Otis Redding Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul

"Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul" (often referred to simply as Otis Blue) is the third studio album by American soul singer Otis Redding. It was first released on September 15, 1965, by Volt Records.

The album mainly consists of cover versions of other R&B and soul artists' hits, and, bar one track, was recorded in 24 hours over July 9 and 10, 1965, at the Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Otis Blue was critically acclaimed and became one of Redding's most successful albums; it reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and was his first to reach the top spot of the Billboard R&B chart. Furthermore, it produced three popular singles, all charting at least in the top 50 on both the Billboard R&B and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is considered by many critics to be Redding's first fully realized album.

Three of the eleven songs were written by Redding: "Ole Man Trouble", "Respect", and "I've Been Loving You Too Long". Three songs were written by Sam Cooke, a soul musician who had died a few months earlier. As was the case in the previous albums, Redding was backed by house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a horn section of members of The Mar-Keys and The Memphis Horns, and pianist Isaac Hayes.

Otis Blue is included in many "best album" lists, including Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Time magazine's list of the All-Time 100 Greatest Albums, it was voted number 90 in the 3rd Edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000), and appeared in Robert Dimery's "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Rhino Records released a two-disc Collectors Edition of Otis Blue in 2008.