Today in 1967: Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival

50 years ago today, Otis Redding played the show that officially made him a superstar, even if he didn’t live long enough to really enjoy his status.

When it comes to the iconic rock festivals of the 1960s, say what you will about Woodstock, but one thing that you can’t say is that virtually every single act on the bill qualifies as a bona fide music legend. With Monterey, that description isn’t in question.

Your skepticism is duly noted, Doubting Thomas, but we’ll just present the line-up of the show for your perusal and let you reconsider the premise:

The Association The Paupers Lou Rawls Beverly Kutner Johnny Rivers Simon and Garfunkel Canned Heat Scott Mackenzie Jefferson Airplane The Who The Grateful Dead The Jimi Hendrix Experience Big Brother and Holding Company (with Janis Joplin) Eric Burdon and the Animals Otis Redding Ravi Shankar The Mamas and the Papas Paul Butterfield Blues Band Quicksilver Messenger Service The Steve Miller Band Electric Flag Moby Grape Hugh Masekela The Byrds Laura Nyro Booker T and the MG’s Buffalo Springfield

Yes, there are a couple of names in there that may not ring a bell, but only a couple…and after 50 years, that’s a downright astounding track record for a festival to maintain.

For Otis Redding, the Monterey Pop Festival was an opportunity for him to take his material, which at the time was far better known to the R&B audience, and play to a predominantly-white crowd. After an introduction from Tommy Smothers – yes, he of Smothers Brothers fame – Redding took the stage and delivered a scorching five-song set which consisted of “Shake,” “Respect,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Satisfaction,” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” If you know the frenzy Redding enters when he delivers the studio version of “Tenderness,” you can only imagine how far he’d take it when he performed it live. Suffice it to say that the words “and the crowd went wild” only just barely do the reaction justice.

Sadly, by the end of 1967, Redding was dead, having lost his life in a plane crash. The music he left behind, however, is eternal.