked in the door, we became a unit.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58# Old man trouble
0:12:58 > 0:12:59# Leave me alone... #
0:13:01 > 0:13:03And it was nice. You could relax and enjoy it.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The music was great. It was a privilege.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12# ..I live my life in doubt you see now. #
0:13:14 > 0:13:16- Hey!- Take two.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Stay in on the mic now, Steve.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24An almost intuitive songwriting partnership had developed
0:13:24 > 0:13:28between Otis and his studio band, the MGs.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30In particular, with guitarist Steve Cropper.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Otis kept trying to tell me a horn line that he wanted
0:13:34 > 0:13:39and he was going, "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa. I want fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa."
0:13:39 > 0:13:43So his sound of the saxophone was that breath on the reed.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And I said, "There might be a song in that."
0:13:47 > 0:13:50# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa. #
0:13:50 > 0:13:53# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa
0:13:53 > 0:13:55# Your turn
0:13:58 > 0:13:59# Our turn
0:13:59 > 0:14:03# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa
0:14:03 > 0:14:05# Your turn... #
0:14:08 > 0:14:12# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa. #
0:14:12 > 0:14:16"Y'alls turn." He'd say, "It's your turn," and we'd play.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20And that's what we played back to him.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa. #
0:14:23 > 0:14:25The horns, everybody pitched in.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29There's no question about the teamwork that was involved with recording those songs.
0:14:29 > 0:14:35He communicated with us with his fists and his body
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and he would sing parts.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41And we communicated with him by understanding
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and playing musically what he was saying.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47# It's a lovely song
0:14:47 > 0:14:50# Sweet music, honey
0:14:50 > 0:14:52# It's just a line
0:14:52 > 0:14:54# But it tells a story
0:14:54 > 0:14:57# You've got to get the message
0:14:57 > 0:15:00# A strong message, honey
0:15:00 > 0:15:03# A lovely line, baby
0:15:03 > 0:15:05# I'm worried in mind, watch me... #
0:15:15 > 0:15:19# ..Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa
0:15:19 > 0:15:21# Your turn
0:15:23 > 0:15:25# Everybody's turn
0:15:25 > 0:15:27# Everybody
0:15:27 > 0:15:29# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa
0:15:29 > 0:15:30# One more time
0:15:30 > 0:15:33# Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa. #
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Otis enjoyed a flow of hits into the R&B charts.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43But neither his managers, Phil and Alan Waldon, nor Stax, had cracked the pop market
0:15:43 > 0:15:46despite their links with powerful Atlantic Records.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So they turned their attention to the packaging.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55The problem was, in America with the racism there,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58to put that black male on the cover
0:15:58 > 0:16:05would turn off everybody from radio to consumers.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10So let's find attractive girls and put the girls on the cover
0:16:10 > 0:16:13because that kind of minimises that problem
0:16:13 > 0:16:17when you hear the music and you're looking at this beautiful girl
0:16:17 > 0:16:22and hearing Otis sing like he's singing to these women.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25He thought it would be easier, and it was,
0:16:25 > 0:16:30to get product positioned in store and get it sold in the marketplace.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34# Cupid
0:16:34 > 0:16:37# Draw back your bow... #
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Stax were also testing the marketplace on the other side
0:16:39 > 0:16:43of the Atlantic where their girly covers helped get the music
0:16:43 > 0:16:47to a youth market hungry for the authentic sounds of the Deep South.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54When the albums came out, he wasn't on them which was rather odd,
0:16:54 > 0:17:00but that was a strange marketing thing from a lot of American companies in those days,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04is not to have a black man on the cover of your record.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07But Otis Blue was a major breakthrough.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10It really broadened the market for his music.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15Are there any pop songs whose words are really good and mean a lot to you,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17that are, say, very sincere?
0:17:17 > 0:17:24Otis Redding, My Girl. He sort of sings about something in particular.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29That's why we like coloured singers because their voices are so pure.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34# I've got sunshine
0:17:34 > 0:17:36# On a cloudy day
0:17:40 > 0:17:42# And it's cold outside
0:17:42 > 0:17:46# I've got the month of May. #
0:17:48 > 0:17:52The children of the '60s loved that black American sound.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Otis sang as if his heart was in his throat
0:17:56 > 0:18:01and that little torn part just pulled at your heartstrings.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I think you could totally relate to him.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11He was a professor. He had got a degree in knowing how to cut it.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The first time I heard Otis, I was going out with a girl called...
0:18:16 > 0:18:21What was her name now? Bloody hell! Jenny Rylands.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And she lived in Notting Hill Gate
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and she was given the Otis Blue album.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28It was amazing.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Otis appealed to me because, especially as a recorder,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36because it always sounded like it was one take.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39The first or the second take, they would use.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41You knew Otis Redding's records.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44I mean, the way he did them, you knew them.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47You didn't guess on who was it. It was Otis.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50# I don't know much about my history... #
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Despite the fact that Otis was gaining an ever broader fan base,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57the only chance of hearing him on the airwaves was to tune into
0:18:57 > 0:19:01the pirate radioships, which got their records straight from Stax.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05We couldn't get our music played on the BBC
0:19:05 > 0:19:10and it was the pirates offshore, whom I was in contact with,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13that was playing and popularising Otis Redding.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19So amongst the real music lovers, Otis Redding had a fan base.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23# I don't know much about geography
0:19:23 > 0:19:27# Don't know much about trigonometry... #
0:19:27 > 0:19:31When Al Bell and Stax got hear of Otis's devoted following,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34they sent him to Britain to test the waters.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Why is soul music the biggest thing there is in England now, in your opinion?
0:19:38 > 0:19:45Actually, I think the English kids want to get more of the rhythm and blues music.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47They've heard a lot of the English music
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and I think they want to make a little change or something
0:19:50 > 0:19:52and hear some of the soul music.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56The audience tuning in to Ready, Steady, Go!
0:19:56 > 0:19:59were astonished to see Otis in the flesh.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01This whole show would become his tribute
0:20:01 > 0:20:03to the British Beat scene.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05# I can't turn you lose now
0:20:05 > 0:20:08# If I do I'm gonna loose my life
0:20:08 > 0:20:11# Ooh, I can't never turn you lose now
0:20:11 > 0:20:14# If I do I'm gonna loose my life
0:20:14 > 0:20:17# Well, I can't turn you lose to nobody
0:20:17 > 0:20:19# I love you, baby, yes I do
0:20:19 > 0:20:23# Oh, baby, hip shakin' mama I told you
0:20:23 > 0:20:25# I'm in love with only you
0:20:25 > 0:20:28# Honey, babe you do it, baby, don't ya?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31# I wanna give you everything that you want
0:20:31 > 0:20:33# Let me hear you... #
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Well, it was the height of the mods, those days,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38and it was a mod audience.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39When the camera sweeps around
0:20:39 > 0:20:42it's all mods doing their little mod dances, you know,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45show their mum and dads that they were there.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49Every song was suddenly played at breakneck speed.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54The dancers had to dance much harder than they had during rehearsals.
0:20:54 > 0:21:00It was like suddenly the whole show was on purple hearts, it was great!
0:21:00 > 0:21:02# Everybody give a little
0:21:02 > 0:21:05# Girl, you got soul now... #
0:21:06 > 0:21:09I wanted to see Otis Redding.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12And I did, so I went backstage and we had a picture taken together.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15There is a picture of us both.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20And then he said to me, that first record that I made, you know,
0:21:20 > 0:21:21he said, "Your first album,"
0:21:21 > 0:21:24he said, "Every track was a single on there."
0:21:24 > 0:21:26I said, "Oh, thank you very much."
0:21:26 > 0:21:29You know, coming from Otis Redding. Unbelievable.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30# Just shake
0:21:30 > 0:21:33# That's the way you do it, now Shake
0:21:33 > 0:21:35# Doggone-gone, baby, now Shake! #
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Otis was familiar with the young singers
0:21:38 > 0:21:42who had helped spearhead the recent British invasion of the States.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45He invited two of the best to join him on TV.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47# If you do it, do it right, yeah
0:21:47 > 0:21:49# Whoa, we're going to shake tonight, yeah... #
0:21:49 > 0:21:53That was the first time that I'd sung that song
0:21:53 > 0:21:59and I can tell it's really a nervous me that I see on videotape.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03It makes me wince. Wish I'd had a chance to rehearse the thing.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But I can't say enough about his performance
0:22:08 > 0:22:10and about the effect that his voice had on me.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Incredible.
0:22:12 > 0:22:13# I feel all right
0:22:13 > 0:22:14# Feel all right, Eric
0:22:14 > 0:22:16# I feel so right
0:22:16 > 0:22:17# Feel all right, Chris
0:22:17 > 0:22:18# Feel all right
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- # Feel pretty good, y'all - Feel all right! #
0:22:21 > 0:22:23He was amazed that a white young guy
0:22:23 > 0:22:27could be standing up onstage singing that sort of stuff.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29# Everybody, one more time! #
0:22:29 > 0:22:32And I couldn't ask for anything more in the world than to be asked
0:22:32 > 0:22:34to be on stage with him and sing.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37We'd like to bring on the star of the show,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40he's going to knock us all out and do a really fantastic number.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Here he is, dear Otis, with Pain In My Heart.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:46 > 0:22:50# Pain in my heart
0:22:50 > 0:22:54# Treating me cold
0:22:54 > 0:22:57# Where can my baby be?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59# Lord, no-one knows... #
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Otis's British following was no longer limited
0:23:02 > 0:23:07to anoraks who bought rare 45s, and his appeal to the ladies
0:23:07 > 0:23:11was opening a whole new market that Stax was quick to exploit.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14# Lord, where can she be? #
0:23:14 > 0:23:19Because when you attract the female, it brings the male along,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21so, yes, the target was the female audience.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25That was the majority purchaser of the music.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28And that's who hollered and screamed on stage,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and if you got the women in, the guys would be beating a path
0:23:31 > 0:23:34to the door to come to that performance!
0:23:34 > 0:23:35So, yes, females!
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Yes, females! Yes, females!
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Otis would have women right in front of the stage
0:23:42 > 0:23:46begging him to just touch him, just touch him.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50I saw women standing there and crying throughout the whole song,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53"Touch me, Otis. Touch me, Otis."
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And Otis would just keep on singing.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58# Call me the love man... #
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Back in the States, Otis's female fans were equally enthusiastic.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05# ..That's what they call me I'm a love man... #
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Unless they get way out of line,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11I have no problem with it, with what was going on.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15You got a nice-looking husband and he looks good
0:24:15 > 0:24:18and nobody wants him but you, you got a problem.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21He looked too good for somebody to say,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23"Well, I don't want Otis Redding."
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Good-looking man. Very good-looking.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31# How can I explain to you? #
0:24:31 > 0:24:36Otis Redding would sing so pitiful and so pleading to the women,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39he knew how to beg the women and make 'em feel good about him.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44# Mr Pitiful
0:24:44 > 0:24:47# That's my name now
0:24:47 > 0:24:50# They call me Mr Pitiful
0:24:50 > 0:24:53# And that's how I got my fame
0:24:53 > 0:24:57# But people just don't understand now
0:24:57 > 0:25:01# What would make a man sing such a sad song
0:25:01 > 0:25:03# Ooh, when you've lost everything
0:25:03 > 0:25:06# When they've lost everything that he's had
0:25:06 > 0:25:08# Gotta explain to you!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11# Everything's going wrong
0:25:11 > 0:25:13# I've lost everything I had
0:25:13 > 0:25:15# I've got to sing these sad songs
0:25:15 > 0:25:17# To get back to her
0:25:17 > 0:25:19# And I want you And I want you
0:25:19 > 0:25:21# And I want you
0:25:21 > 0:25:22# And I want you... #
0:25:22 > 0:25:25The women definitely loved Otis to no end.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28He was Mr Sex Appeal out there on the road.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34I was not the wife that always wanted to be on the road
0:25:34 > 0:25:36or always in the way.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38I was the wife who wanted to be there
0:25:38 > 0:25:42to do what he wants me to do with the kids, take care of the home.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Otis had celebrated his success with a fine new ranch outside of Macon.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52# I keep loving you... #
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Just being on the ranch, when he was home, it was just like magic
0:25:58 > 0:26:02because Mom was very rigid, structured,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05very much a disciplinarian,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07where my father was,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09"Run through the house, have fun,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11"just as long as you guys don't fight.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13"Do whatever you need to do."
0:26:13 > 0:26:16You know, he wanted to be a real farmer,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and his dream was to do that, and he did it.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- # Tramp! - What you call me?!
0:26:23 > 0:26:24- # Tramp! - You didn't!
0:26:24 > 0:26:28# You don't wear continental clothes or Stetson hats! #
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Such was his celebrity by 1967
0:26:30 > 0:26:35that Otis filmed a jokey promo as a laid-back farm hand.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Otis dutifully stayed humble.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48He would be quick to pick up his own bag or...
0:26:48 > 0:26:54he wasn't looking for someone to bring him a glass of water or...
0:26:54 > 0:27:00He stayed down low with his music and with his attitude.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04And so, he immediately became a king.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07# Remember me
0:27:07 > 0:27:11# Don't ever forget me, child... #
0:27:11 > 0:27:14But Otis became king of the road when he left his family
0:27:14 > 0:27:17four days a week to play to his adoring soul fans.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24And every time Otis Redding left off that ranch
0:27:24 > 0:27:28and went through that gate, one thing I knew,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32he loves Zelma, he loves his kids, his family, he's coming back.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35He's not going anywhere.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39He would call constantly.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Whenever, just constantly, "What are y'all doing? Where are the kids?
0:27:43 > 0:27:46"Let me speak to the kids. What did they eat? Are you OK?"
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And Mom would be like, "I wish he would stop calling me!"
0:27:49 > 0:27:52So, you know, I just...
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and I sit and I listen to certain lyrics
0:27:55 > 0:28:00and certain notes, and it just seems like their relationship.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02It almost seems like a storybook,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06like a love story of what they were going through.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# Now it might be
0:28:10 > 0:28:13# A little bit sentimental No, no, no
0:28:15 > 0:28:20# But she has her grief and care
0:28:20 > 0:28:24# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
0:28:24 > 0:28:29# But the soft words They are spoke so gentle
0:28:29 > 0:28:30# Yeah, yeah, yeah
0:28:33 > 0:28:36# And it makes it easy
0:28:36 > 0:28:40# Easier to bear
0:28:42 > 0:28:45# Oh, she won't regret it No, no... #
0:28:45 > 0:28:50Otis was also romancing club-goers across the South.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Among his biggest hits was an old Songbook classic
0:28:53 > 0:28:56that he'd made his own, Try A Little Tenderness.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02# But it's all so easy
0:29:02 > 0:29:05# All you've got to do is try
0:29:05 > 0:29:09# Try a little tenderness, yeah
0:29:09 > 0:29:10# Tell me, huh
0:29:10 > 0:29:13# All you've got to do is know how to love her
0:29:13 > 0:29:19# You've got to hold her Squeeze her, never leave her
0:29:19 > 0:29:21# Got to, got to, got to
0:29:21 > 0:29:23# Try a little tenderness
0:29:23 > 0:29:25# A little, little tenderness
0:29:25 > 0:29:27# A little, little tenderness
0:29:27 > 0:29:29# You've got to
0:29:29 > 0:29:30# Got to, you've got to
0:29:30 > 0:29:34# Hold her, squeeze her Never leave her
0:29:34 > 0:29:36# Got to, got to, na-na-na
0:29:36 > 0:29:38# Got to try a little... #
0:29:38 > 0:29:42This is Otis Redding. Otis Redding is doing it Otis Redding's way.
0:29:42 > 0:29:49And this is soul, R&B, blues, jazz, all mixed in here.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52But this is Otis Redding. And we released it.
0:29:52 > 0:29:53The publishers sued us.
0:29:55 > 0:29:56The publishers sued us,
0:29:56 > 0:30:00went to get an injunction and a restraining order on us
0:30:00 > 0:30:02to prevent us from releasing that record.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Their argument was that that performance was going to
0:30:05 > 0:30:08damage Try A Little Tenderness.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12A subtle racism still pervaded the music business.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14This 1930s ballad had been covered
0:30:14 > 0:30:18by established family favourites like Crosby and Sinatra.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22MUSIC: "Try A Little Tenderness" by Bing Crosby
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Otis was now threatening the song's pedigree
0:30:27 > 0:30:30by transforming it into hot Southern soul.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32# A little bit of tenderness
0:30:32 > 0:30:34# A little tenderness
0:30:34 > 0:30:36# Oh, just
0:30:36 > 0:30:41# You've got to hold her Squeeze her, never leave her
0:30:41 > 0:30:45# You got to, got to Got to try a little... #
0:30:47 > 0:30:51There was a problem with a black male artist
0:30:51 > 0:30:55because of historically what was happening in this country,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59and how the larger segment of society viewed the black male.
0:31:02 > 0:31:03Otis had made his own statement
0:31:03 > 0:31:07about the institutionalised racism affecting him.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10He'd recorded Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come.
0:31:10 > 0:31:16# I was born by a river, oh man
0:31:17 > 0:31:22# In this little old tent, whoa
0:31:22 > 0:31:26# Just like this river
0:31:26 > 0:31:29# I've been running ever since
0:31:29 > 0:31:35# It's been a long, long
0:31:35 > 0:31:39# Long time coming but I know, but I know
0:31:39 > 0:31:41# A change has gotta come, man... #
0:31:41 > 0:31:46Otis believed that he could do more for his race through music
0:31:46 > 0:31:51than he could by being out there in front of the crowd holding signs
0:31:51 > 0:31:55and doing the boycotts and pickets and things like that.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56# I know, I know
0:31:56 > 0:31:58# A change has gotta come. #
0:31:58 > 0:32:03There were all kinds of obstacles that Otis faced in America,
0:32:03 > 0:32:08coming from Georgia, and in Georgia itself.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Throughout the South, the racism, the segregation,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15which was painful because we were hated.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19And we were treated like animals.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Naturally, if you went into a restaurant,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and you were refused service, or,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28another particular case, the guy wouldn't let him stand
0:32:28 > 0:32:32near a heater in the store and sent him back to his freezing cold car
0:32:32 > 0:32:36because he didn't want a black man standing in his service station.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39Those incidents naturally hurt him,
0:32:39 > 0:32:43but he had a way of knowing how to handle people
0:32:43 > 0:32:45in that particular situation.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50So Otis and the MGs were only too happy
0:32:50 > 0:32:52to depart the mean streets of Memphis
0:32:52 > 0:32:55when they and a select group of Stax's singers
0:32:55 > 0:32:59were sent on a tour of Britain and Europe.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Though this was Otis's second visit to London,
0:33:01 > 0:33:06many of his companions had never been outside the Deep South.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10The trip would affect their lives in ways they'd never imagined.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14# That's why I sing these happy songs
0:33:14 > 0:33:19# They go dum-dum diddly-dee dum-dum... #
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Well, we got there early in the morning...
0:33:22 > 0:33:26..and it was really quiet, the airport was quiet.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32And we were trying to figure out how we were going to get to the hotel
0:33:32 > 0:33:35and so we were all out on the sidewalk,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and the limousines pulled up and they said,
0:33:38 > 0:33:43"Oh, these are The Beatles' cars. They're loaning them to us."
0:33:43 > 0:33:46So we all got excited, got in the limousines
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and we were ready to be taken to town by The Beatles.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53# Tell your mama, she give me... #
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Otis had even recorded a frenetic version of The Beatles' Day Tripper
0:33:57 > 0:33:59to celebrate his return to Britain.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02# ..Take the easy way out, y'all
0:34:02 > 0:34:05# I said, I got a good reason
0:34:05 > 0:34:07# I'm going to take... #
0:34:07 > 0:34:10This was the first time the MGs studio band
0:34:10 > 0:34:12had ever gone on the road with Otis.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17There was no way I could've guessed at the number of people
0:34:17 > 0:34:22that had been there to greet us and to greet us with such enthusiasm
0:34:22 > 0:34:26and such knowledge about who we were and what we'd done.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28It was moving.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34Now that just overwhelmed us in a very positive and dramatic way
0:34:34 > 0:34:37because these were white people,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41and it was the white people in America, where we had racism
0:34:41 > 0:34:45and segregation, that were thumbs down, if you will, on us.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50And here we were being embraced by white people in the United Kingdom
0:34:50 > 0:34:55and throughout the whole of Europe as we travelled through Europe.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58It gave us a different perspective on ourselves,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02it increased our appreciation for ourselves.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06We didn't know that our music was appreciated
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and loved that much, because it had been a fight
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and still was a fight in America to get it played.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15But then to come and get off that plane in the UK
0:35:15 > 0:35:19and see a field and a rose garden of white people,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21a flower garden, loving our music,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25and at the concerts and the performances, people interacting,
0:35:25 > 0:35:26we could not believe it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31It changed how we viewed ourselves and it gave us more confidence.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33It is now star time!
0:35:33 > 0:35:36I'm talking about the man that sings Pain In My Heart!
0:35:36 > 0:35:39The man that sings Shake! The man that sings Satisfaction!
0:35:39 > 0:35:41The man that sings Fa-Fa!
0:35:41 > 0:35:45I'm talking about the star of the show, it's Mr Otis Redding!
0:35:45 > 0:35:47MUSIC: "Respect" by Otis Redding
0:35:55 > 0:35:58# What you want, honey, you've got it
0:35:58 > 0:36:01# What you need, babe, you got it
0:36:01 > 0:36:05# All I'm asking for is a little respect when I come home
0:36:05 > 0:36:09# Yeah, now, hey-hey-hey
0:36:09 > 0:36:12# Yeah, now, ooh, Lord
0:36:12 > 0:36:14# Do me wrong, honey If you want to... #
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Otis was like a ball of dynamite.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And he was like your friend up there
0:36:22 > 0:36:24but oozing confidence, oozing love.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Magical stuff.
0:36:28 > 0:36:34The English audiences were the most energetic,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37responsive crowds that we'd ever seen.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42And so we were turned on by that, you know, I mean,
0:36:42 > 0:36:46they got the most out of us by feeding us all that energy.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51# Hey, little girl You're sweeter than honey... #
0:36:51 > 0:36:54The tempos were faster, the energy higher,
0:36:54 > 0:36:57the band more together than ever before.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58# ..Respect when I come home
0:36:58 > 0:37:01# Yeah-yeah, hey-hey-hey. #
0:37:01 > 0:37:05The musical togetherness never fell apart.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08It's like we were dictated that we were going to be simple,
0:37:08 > 0:37:11we were going to be straightforward, we were going to be funky.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13We were going to be good.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16We were blowing people away.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19We get up there with this dynamite band and just blow people out.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22And, of course, Otis Redding, it's like, "Holy mackerel!
0:37:22 > 0:37:23"This guy's a monster!"
0:37:23 > 0:37:27# Give it up, give it up Give it up, give it up... #
0:37:27 > 0:37:31In England, he was definitely the King of Soul, without question.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:37:38 > 0:37:41The Stax/Volt tour introduced many of the label's top artists
0:37:41 > 0:37:43all in one show.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45They travelled England, Wales and Scotland,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48often doing two performances a night.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50Otis always topped the billing.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56The more pressure put on him, the harder he worked.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00There was no relaxing.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Whereas, we could relax because we weren't headlining.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06We had a lot of fun.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12Love and fun, and clowning and carrying on.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16# ..To find out if it's trick or treat... #
0:38:19 > 0:38:22# ..I love you, baby
0:38:22 > 0:38:26# But you're playing pretty bad, girl... #
0:38:27 > 0:38:30He'd call home at least five times a day.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I said, "Are you enjoying yourself?"
0:38:33 > 0:38:35And he said, "I'm having so much fun over here,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40"but I am really, really getting a whole new audience here."
0:38:40 > 0:38:44And to see, back then, in the '60s,
0:38:44 > 0:38:49that it was a mixed audience with blacks and whites,
0:38:49 > 0:38:51that just blew him away.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Everybody help me sing it, now.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57# Hey-hey-hey... #
0:38:59 > 0:39:01One more time. # ..Hey-hey-hey...
0:39:05 > 0:39:08# ..Ooh, mmm-yeah, yeah, oh
0:39:10 > 0:39:14# I don't need no money
0:39:14 > 0:39:17# Fortune or fame, yeah
0:39:20 > 0:39:24# I got all the riches, baby
0:39:24 > 0:39:25# One big man can claim... #
0:39:25 > 0:39:27It was cold and wet...
0:39:28 > 0:39:33..but they loved the people and they were learning about the food.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38And you could see them looking at each other, like,
0:39:38 > 0:39:39"Are they ripping us off?
0:39:39 > 0:39:41"Are they ripping us off?"
0:39:41 > 0:39:46In '67, a lot of the places in England were sort of still
0:39:46 > 0:39:50on the ration kind of mentality.
0:39:50 > 0:39:51very small portions and all that,
0:39:51 > 0:39:53and here comes these guys
0:39:53 > 0:39:56that could just eat anything you put in front of 'em!
0:39:56 > 0:40:01I remember on the road, and I have some Super 8 film of this,
0:40:01 > 0:40:03we stopped the bus to get gas and stuff
0:40:03 > 0:40:07and we all ran in this little grocery store on the road there,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11and Eddie Floyd found a can of pork and beans,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14and ran on the bus and said, "Guys, you can't have any!"
0:40:14 > 0:40:16I never will forget that.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Something so small but so important.
0:40:19 > 0:40:20# Come on, now
0:40:20 > 0:40:24# Happy song, happy song... #
0:40:24 > 0:40:28From having to go to the back to get food,
0:40:28 > 0:40:29or not be served at all,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33and have different restrooms and all of that,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35with white America,
0:40:35 > 0:40:39and all of a sudden you go to a country
0:40:39 > 0:40:42and you're interacting with 100% white people,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46and none of that is happening, it's like you've gone to heaven.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51Europe changed us. It gave us another perspective on life.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57The Stax/Volt tour rambled around Britain then Europe
0:40:57 > 0:41:00and built to its climax with a return visit to London.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04The final shows would be a triumph that would profoundly affect the
0:41:04 > 0:41:08lives of the many budding British singers in the audience that night.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10It started off with, "Give me an O!
0:41:10 > 0:41:13"Give me a T! Give me an I! Give me an S!"
0:41:13 > 0:41:15And then Otis came out.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17CHEERING
0:41:17 > 0:41:22But he only sang for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, that's all you had to do in those days.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26But he was a big man and when he came on stage you knew he was there.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31In the early days, I would always try and sound like Otis.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36And in doing so, that developed the voice that has become my own.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39# I can't get no satisfaction. #
0:41:39 > 0:41:41I thought, "God! That's great!"
0:41:41 > 0:41:45He had a quality in there that you felt.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49You knew it was coming from his heart when he sang.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52But even though I was heavily influenced by Otis Redding,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55I still tried to do it my own way.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59It was a great learning curve for me.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03I mean, I took a lot from him, you know.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07He would do an, "Ow!" Something like a little scream.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11You would employ that in your own repertoire, you know.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14And I still do it today.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Thank you, Otis.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20It was just feeling this huge energy force, you know,
0:42:20 > 0:42:26of great music played with such flair and verve.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29It was just incredibly inspiring.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33I thought, "Is there anything you can do to follow this?"
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And I sort of found something that I could do.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40But I'm not sure I would have done any of it
0:42:40 > 0:42:44if I hadn't been there that night. So...interesting.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46# I got to have it Satisfaction
0:42:46 > 0:42:49# We got to have it Satisfaction
0:42:49 > 0:42:52# Early in the morning Satisfaction
0:42:52 > 0:42:56# Take it on up I need satisfaction. #
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Everybody wanted to be around Otis.
0:42:59 > 0:43:05Everybody wanted to be a part of that scene, that Stax/Volt tour,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09because it was the excitement of everything that had come up
0:43:09 > 0:43:14from the previous five years right there on stage for everybody to see.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17CHEERING
0:43:19 > 0:43:24And it dramatically changed Otis, because his self-image
0:43:24 > 0:43:28and how he felt about himself changed.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32And it allowed him to be freer in his performance of the music,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34because the confidence was there.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38And that's what the UK gave us.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42It took Stax and Otis Redding to another level.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46But the very success of the tour would not only dramatically affect
0:43:46 > 0:43:51Otis Redding, it would also lead to the disintegration of Stax Records.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56When we came back from Europe we thought of ourselves differently.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59We were somebody in Europe...
0:43:59 > 0:44:02people recognised us on the street.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04Everybody came back a superstar.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07They went over there as just a struggling musician,
0:44:07 > 0:44:11they all came back in their heads as superstars after 17 days.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14That was very difficult to deal with.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18So we began to think of ourselves as bigger stars.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22You know, as somebody who deserved pay.
0:44:22 > 0:44:29Were we getting...the right numbers on our statements?
0:44:29 > 0:44:33What is Atlantic getting?
0:44:33 > 0:44:35What is Stax doing?
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Those kind of things, who's cheating whom?
0:44:38 > 0:44:45It's a painful reality what Sam was talking about there, very painful. Um-hm.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48So, basically, the team started splitting up.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55So...it was meant to be, you know. I guess, written in the stars.
0:44:55 > 0:45:00- # Dreams - Dreams to remember. #
0:45:00 > 0:45:04And there was more than a little jealousy towards Stax's superstar,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07who seemed aloof from the problems engulfing his colleagues.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Otis returned home to his 400-acre ranch and adoring family
0:45:12 > 0:45:15and his future looked secure.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I remember him coming home from London
0:45:18 > 0:45:23and I had this poem. And I said, "I want you to take this poem."
0:45:23 > 0:45:27"I've missed you so bad while you were away."
0:45:27 > 0:45:32And he took it and he said, "You are not a songwriter."
0:45:32 > 0:45:35I said, "OK, I just wrote a poem."
0:45:35 > 0:45:39But it was all about him and how I missed him.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43# Dreams to remember.. #
0:45:43 > 0:45:45On a promotional video,
0:45:45 > 0:45:50Otis playfully showed how all his childhood dreams had come true.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52He didn't have a college degree,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55but he had common sense and he had a gift.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01And at 26 years old, he owned a second aeroplane
0:46:01 > 0:46:06and a 14-room home and 400 acres of land.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10He always would tell me it ain't how much money you make,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13it's what you do with the money you make.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26We realised after coming back from the UK and Europe
0:46:26 > 0:46:30that our music was accepted and appreciated.
0:46:31 > 0:46:37So I started, with more persistence, creativity and vim and vigour,
0:46:37 > 0:46:42if you will, going after white radio stations in America to
0:46:42 > 0:46:44play our music.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52# You left all the water running... #
0:46:52 > 0:46:55We knew we had overcome,
0:46:55 > 0:46:59it was just a matter of being able to figure out a way, on my part,
0:46:59 > 0:47:03to market it to the masses where they could hear the music.
0:47:03 > 0:47:08# ..Baby, you turned off the light of love
0:47:08 > 0:47:12# You left with another guy. #
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Al Bell made sure everyone knew about the triumph in Britain
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and Otis finally began to cross over to the mass American audience.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25On the West Coast, flower power was blossoming
0:47:25 > 0:47:28and the first big pop festival at Monterey offered him,
0:47:28 > 0:47:33unpaid, the chance to play before a mainly white audience.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35He grabbed the opportunity.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39But Otis was not supposed to headline Saturday night.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42The Beach Boys dropped out
0:47:42 > 0:47:47very close to the last minute for many reasons
0:47:47 > 0:47:49and Otis became the headliner.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51CHEERING
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Otis told the MGs, "Do it like we did in England."
0:47:54 > 0:47:59And 30,000 hippies were enthralled by their intensity and togetherness.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01# You move your body all around
0:48:01 > 0:48:02# And just shake
0:48:02 > 0:48:03# That's the way you do it
0:48:03 > 0:48:04# Now shake
0:48:04 > 0:48:06# Doggone, baby, now shake
0:48:06 > 0:48:08# Shake it, shake it, baby!
0:48:10 > 0:48:12# Shake it like a bowl of soup, yeah
0:48:12 > 0:48:14# And let it go loop-the-loop, yeah
0:48:14 > 0:48:16# Put your hands on your hips now
0:48:16 > 0:48:19# Come on, let your backbone slip
0:48:19 > 0:48:20# Move your body like a whip
0:48:20 > 0:48:21# And just shake!
0:48:21 > 0:48:23# Lord have mercy! Shake!
0:48:23 > 0:48:25# Early in the morning... #
0:48:25 > 0:48:27The impact was unbelievable.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Otis got to their soul.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33And Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead
0:48:33 > 0:48:37said he thought he had seen God on stage that night.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41This was the first pop festival to be shown in cinemas
0:48:41 > 0:48:45and Otis was portrayed in an almost spiritual light
0:48:45 > 0:48:47by the director of the Monterey movie.
0:48:48 > 0:48:54He captured onstage exactly what was happening at the festival.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57And he was shooting right into the lights
0:48:57 > 0:49:02and what he was hoping is that Otis would cover the light
0:49:02 > 0:49:06so that he wouldn't have that in his lens.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10Once he saw what he had, he stayed with it.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13At that moment, you realise that Otis
0:49:13 > 0:49:17is enjoying the performance as much as the audience.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22# I can't stop now
0:49:27 > 0:49:35# You are tired and your love is growing cold
0:49:37 > 0:49:45# My love is growing stronger as our affair grows old
0:49:48 > 0:49:56# Ohh, I've been loving you Oh, too long
0:49:56 > 0:50:00# And I don't wanna stop now. #
0:50:00 > 0:50:07He got in back at our home about three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning
0:50:07 > 0:50:10and I said, "Well, how did it go?"
0:50:10 > 0:50:16He said, "I killed them out there. I got me... I got 'em."
0:50:16 > 0:50:20And he was so excited you could just see it in his eyes.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24And he felt so good that he had reached another audience
0:50:24 > 0:50:29that he didn't ever think he would be able to reach.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32In the British Melody Maker September '67 Poll
0:50:32 > 0:50:34Otis had, astonishingly,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38dethroned Elvis Presley as the world's top male vocalist.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43# You can rock me, baby. #
0:50:43 > 0:50:48He was now ready to return to Stax and consolidate his meteoric rise on vinyl.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52But a worrying problem intervened.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57He started work again in the studio and, of course,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59his vocal chords got messed up.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04And he was just kind of upset about everything, you know,
0:51:04 > 0:51:09words weren't coming out right, his strength wasn't pushing the notes out right.
0:51:09 > 0:51:14But he had had polyps, which was a vocal chord condition
0:51:14 > 0:51:19where you develop these nodes on your vocal chords.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22So he couldn't sing for six weeks
0:51:22 > 0:51:24and he couldn't talk for the first two weeks.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28We were all scared to death, you know.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31You really did not know what the outcome of it was.
0:51:31 > 0:51:37And that was six weeks of remarrying again,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40cos it was a lot of time spent together,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43with me having to see about him
0:51:43 > 0:51:47and he getting all upset cos he couldn't speak.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52He couldn't talk and he was writing on pads.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54I think that frustrated him.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I remember him getting, you know,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00a little frustrated that he couldn't speak.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10Yet it was a time of creative outpouring for Otis.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14He sketched some 30 new songs during his enforced silence.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19BELL RINGS
0:52:19 > 0:52:24I can remember the little bell that he would ring for my mum.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28And I can remember her saying, "I'm so sick of that damn bell!" You know.
0:52:28 > 0:52:34But he had time to think and to organise his goals,
0:52:34 > 0:52:40where he wanted to be, where he wanted to go, how he wanted to reinvent himself.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45And he would sit and listen to Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts...
0:52:45 > 0:52:50He loved it. He said, "These guys are so ahead of their time!"
0:52:55 > 0:53:02Sgt Pepper's was a major influence on him writing Dock Of The Bay.
0:53:02 > 0:53:08It made him open his ideas to a more broader pop audience.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13In fact, when he did Dock Of The Bay, I was very upset by it,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15I did not like the song.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17It sounds very stupid today,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21since it placed number seven in the all-time history of music.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26But I thought Otis had steered too far from his own style.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Otis had been clowning around and if you ever hear the outtakes,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31he's clowning around trying to do a seagull sound
0:53:31 > 0:53:33in the front of the recording.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35And he sounds like a crow not a seagull.
0:53:38 > 0:53:39OTIS SQUAWKS
0:53:45 > 0:53:50# Sitting in the morning sun
0:53:50 > 0:53:55# I'll be sitting when the evening comes
0:53:55 > 0:53:59# Watching the ships roll in
0:53:59 > 0:54:03# Then I watch 'em roll away again... #
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Otis was in a period of self discovery
0:54:07 > 0:54:13and I think that's why the introspective lyrics are on Dock Of The Bay.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18And I think he was finding a much bigger part of himself.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22And it was all Otis, it was all about Otis.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25It was just something about the rhythm of that song
0:54:25 > 0:54:29that made it a little more pop-ish than a normal R&B track.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36# ..Looks like nothing is gonna change
0:54:36 > 0:54:41# Oh, how everything still just stays the same
0:54:41 > 0:54:45# I can't do what 20 people tell me to do
0:54:45 > 0:54:50# So, I guess I'll remain the same... #
0:54:50 > 0:54:53And when I first heard, it was so sad to me,
0:54:53 > 0:54:59because he felt as if he knew something was going to happen.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02When? Nobody knows.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05But if you listen to the message,
0:55:05 > 0:55:10it's just something was going on in his mind.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16# ..I left my home in Georgia
0:55:16 > 0:55:20# I headed for the 'Frisco Bay
0:55:22 > 0:55:25# I've got nothing to live for
0:55:25 > 0:55:29# And look like nothing's gonna come my way
0:55:29 > 0:55:32# So I'm just gonna sit... #
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Before he'd even finish recording Dock Of The Bay,
0:55:35 > 0:55:41Otis headed out to a gig in Wisconsin across the freezing waters of Lake Monona.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44# ..Sitting on the dock of the bay... #
0:55:44 > 0:55:49PHONE RINGS
0:55:49 > 0:55:52The phone rang and someone on the other end said, "He's gone."
0:55:52 > 0:55:55And I can remember my mom dropping the phone,
0:55:55 > 0:56:00running down the steps and going out the door with no shoes.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05It was pouring down with rain and I ran up the driveway behind her.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10When the plane crashed, you don't know where you're going to go,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12you really don't know what's going to happen.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16And she was just hysterical and I just ran out with her.
0:56:16 > 0:56:23Because I didn't know at the time that it was death,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25but I knew something tragic had happened.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29I remember jerking the phone out of the wall, you know.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33"Oh, no!" You know, tore the whole phone out of the wall.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37And I just knew it was true. And going out to see Zelma
0:56:37 > 0:56:44and finding her in tears and her saying, "Oh, he might be swimming."
0:56:44 > 0:56:48It was, like, "Zelma, I've been told there's no way."
0:56:48 > 0:56:52# ..I'm sitting on the dock of the bay
0:56:52 > 0:56:57# Wasting time. #
0:57:02 > 0:57:09Ironically, Otis would achieve in death what he'd never been able to manage during his short life.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Dock Of The Bay went straight to number one on the pop charts
0:57:12 > 0:57:15and sold four million copies worldwide.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Otis was soulful from the heart.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25And he made it raw, and he made it gritty
0:57:25 > 0:57:29and he made it powerful and he made it strong, you know.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33To me, Otis put the S and the O in soul.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36And with Otis it was about his music,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39it was about singing and performing great
0:57:39 > 0:57:42and making those people feel good.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44He lived for that.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47He lived...for that.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54# Give a little
0:57:56 > 0:57:59# Take a little
0:58:02 > 0:58:10# And let your little heart just cry a little
0:58:10 > 0:58:11# Yeah!
0:58:13 > 0:58:16# That's the story of
0:58:18 > 0:58:22# That's the glory of love
0:58:26 > 0:58:28# So, brothers and sisters
0:58:28 > 0:58:32# You ought to know what I'm taking about now, now
0:58:34 > 0:58:36# Cry just a little bit, yeah
0:58:39 > 0:58:42# Sigh just a little
0:58:44 > 0:58:51# And let that old wind just blow right on by a little, yeah
0:58:54 > 0:58:58# That's the story of
0:58:59 > 0:59:04# The good old glory of love
0:59:07 > 0:59:12# I still know what I'm talking about y'all
0:59:12 > 0:59:16# When this old world gets tired of us
0:59:18 > 0:59:21# We'll have each other and hold each other
0:59:21 > 0:59:27# When this old world gets through with us
0:59:27 > 0:59:29# We'll have each others arms... #
0:59:29 > 0:59:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd