Day 228: Otis Redding and Carla Thomas – King & Queen

I was tempted to say that I love Otis Redding, but he was a famous man in ye olden days and I don’t know much about him. I’ll temper those impulses for now and say I am a big admirer of his body of work and he seems cool, barring any scandals I’m unaware about. I’m hoping after today, when I’ve covered the album King & Queen, I’ll be able to talk to you about Carla Thomas and I can be a bit more confident in my estimations of Otis Redding.

Album cover courtesy of Stax Records

Otis Redding was a soul singer, sometimes dubbed the King of Soul, who died tragically young at 26 in a plane accident, but who left behind a body of work that makes him one of the best to ever do it. He’s known for classics like "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (which is one of my all-time favourites), as well as “Respect” which became better known from the Aretha cover, and “Try a Little Tenderness”, which was my gateway into Otis Redding from that scene in Pretty in Pink where Duckie dances to it at the record store.

Carla Thomas is a singer from Tennessee who is also known as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She’s also the daughter of singer/songwriter/entertainer Rufus Thomas. She got her start in the music industry recording duets with her father, then moved on to recording with Otis Redding, then went solo and got some hits on her own. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1968.

Otis Redding and Carla Thomas were put together to record because Stax co-founder Jim Stewart thought that the rawness of Otis Redding would pair well with the elegance of Carla Thomas, and he was right. It features ten covers and one song written by Redding, all of which are light and full of life and charisma. Both of the singers have gorgeous voices that work together well and they’re a joy to listen to together.

It’s energetic and beaming and the pair clearly had something special together musically, but nothing on it really knocked me off my feet. That being said, it’s so good that my partner told me to please be in the same room as him while I have it on so he can listen. I had it on a speaker but I think I need to listen to it again on headphones later, I was short on time today so I had to multitask. It’s an 8.5/10.