Happy Anniversary, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
#OtisRedding loves you...
"Otis had been listening to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album ever since its release, wearing it out as he had once worn out Sam Cooke’s Live At The Copa. He came up with '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay,' a song that, in his mind, was an extension of the Beatles’ music . . . "
--Peter Guralnick, R&B author and screenwriter
"Otis was constantly working on material and ideas. The last night we were together we sat up for hours at a mutual friend’s house. He was dissecting the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album, trying to figure out what they were doing. He really liked what they were doing and thought they were exceptionally clever. He would listen to it over and over again."
--Phil Walden, Otis's producer and manager
"Otis thought Sgt. Pepper was the greatest thing he ever heard. I guess he was thinking, 'How can I be this creative?'"
--Zelma Redding, Otis's wife
"Otis was fascinated by the Beatles. He played Sgt. Pepper over, and over, and over."
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#Stax historian Rob Bowman
#OtisRedding #Soul #RhythmAndBlues
#Grammys #HallOfFame #Influencers
#TheBeatles #SgtPepper #OnThisDay
Sources: Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm & Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom, Guralnick; Soulsville, USA: The Story of Stax Records, Bowman; "The enduring power of Otis Redding’s ‘Dock of the Bay’," New York Times; "Talkin’ about heart and soul: Otis Redding,” Clash Magazine