Shake! Otis at Monterey

Otis Redding performs at Montrey. In this period, he was an enormously popular performer, rivaled only by James Brown for the level of his energy. Yet while everyone was in awe of Brown, Redding had something more important: people paid attention to his performances, and changed what they wer doing. He was influential.

Looking at this documentary, you can see why. There's an innocence in his stage personna, a sense ofhe's getting up there, having fun,and somewhat surprised that people are enjoying it. He can see that pleasure in his sidemen, the smiling drummer, the guitarist racing to keep up. He was a genuine artist and he's been greatly missed