Stax

On the eve of what would have been Stax legend Otis Redding’s 70^th birthday, Thursday, September 8, 2011, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music will open a new exhibit, “OTIS REDDING: I’ve Got Dreams to Remember – An Exhibit from the Private Collection of Zelma Redding.” The exhibit coincides with “An Evening of Respect,” a two-day celebration of Redding’s life in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, hosted by the Redding family to benefit the Big O Youth Educational Dream Foundation.

An Opening Reception will be held at the Stax Museum Thursday, September 8^th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. The public is invited and light refreshments will be served.  

Many of the items in the exhibit were part of the 2007 blockbuster exhibit by the same name at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. But many others, gleaned from Redding’s Big O Ranch outside Macon where his family still lives, have never been on public display. Two of the never-before-shown items are the two Grammy statues Redding won posthumously in 1968 for “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” which he co-wrote with Stax stalwart Steve Cropper and recorded just a month before he and all but two members of his traveling band, The Bar-Kays, were killed in a plane crash in Wisconsin on December 10, 1967. Otis Redding was just 26 years old. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” is the sixth most aired song in history.

Other items depict other sides of Redding: businessman, family man, and even party host. In 1967, Redding held an all-night barbecue at his Macon Ranch for some 1,300 guests who, according to a 1967 Jet magazine article, devoured “eight barbecued hogs, four cows, 225 gallons of Brunswick stew, 50 cases of beer, and eight huge kegs of beer.” Among the personal items in the new exhibit is the grocery and supply list Redding wrote while preparing for the shindig. There are also hand-written press releases that Redding dictated to his secretary while creating his own publicity, including one that states, “The biggest mistake of my career has been not recording Bob Dylan’s ‘Just Like a Woman.” Some never-before-shown personal items, such as a pair of "OR" cufflinks and his favorite table cigarette lighter are included. One of the highlights of the exhibit is th red velvet graduation cap Redding wore in the photo of him for the album cover for Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul.

“OTIS REDDING: I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” will be on display at the Stax Museum through March 31, 2012.