Talk:Otis Redding/Archive 1

Latest comment: 13 years ago by Trekphiler in topic Copyedit
Archive 1Archive 2


Facts About Otis

If anyone could help me I would be truely greatful.

I would like to know whether or not Otis Redding was the original song writer for the following: Saticefaction, Respect.

Please help if you can!

He wrote Respect (as he says on his Monterrey Pop Festival version of the song) but Jagger & Richards wrote Satisfaction. 137.186.153.121 07:53, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

To add to the above, Otis did perform a cover version of Satisfaction although he would divert from the words at times.

satisfaction is a cover version of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones, and Respect was written by Otis himself.-- ♫Greatorangepumpkin♫ T 10:06, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Origin Of Name

I know he was named Otis from birth, but is there any evidence to support the rumour that his parents took the name from the Otis elevator company? 86.139.200.226 12:01, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

  • Otis was named after his father, Otis Ray Redding, Sr., a Baptist minister.
  • As if the elder Redding was named after the Otis elevator company, I do not know.

Thanks for the comments. To me it seems unlikely, but it's a rumour I've encountered more than once. If Redding's father was also named Otis, it's less likely because the elevator company wouldn't have been so well known at the time. What is quite likely, I think, is that the success of the Otis elevator company popularised a name which was otherwise fairly uncommon. If anyone knows more about this issue, I'd be very interested to hear. 86.143.12.80 11:46, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Otis was not at all an uncommon first name in earlier generations, particularly in the American south, which had nothing to do with the elevator. The Otis Elevator Company was founded in Yonkers, New York in 1898 by Elisha Otis, who invented the modern safety elevator. In 1898 there were a lot of living Americans with the first name Otis. I would also think that the Otis elevator company was pretty much unknown in the rural south, where Otis Redding was from, since there were few, if any, elevators there. 74.72.233.142 (talk) 14:44, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

'

What about "Otis Redding / Jimi Hendrix Experience Live at Monterey International Pop Festival ...A Part Of his DISCOGRAPHY , NO ? Let's Include it here. I would but cant until i learn how to really help on wiki by adding this pertinent information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.165.107 (talk) 15:07, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Performances_Recorded_at_the_Monterey_International_Pop_Festival —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.165.107 (talk) 15:10, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

Is this really ironic?

This is the paragraph in After Death in question:

"(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" was recorded only three days prior to Redding's death. It was released the next month and became his first #1 single and first million-seller. The fact that "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" ultimately became Redding's greatest commercial success is ironic, not only because its release came after his death, but also because the song is actually a significant stylistic departure from the bulk of his other work.

I edited it a while back because I did not believe this was an example of irony. I changed the word to "notable". This change has, after several months, been reverted back to the original sentence, with the following comment:

Death -irony: "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected" Yes, it IS ironic

I disagree. Most people believe that they will live through the next day. Most people do. Should a car strike someone down and kill them, is that ironic? No, just unexpected. I accept though, that having written this paragraph, should I be killed tomorrow by a car, that would be ironic.

I am reverting it to notable. If there is a justification for it being ironic, please post it here. StephenBuxton 23:37, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Just for the sake of argument (because arguing is fun sometimes) 8-):
The reason the first example, where I haven't had such a discussion, seems "not ironic" is because the unexpected nature of it happening today comes from no specific reason as opposed to other days. Just in general, I do not get hit and killed by a car as part of my normal day. So I don't expect it to happen today either. But there's no specific reason that, should it happen today, that would be any more notable that it happening on any other day. For an observer to say, "Who would believe today, of all days, this would happen?" wouldn't seem appropriate because . . . well, what was significant about today as opposed to any other day it might have happened? The fact that that observer's question is not applicable is the reason why this example doesn't seem ironic.
But your second example contains specific reason to think it would be particularly significant today, shortly after I finish a discussion about getting hit by a car, that I turn around and get hit by a car. Now, when an observer says, "Who would believe today, of all days, this hould happen?", it seems quite applicable, because my talking about that very subject today, when that's something I don't normally do, sets today apart from just any other day that it might have happened, even each individual other day would have been just as unlikely also. The fact that the observer;s question now makes sense is why this second example does seem ironic, where the first example did not.
With Redding and "Dock of the Bay", saying, "Who would have thought that song, of all songs, would turn out to be his #1?" applies for two specific reasons: 1) Artists generally don't churn out big hits after they're dead (or at least they didn't in that pre-Tupac era), and 2) the song was not consistent style-wise with what had already proven to be popular among Redding's music. Those things set "Dock of the Bay" apart from his other songs as a particularly unlikely candidate, even though each other individual song might have been considered unlikely also. So, since the question does apply sensibly here, that's why this Redding example is actually more consistent with your second example, which you agree demonstrates irony, than with your first example, and thus the word "ironic" does apply here.
Again, all of the above just for the sake of argument. For the sake of the page, though . . . well, if you're that bothered by it, then from what you say above, it sounds like "unexpected", at least, is something upon which you would agree. So we can go with that as a compromise.
Cheers! Mwelch 00:42, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm still not overly convinced that how you describe the reasoning as being ironic is valid. Had the song gone along the lines of Sitting on the Dock of A Bay/ thinking of lyrics that will be utterly lame, then the fact that it got to #1 would have been ironic. However, as for your suggested compromise, I am all for it - a very good compromise. You in the diplomatic corps? ;-)
Oh, and I had no problems with cars today.
StephenBuxton 21:16, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
OK, we're gonna agree to disagree with regard to the irony, but I'm gonna agree wholeheartedly that you get comedy points! 8-) Mwelch 07:32, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Okkervil River

Would the data that Okkervil River produced a song entitled "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas" be appropriate for this article? superscienceman 03:24, 13 November 2006 (UTC)


Chinese Ancestors?

Is it true that he is partly of Chinese descent? http://www.google.co.uk/gwt/n?mrestrict=xhtml&site=search&q=otis+redding&source=m&hl=en-GB&ei=KXvoRtiSDI7mqgLQ9auYAw&ct=res&cd=6&rd=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soulwalking.co.uk%2FOtis%2520Redding.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.107.0.66 (talk) 22:40, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Yea, and Google is always right too! 68.219.26.177 (talk) 00:10, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

As an editor at Crawdaddy!, and to comply with COI guidelines, I am not posting the link to this review of the new Otis Redding live collection, Live! in London and Paris. However, I would like to recommend it on its merits, and hope that an editor will find the time to examine the review and—if he or she sees fit—post it to the external links section, or, if a Live! in London and Paris page is created, to the professional reviews section on that page. I appreciate your time. Crawdaddy! (favorable) 2008
Mike harkin (talk) 21:08, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

We need a photo of Otis

There are no available photos I can find on Flickr to use on Wikipedia. Any suggestions? Otherwise, a suggestion for a non-free image of Otis Redding? --Leahtwosaints (talk) 16:14, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

67.86.22.253 (talk) 03:49, 17 December 2010 (UTC) We did have a photo, but someone removed it!
The person who removed it did so appropriately to protect Commons and Wikipedia from copyright problems. --John (User:Jwy/talk) 15:33, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Copyedit

I think the amount of content is OK, but there are too many names. Try to delete the least important and expand on the more important. For instance in Career it says

...Redding met Zelma Atwood. She gave birth to Dexter.... I would not mention Dexter here since the headline is Career and I suppose Dexter is his son. (His family life could be expanded in another section.)

Another example in Career is

I moved it into the "Early life" section.
In 1965 Redding met Jerry Butler in a lounge at the Atlanta airport to help write songs. The name Jerry Butler is only mentioned in that sentence and it could be explained who he is and why he is important for Redding’s career.
He was a friend of Redding, and they both decided to write a song. That's all I could find.

Some clarification is also needed, for instance, in Early life it says

... hired by one of the members of Little Richard's house band The Upsetters to compete on a talent show. Does this mean a band of young amateurs copying Little Richard or a professional band working for Little Richard? Soerfm (talk) 13:53, 16 October 2011 (UTC)
It was a house band, a professional band that often plays on nightclubs or on sessions. Little Richard was the bandleader. I linked house band. Thanks for the copyedit and the review =) !--♫GoP♫TCN 15:31, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

I have made some more copyedit suggestion to early life as a model by trimming text and hiding names in links. If you hover with the mouse on the link you are able to see the name in each case. If you like you can use that method on the rest of the article. Of cause that method only works if there is an article to link to. Notice that the links are build like "the frontman" not just "frontman" in that way the reader better understand that the link is for this frontman and not a frontman in general. Soerfm (talk) 10:50, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! I also think it is better to hide unrelated items without an article. I will check if there are more such cases. Regards.--♫GoP♫TCN 20:49, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
In ref "frontman", I would suggest linking to the general at first use, rather than the band, for those who may know the word, but not its meaning. After that, linking to the band will do it. TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 21:07, 20 October 2011 (UTC)