Stax exhibit salutes ties to Otis Redding

Photo by Courtesy of Zelma Redding

Otis Redding with Otis III.

Photo by Volt Records

Otis Redding was known as the "King of the Memphis Sound." He came to Memphis in 1962 with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinepoppers. During a recording session at Stax, he asked if he could record a song he had written. The result was his first hit, "Arms of Mine." Among the hits that pushed him to the top ranks of the recording industry were "Respect," "Try a Little Tenderness," "Knock on Wood" and his posthumous #1 single "(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay". Redding and five of the seven member Bar-Kays were killed in an airplane crash in Madison, Wisc., Dec. 10, 1967.

A new exhibit celebrating the life and legacy of soul music legend Otis Redding opens at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music this week.

"I've Got Dreams To Remember: An Exhibit from the Private Collection of Zelma Redding" will feature rarely seen personal items and objects, courtesy of Redding's widow.

To mark what would have been Redding's 70th birthday, a special opening event will take place at the Stax Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Admission is free and the celebration is open to the general public.

Some of the pieces in the new exhibit were previously featured in an exhibit at Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, including the red velvet graduation cap Redding wore on the cover of his famed Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul LP.

Others, including the two Grammy awards Redding won posthumously for the song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" following his death in a 1967 plane crash, have never been on display before.

This is the second Stax exhibit of Redding items from his family's estate. In 2007, the museum hosted "Otis Redding: From Macon to Memphis" marking the 40th anniversary of the singer's passing.

"It's been interesting to get to know the Redding family and work with them," said Tim Sampson, communications director for the Stax Museum. "Otis Redding was so important to Stax.

"And so it's important for us to keep showing as many sides of Otis as we can through these types of exhibits."

"I've Got Dreams to Remember" will be on display through March 31, 2012, at the museum at 926 E. McLemore.

For information, go to staxmuseum.com.

-- Bob Mehr: (901) 529-2517

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