The resurgence of interest in Otis Redding's life will continue this September, with an event to honor the late soul singer.
The life and times of Otis Redding will be celebrated on September 4th, in the singer's hometown of Macon, Georgia, during "An Evening of RESPECT."
Otis Redding's wife Zelma Redding, founder of the Big “O” Youth Educational Dream Foundation, is spearheading the evening, which will honor the singer, who died in an untimely plane crash in 1967.
A number of nationally known recording artists will take part in the event, including Atlantic Records recording artist Musiq Soulchild, Timothy Bloom, violinist Ken Ford and legendary Stax Records guitarist Steve Cropper, who was one of the first people to discover, and work with Otis Redding.
The event will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of the recording of Otis Redding's first single, the haunting ballad, “These Arms of Mine.”
“The Big 'O' Youth Educational Dream Foundation was founded to fulfill Otis’ dream to enrich the lives of young people by enabling them to continue their education through the many programs that we support,” stated Zelma Redding. “This is our fourth ‘An Evening of Respect’ and we are excited about celebrating Otis’ 70th birthday in the city he loved, Macon. We are honored to share this very special ‘An Evening of Respect’ with Stax Records, Atlantic Records and Steve Cropper.”
"An Evening of Respect” for Otis Redding comes on the heels of the singer's reemergence in pop culture, via Jay-Z and Kanye West's new song “Otis.”
The track, which is taken from their album Watch the Throne, incorporates a sample of Otis Redding's version of “Try a Little Tenderness.”
According to data released by Billboard magazine, last month, Otis Redding said the mark for the longest span between entries on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.
Jay-Z and Kanye West's song "Otis" featuring Otis Redding, debuted at #15, making it 41 years since Otis Redding has appeared on the charts.
The last time the soul singer made an appearance on the Billboard charts was during the week of September 13th, 1969, when his song “Free Me” peaked at #30 on the charts.
The video for Jay-Z and Kanye West's song "Otis" will debut tonight (August 11th) at 8:56 PM EST, on MTV, MTV2, MTVu, BET and Centric.
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