Otis Redding's 70th birthday

Otis Redding, a Stax/Volt artist from Dawson Georgia, broke ground twice in California. He introduced R&B to the Whisky on the Sunset Strip in 1966. The next year he wowed the hippies at the first Monterey International Pop Festival. That December he was gone, killed in the crash of his private plane into a lake outside Madison, Wisconsin. His recording of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," released the following month, became the first posthumous number one single in U.S. chart history. "A singer of such commanding stature that to this day he embodies the essence of soul music in its purist form," says the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which today unveiled an exhibit honoring Redding.

The video above I think represents him nicely and has two million views on YouTube. Here's a live version from Monterey in 1967.