It’s an overdue award five decades in the making.
On Friday, Otis Redding, better known as the “King of Soul,” will receive a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame.
Redding was born Sept. 9, 1941, and grew up in rural central Georgia. At age 15, he quit school to help support his family, taking his first job with Little Richard’s backing band the Upsetters. In 1958, he joined forces with blues guitarist Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers. Four years later, an initially unscheduled appearance at Stax Records yielded his first individual contract and solo hit., “These Arms of Mine”.
Redding performed all over the world, including London and Paris before his untimely death in a plane crash in 1967. His brief five-year solo career yielded Redding two Grammy awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Black Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Redding’s music lived long past in time here in Hollywood through some of the silver screen’s biggest hits. His most famous track and only No. 1 single, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was featured in 1986's critically acclaimed “Top Gun”. “These Arms of Mine” has made over a dozen television and movie appearances, including 1987’s “Dirty Dancing," 1989’s “Road House”, and 2015's "The Wedding Ringer.” Other notable movies and shows include South Park, The Sopranos, How I Met your Mother, Suits, and Platoon.
His star will be the 2,791st laid down. Redding’s daughter, Karla Redding, will accept the star on behalf of the family. She will be joined by guest speeches from Grammy award winners rapper Killer Mike, and songwriter Jimmy Jam.
