Otis Redding

Otis Ray Redding Jr. was the 'King of Soul,' the most powerful male vocalist of the 1960s Southern soul movement and the biggest star on the Stax Records roster. His raw, impassioned singing style drew directly from the gospel and blues traditions of rural Georgia, and his recordings ('These Arms of Mine,' 'Pain in My Heart,' 'Try a Little Tenderness,' 'I've Been Loving You Too Long,' '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay') defined the Stax sound. His performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival introduced him to a massive white rock audience. He died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin, in December 1967 at age 26, just days after recording 'Dock of the Bay.'