Otis Redding Earns Posthumous Star On The Hollywood Walk of Fame

Jimmy Jam and Killer Mike were present to honor Otis Redding at his Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony.

The legacy of late soul singer Otis Redding continues to shine with the recent addition of his star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Grammy-winning music producer Jimmy Jam was the master of ceremonies at Friday’s star unveiling, praising Redding for his “legendary” contributions during his brief but impactful six-year music career.

“And I say legendary with all capital letters,” Jam said, as captured by NBC News. “His groundbreaking moves as an artist and philanthropist continue to inspire to this day.”

Rapper Killer Mike, real name Michael Render, took the mic to praise Redding’s wife, Zelma Redding, who was in attendance along with her daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews.

“You don’t get Martin without Coretta, you don’t get Malcolm without Betty, and you don’t get Otis without Zelma,” Killer Mike said.

Redding-Andrews wished her mother an early happy birthday before turning 82 on Monday. “I know Dad is saying, ‘I did this for you, Zelma,’” she said.

“We have so many honors at home… But this means the world that here we are, traveling all the way to the West Coast for this honor that will live on forever as the legacy of Otis Redding does,” Redding-Andrews added.

Otis Redding, often referred to as the voice of soul music, tragically died in a 1967 plane crash at the age of 26. His iconic song “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” was released a few weeks later and became his first and only No. 1 hit.

The singer-songwriter was working as a personal driver for Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers when he was discovered after delivering a soulful, smoldering performance of “These Arms of Mine” during Jenkins’ audition for the emerging Stax Records label. Redding’s performance of the original song is credited with forever changing the course of pop music.

In just under six years of recording, Redding achieved five Top 5 albums and 17 Top 20 singles on the R&B charts before his death. During a period when airwaves and audiences were still deeply segregated, he rose to become one of the country’s highest-grossing performers, leaving an indelible mark on Southern Soul with his powerful, raw intensity.

“Always think different from the next person,” he once said. “Don’t ever do a song as you heard somebody else do it.”

As a songwriter, Redding wrote timeless classics like “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and “Respect,” famously reimagined by Aretha Franklin and named Rolling Stone‘s greatest song in 2021.

In 1989, Redding was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards. In 2011, Kanye West and Jay-Z released “Otis,” sampling Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness.” The duo won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance for the track in 2012.

“I am not a blues singer or an R&B singer,” Redding once said. “I’m a soul singer. We go into the studio without anything prepared, just record what comes out. That’s soul — the way you feel.”

Just last week, it was announced that Star Wars actor John Boyega will portray Otis Redding, alongside Till breakout star Danielle Deadwyler, in a new film titled Otis and Zelma. The film will explore the soul singer’s decade-long relationship with his wife, Zelma Redding.