On September 16, 1966, The Otis Redding Special aired in the U.K. as part of the Ready, Steady, Go! series. In a little more than a year, Otis Redding would be dead in a plane crash, but on this special he showed TV audiences why he was The King of Soul.
The series Ready, Steady, Go! ran from 1963 to 1966 in the U.K. on Friday evenings at 6:00-7:00 p.m with the slogan, “the weekend starts here.” Keith Fordyce, Michael Aldred, and Cathy MacGowan hosted Ready, Steady, Go! at various times (alone or co-hosting). MacGowan, who became a trendsetter at the time, hosted from 1964-1966 (Fordyce left in 1965), and you may see MacGowan at the beginning of the video.
In the Otis Redding Special episode, British singer Chris Farlowe and The Animals’ Eric Burdon also appeared on the show.
During the broadcast, Redding performed, “Satisfaction,” “My Girl,” “Respect,” “Pain in My Heart,” I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Shake,” and “Land of 1000 Dances.”
Burdon and Farlowe joined Redding on the last two songs. Additionally, Burdon performed “Hold On I’m Coming,” and Farlowe performed “This Is A Man’s World.” Check out the video where both Redding and the audience appear to be having a blast.
In other Redding news, a 6-CD set Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings was released on October 21, 2016. The collection expands on the classic Redding album with all of Redding’s performances over three nights at the Sunset Strip club.
What is your favorite performance on the Otis Redding Special? Leave your two cents in the comments.
There is little reason not to own the Otis Redding box set Soul Manifesto: 1964-1970. The twelve-CD set set features eight studio and live records recorded during Reddings’ lifetime and four posthumous albums. The set features no extras beyond the music. But it comes to Redding, the music is enough.
Albums in the Set
Rhino released the set as part of its Original Album Series. The five studio albums released between 1964 and 1967 during Redding’s lifetime are: Pain in My Heart, The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul, The Soul Album, Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, and King & Queen (a duet album with Carla Thomas). The classic live albums are Live in Europe and In Person at the Whisky a Go Go. And the four studio albums released between 1968 and 1970 after Redding’s death are: The Dock of the Bay, The Immortal Otis Redding, Love Man, and Tell the Truth.
That is a lot of Otis Redding. Although Soul Manifesto was released in late 2015, it has taken me awhile to savor the music. Of course, the big question for music fans is whether or not they need all of these albums.
Do Fans Need All of These Albums?
The answer for most fans is yes. I already owned the outstanding three-CD set The Otis Redding Story (1989). A lot of fans may have the excellent 2-CD collection, Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology (1998). A great 4-CD collection is Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding (1993). Unfortunately, the latter set seems to be out of print.
Of course, there are some good single CD collections. So one may easily find a lot of the big songs, like “Shake,” “Respect,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song),” “I Can’t Turn You Loose,” “Mr. Pitiful,” and “Try a Little Tenderness.”
But if you really love Otis Redding, there is never enough. Going back through the original albums collected in Soul Manifesto, one hears a special consistency in Redding’s career. There are no bad songs. Yes, you recognize some songs more than others, but each album is excellent in its own right.
You know a lot of the hits, but the twelve CDs give you the chance to listen to Otis Redding fresh, hearing songs that you never heard before in the order they were released. You get to start with “Pain in My Heart” opening his first album and then go though both hits and lesser-known songs. You get his first posthumous album with “Dock of the Bay,” which still leaves us pondering what more Redding would have accomplished had he not died in a plane crash at the age of 26.
No Extras In This Set
Of course, it would be great if the albums featured extras or included special liner notes. Some fans may want to wait and hope for more re-releases of the individual albums with extras.
For example, Rhino already released a special edition of Redding’s classic third album Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul(1965). The collector’s edition of Otis Blue not only includes the original album in both mono and stereo. And it also includes rarities, alternate mixes, and live versions of the album tracks. Pitchforkgave a glowing review to that special edition.
Two Big Reasons to Get Soul Manifesto
There are two reasons, though, one might still want to buy the bare-bones Soul Manifesto: 1964-1970 and get all the albums in one place as they were released. First, the price is great. You may buy Soul Manifesto and get all twelve Otis Redding CDs for around $50 on places like Amazon (the mp3 version is more expensive, so get the CDs and burn them).
The second reason to get Soul Manifesto? It is a ton of great music by one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
What is your favorite Otis Redding album or song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On October 25, 1964, the Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. On the show, they first performed Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around.” And then they closed the show with their own “Time Is On My Side.”
At the time, the Stones were still finding their footing in the U.S., following the release of their second U.S. album 12 x 5. Meanwhile, “Time Is On My Side” was climbing the U.S. charts. The performance on The Ed Sullivan Show would help take them to another level.
“Time Is On My Side” & Irma Thomas
The formulation of “Time Is On My Side” that we all recognize was written by Jerry Ragovoy and Jimmy Norman and recorded by Irma Thomas in early 1964. The song would go on to be a hit, but not for Thomas.
Months after Thomas’s recording, the Rolling Stones recorded their version of the tune. They added a guitar lick but otherwise changed very little from Thomas’s version. For the Rolling Stones, it would be their first U.S. top ten hit, and they would perform the song on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Although Irma Thomas did not match the success of the Rolling Stones with the song, she continues to perform and is especially loved in her hometown of New Orleans.
Prior to “Time Is On My Side,” Thomas had a Top 20 hit with “Wish Someone Would Care.” But she never got anything near the paycheck that the Stones got for their version of “Time Is On My Side.”
In The Heart of Rock & Soul, critic Dave Marsh notes that Thomas was “ripped off not just once but twice, and by two of the best.” Otis Redding also took her “Ruler of My Heart” and changed it to “Pain In My Heart,” altering and improving on her version more than the Stones did with “Time Is On My Side.”
It is unfortunate that Thomas never saw the success that the Rolling Stones had, as it was their time. They were the bigger stars, but they also had the unfair advantage of being a white rock and roll band in the market at that time.
Yet, it is great that Irma Thomas’s music is still out there for us to hear. Below is a video from 2014 of Thomas performing “Time Is On My Side.”
The Rolling Stones on the Ed Sullivan Show
On October 25, 1964, the Rolling Stones brought “Time Is On My Side” to a wide audience on The Ed Sullivan Show. About halfway through the show, the band appeared to play “Around and Around.” Then, they returned to close the show with “Time Is On My Side.”
After the performance, Sullivan encouraged the screaming audience, saying “Come on, let them hear it!” But then the screams were so loud that viewers at home could not hear Sullivan’s short conversation with Mick Jagger.
The performance brought a great deal of attention to the Rolling Stones. It helped boost ticket sales for their fall concert tour. At the same time, the performance and their unkempt appearance also drew criticism from some more conservative viewers.
Here are the Rolling Stones performing “Time Is On My Side” in 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Rolling Stones returned to The Ed Sullivan Show the following spring. They ultimately would make six appearances on the show, performing many of their songs that would become classics.
What do you think about the versions of “Time Is On My Side”? Leave a comment.
There is little reason not to own the 
(1965). The collector’s edition of Otis Blue not only includes the original album in both mono and stereo. And it also includes rarities, alternate mixes, and live versions of the album tracks. 
(the mp3 version is more expensive, so get the CDs and burn them).