Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Wednesday January 11

The Very Best of Otis Redding takes me back to being 19 and working at my first job at Great Harvest Bread during summer break from college. This was one of the CDs that I discovered I really enjoyed. I hadn’t previously been very into soul music, so it wasn’t something I expected. I remember I’ve Got Dreams to Remember particularly catching my attention.

Otis is my favorite soul singer, for reasons as simple he wrote songs that used the phrase “These Arms of Mine” instead of “My Arms.” It’s a great example of a longer, perhaps less grammatically correct phrase is more engaging than the “proper” way of saying something.

I love Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay naturally, but Tramp cracks me up to no end. It’s like a OG rap brag/dis track between he and Carla Thomas, and I love Otis’ indignation – “WHAAAAAAT?”

It’s amazing such a young singer at the time both wrote his own songs and fully owned the copyright. He was a very smart, driven businessman as well as a great performer; it’s a terrible shame he never really got to enjoy the fruits of his labor and we never got to hear the development of the classic artist he would have become.