Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by soul singer Otis Redding, released September 15, 1965 on Stax Records. Most recording sessions took place in April and July 1965 at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The album is considered by many critics to be Redding's first fully realized album. An expanded reissue of Otis Blue was released on April 22, 2008. Otis Blue includes covers of three songs by Sam Cooke, Redding's idol, who died the previous December in 1964. Their styles couldn't have been more different; Cooke smooth and sure, Redding raw and pleading. But Redding's versions of "Shake" and "A Change Is Gonna Come" show how Cooke's sound and message helped shape Redding's Southern soul sound....