Rocktober '60s Song #16: "Shake" (live) by Otis Redding (1967)

You may or may not know this about me, but behind hair band music, my favorite genre of music is '60s Memphis soul.  Among the many tragic losses of musicians in the '60s or early '70s, one you don't hear about perhaps as much as you should is Otis Redding.  Maybe it was because he died in a plane crash, and not because of drugs or booze (like Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Brian Jones), or maybe it was because he was only 26 when he died, so he didn't make it into the infamous 27 Club (like the other four I just mentioned).  Whatever the reason, Otis Redding should be celebrated more.

One of the best soul singers there ever was (in my opinion, anyway), Redding had made a name for himself in the early to mid '60s, recording on the legendary Stax record label in Memphis.  He was extremely popular with African-Americans, but it took him a while to cross over to mainstream popularity.  By the time he had his first Top 40 song on the Billboard Hot 100 ("I've Been Loving You Too Long" in 1965), he already had 8 Top 40 songs on the Billboard R&B charts, including two Top 10s.

As his mainstream success grew, he became one of the first non-rock artists to play the Whisky A Go Go in L.A. and then toured Europe in 1966.  Of course, Redding's most famous and most popular song (not including Aretha Franklin's cover of Redding's "Respect") was "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," which was released after his death and became the first ever posthumous #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.  It wasn't even finished -- the now-iconic whistling was meant to be a place filler for some lyrics.

But this is Rocktober, so a different song seems appropriate.  Less than six months before he died, he headlined Saturday night at the Monterey Pop Festival -- now recognized as one of the greatest music festivals of all-time.  It was a coming out party for acts like The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin -- and Redding, who played to a mass audience (largely white) for the first time.  He didn't squander the opportunity.  

Backed by Booker T. & The MGs and the Mar-Keys, he came out strong, covering Sam Cooke's "Shake," just blowing the doors off the place -- if there had been doors.  I'm including both an audio-only version of the song, as well as video (which starts after the song starts, or else I would have just included the video -- and you get a bonus of his performance of "I've Been Loving You Too Long").  Redding's set was both blistering and soulful, grabbing the audience and whipping them into a frenzy.  He was an amazing performer, and sadly, he didn't get to enjoy the fruits of his crossover success.  But at least we can enjoy performances like this.