The night Bob Dylan offered Otis Redding his new song, 'Just Like A Woman'

Soul legend Otis Ray Redding, Jr., was born on September 9, 1941, and grew up in Macon, Georgia. Like Dylan, he was  heavily influenced by Little Richard, who also lived in Macon. Also like Dylan, Redding wrote much of his own material. 

In early April, 1966, Redding played four nights at the Whiskey A Go Go, with the Rising Sons opening. According to a contemporary article in the Los Angeles Times, “Drawn by his growing popularity, a fervid audience shoe-horned into the club . . . Redding was assured of an In Group [sic] following Thursday night (April 7) when from among his spectators emerged Bob Dylan, trailed by an entourage of camp followers."  Dylan evidently was scheduled to fly to Hawaii that day, but delayed the trip, presumably to oversee the mixing Blonde On Blonde.

Among those followers attending the show with Dylan was filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. On the commentary track included on the Criterion edition of the Monterey Pop DVD , Pennebaker said that he first saw Redding when Dylan took him to see Redding at the Whiskey.

According to Dylan's drummer Mickey Jones,  Redding was very impressed and told Dylan that he would record the song as soon as he could. 

However, Otis Redding's official website has this contradictory tidbit:

Legend holds that Dylan offered him “Just Like a Woman” as a possible cover that night, though Redding thought the song was a little wordy.

The song was never covered by Redding.

Opening act the Rising Sons included Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. According to a recent interview with Cooder, "They would need an opening act, and for some reason they chose us for a lot of them, probably because we were an integrated band, and they knew the audience would be predominantly black that would come to Hollywood to those shows. . .People don't realize how segregated it was (in 1966).

"It (the performance) was unbelievable.He'd get up, stomp his foot, wave his arm, grab a microphone and sing with such searing intensity, I thought, this man's going to have a heart attack if he keeps this up. He's not going to make it. But it was good — a great R&B show, the likes of which I'd never seen."

Redding's biggest hit, "(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay", was recorded on November 22, 1967, with overdubs added on December 8. The following day, he was in Cleveland , and appeared on a TV show and played a gig at Leo's Casino. 

On the afternoon of December 10, Redding and members of his band, the Bar-Keys, boarded a Beechcraft 18 airplane. The plane crashed a into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. Redding, his manager, the pilot, and four members of The Bar-Kays were killed.

Material from the four night stand have been made available over the years.  In Person at the Whisky a Go Go  was released in 1968, followed by Recorded Live: Previously Unreleased Performances (1982), Good to Me: Live at the Whisky a Go Go, Vol. 2 (1993), and In Concert (1999). Otis Redding – Live On The Sunset Strip, featuring three complete sets recorded on April 9 and 10, was released earlier this year.

Bob Dylan played some of Redding's recordings on his Theme Time Radio Hour show, including "Cigarettes and Coffee", "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember", and a "Stay in school" promotional ad.

Below you can hear Otis at the Whiskey in 1966. 

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