2/4. Stuart Maconie continues a tribute to singer/songwriter Otis Redding, whose unpolished and achingly expressive vocals exemplify the kind of unaffected soul singing no longer heard in mainstream popular music.
Redding died in 1967, aged 26, leaving a distinctive repertoire that includes I've Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now), Respect, Try a Little Tenderness, Tramp (with Carla Thomas ) and the posthumous US number one hit (Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay.
The series features interviews with guitarist Steve Cropper, trumpeter Wayne Jackson, songwriting partner and soul giant Jerry Butler, and trumpeter Ben Cauley, the sole survivor of the 1967 plane crash that took Redding's life.
This instalment looks at Redding's string of early-to-mid-60s hits that advanced the Memphis-based Stax/Volt sound.