Otis Redding was one of the best producers. He didn’t really get the credit at Stax, but it was him putting those records together. I mean, Steve Cropper and all those guys were definitely helping him. But I got to watch him at Fame and if there was a genius running around, it was Otis. He had this way of dealing with people with this smile. He had a certain smile. He could be telling you to do something that you didn’t want to do, but you’d do it because you couldn’t say no (laughs). I got so much out of watching him. I’m not Otis Redding and I can’t do what he did, but still I’ll never forget it, and I know I got something out of that.
From Performing Songwriter Issue 88, Sept/Oct 2006
