Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, and at the age of 2, moved to Macon, Georgia. Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and by performing in talent shows at the historic Douglass Theatre in Macon. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, with whom he toured the Southern states as a singer and driver. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine", in 1962.
Stax released Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, two years later. Initially popular mainly with African-Americans, Redding later reached a wider American pop music audience. Along with his group, he first played small gigs in the American South. He later performed at the popular Los Angeles night club Whisky a Go Go and toured Europe, performing in London, Paris and other major cities. He also performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
Shortly before his death in a plane crash, Redding wrote and recorded his iconic "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" with Steve Cropper. The song became the first posthumous number-one record on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts. The album The Dock of the Bay was the first posthumous album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. Redding's premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that the Atco division of Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire song catalog.
Redding received many posthumous accolades, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition to "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," "Respect" and "Try a Little Tenderness" are among his best-known songs.
Redding has been called the "King of Soul", an honorific also given to Brown and Cooke. He remains one of the genre's most recognized artists. His lean and powerful style exemplified the Stax sound; he was said to be "the heart and soul of Stax", while artists such as Al Jackson, Dunn and Cropper helped to expand its structure. His open-throated singing, the tremolo/vibrato, the manic, electrifying stage performances and perceived honesty were particular hallmarks, along with the use of interjections (such as "gotta, gotta, gotta"), some of which came from Cooke. Producer Stewart thought the "begging singing" was stress-induced and enhanced by Redding's shyness.
Artists from many genres have named Redding as a musical influence. George Harrison called "Respect" an inspiration for "Drive My Car". The Rolling Stones also mentioned Redding as a major influence. Other artists influenced by Redding include Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Doors, and virtually every soul and R&B musician from the early years, such as Al Green, Etta James, William Bell, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Conley. Janis Joplin was influenced by his singing style, according to Sam Andrew, a guitarist in her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She stated that she learned "to push a song instead of just sliding over it" after hearing Redding.
The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb wrote the song "To Love Somebody" for him to record. He loved it, and he was going to "cut it", as Barry put it, on his return from his final concert. They dedicated the song to his memory.
Down In The Valley
Otis Redding Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the valley so low,
Hang your hair over your shoulder
And you can hear the four winds blow, now, oh my
Now can't you hear the wind blow my love,
Can't you hear the wind blow,
We're down in the valley, ha
Now have you ever been lonely, lonely, ha
Now have you ever been sad
Did you ever really need some one, oh my
Who really needed
Gotta, gotta, gotta, ha, too much, ooh yeah
Help me baby, gotta get the groove
So too much, ooh yeah
It was down in the valley
In the valley so low
It was when I held you so tight
How can I ever let you go, go, go, go, ooh now
Now it was down, down, down, down, down, down, down
In the valley so low, ooh my
When I held you so tight, now
How can I ever let you go, now
Ah, good god
Too much, too much, too much groovin' now
Too much, gotta
Down in the valley
We're down in the valley
So low, so low, we can't go no further
We're down, we're down too much
Gotta groovin', groovin', groovin'
Gotta, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't
Go no further, now
Gotta, gotta, good god almighty we gotta, gotta
Groovin', groovin', groovin'
Too much grippem
Watch it, watch it, wathc it
Gotta, a good time we're havin'
We gotta, gotta keep on, keep on groovin'
The song Down in the Valley is a love song that speaks about a place where the singer and his or her lover can go and be alone. The “valley so low” is a metaphor for a place where love can thrive without the outside world interfering. The singer urges his lover to hang her hair over her shoulder to listen to the wind blow. The wind is a symbol of freedom and liberation, and the valley represents the retreat where the couple can be themselves and enjoy each other’s company.
The song goes on to ask if the listener has ever been lonely or sad and if they have ever needed someone who would also need them. The singer then jumps into a quick frenzy, asking for help to find the groove and keep moving. The song seems to be about the beauty of love and the power of music to move us and help us overcome our troubles.
Line by Line Meaning
Down in the valley, ha
We are in the valley, where life is not easy, ha
In the valley so low,
The valley is so low that it feels dark and depressing
Hang your hair over your shoulder
Let your guard down and be vulnerable
And you can hear the four winds blow, now, oh my
You can feel the existence of all forces of the nature that can heal you
Now can't you hear the wind blow my love,
Can't you feel my love as a warm breeze that can comfort you
Can't you hear the wind blow,
The wind is a symbol of positive change
Now have you ever been lonely, lonely, ha
Have you ever been in a dark place in life where you feel lonely, ha
Now have you ever been sad
Have you ever felt extreme sadness
Did you ever really need some one, oh my
Have you ever felt the need for someone who can make your life better
Who really needed
Someone who needed you just as much as you needed them
Gotta, gotta, gotta, ha, too much, ooh yeah
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed with our desires and needs, ha, ooh yeah
Help me baby, gotta get the groove
Help me move on and find the right path
So too much, ooh yeah
We feel so much that we can't find a way to express ourselves, ooh yeah
It was down in the valley
It was in our lowest point in life
In the valley so low
We were in the darkest, most difficult times
It was when I held you so tight
It was when I felt your love and support the most
How can I ever let you go, go, go, go, ooh now
How can I ever let go of someone who helped me so much
Now it was down, down, down, down, down, down, down
We hit rock bottom
In the valley so low, ooh my
Our lowest point was so low that it affected us deeply, ooh my
How can I ever let you go, now
How can I let go of someone who stood by me in my darkest hour
Ah, good god
Expression of strong emotions
Too much, too much, too much groovin' now
We feel too many emotions that we can't contain them all
Too much, gotta
We have too much to process and have to take action
Down in the valley
We are still in the same place with the same struggles
We're down in the valley
We are still experiencing the same lows
So low, so low, we can't go no further
Our depression and sadness is so deep that we can't handle any more
We're down, we're down too much
We have hit rock bottom and can't keep going like this
Gotta groovin', groovin', groovin'
We need to move on and find our way out of this place
Gotta, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't, we can't
We can't stay in this low any longer
Go no further, now
We need to start making positive changes now
Gotta, gotta, good god almighty we gotta, gotta
We need to take action now and make things better
Groovin', groovin', groovin'
We need to keep moving forward and finding the right path
Too much grippem
We feel too much pressure and too many emotions
Watch it, watch it, watch it
We need to be mindful of our actions and thoughts
Gotta, a good time we're havin'
We should focus on enjoying life and finding happiness
We gotta, gotta keep on, keep on groovin'
We need to keep moving forward and making progress, even when it's hard
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SOLOMON BURKE, MARVIN CHIVIAN, JOSEPH C. MARTIN, BERT BERNS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind