Otis

by Scott Freeman

Book Overview

"Rolling Stone"'s Jon Landau described Otis Redding's music as "the highest level of expression rock 'n' roll has yet attained." And now from the critically acclaimed author of "Midnight Riders: The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312262175
• ISBN13: 9780312262174
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Original "Love Man"

It was exciting to read about the Big "O".I was ... fed on his music,thanx to my mother.She was so in love with him that she received sympathy cards when he died.It was like a death in my family.......Reading about Otis's childhood was interesting..He is my favorite male vocalist of all time!!..No other male singer sings with as much emotion..Rugged and raw!!.An important fact mentioned was the racial tensions of the times,and how music and musicians were civil rights activists in their own way..I was most surprised to learn how "Satisfaction" was born..Otis sang this song like he loved it!!..And he had just learned it the day it was recorded!..A musical genius........Otis's music still gets played in regular rotation at my house......Rest In Peace "O".

Good Overview

I think that Scott Freeman did a Good Solid Job here with this Book.it captures many elements of Ottis Redding.it's a shame that a Major Film & Other things haven't been brought out to capture the Man fully.He did alot in His Short time on Earth.this Book Brings alot to life.The Man as a Artist was One of The Baddest Ever I have Heard.

Freeman Does A Fine Job!

I have enjoyed Otis Redding's music for a long time, but I never realized how little I actually knew about him. Everything I have ever read about Otis Redding portrays him as close to perfect. He was a great singer, a great performer, and everybody loved him. That's nice, but what was he really like? Scott Freeman does a good job of showing a more complete and therefore more human Otis Redding. There are some definite surprises. Did you know that Otis once got in a gun fight? Scott Freeman did some nice research into the musical world that Otis lived in. He started this research almost by accident. Freeman played guitar in an R & B band in Macon, Georgia in the 1980's while writing for the Macon Telegraph and News. Many of the old musicians from Otis' times were still active and would sit in with the band. They were still playing great, and Freeman got interested in them. He wound up interviewing many of the old timers for this book, and their memories fill in the details of those times. This is a valuable book for Otis Redding fans!

Freeman Does A Fine Job!

Everything I have ever read about Otis Redding portrays him as perfect. He was a great singer, a great performer, and everybody loved him. Scott Freeman does a good job of showing a more complete Otis Redding. Sometimes Otis is surprising. He once got in complete a gun fight! The best part of the book is the research Scott Freeman did into the music scene that Otis lived in. Freeman played guitar in an R & B band in Macon, Georgia in the 1980's while writing for the Macon Telegraph and News. Many of the old musicians were still active and would sit in with the band. Freeman interviewed many of the old timers for this book, and their memories fill in the details of those times. This is a valuable book for Otis Redding fans!

My hero

Otis Redding was my musical hero. Like so many millions of fans, his songs touched my very soul, and still do today. It was through this biased lens that I read this book. The events of Otis's short life have been well documented by now, but never so fully before. Readers get to know the real Otis in all his majesty and faults. Time heals all wounds, and its easy to forget the impact Otis's death had. Similarly time dulls memories of accomplishments, and lest we ever forget Otis's many contributions I hope this book will find a wide audience. The research has been done with painstaking care. The writing manages to stay objective, even through the author obviously is deeply involved in his subject. Thank you for this work. It's a book I'll read again every few years, just as surely as I return to Otis's recordings regularly to recall why I love his music.