These Arms of Mine (Otis Redding song)

"These Arms of Mine" is a song written bysoulmusicianOtis Redding. Redding was at that time a member of Pat Teacake's Band, consisting of lead guitaristJohnny Jenkins, bassist Pat Teacake and vocalist/songwriter Redding, who also served as driver for Jenkins, who did not have a driver's license.Atlantic Recordsartist representativeJoe Galkinshowed interest in Jenkins and proposed to send him to a studio. On the way to a gig, Redding had the opportunity to perform the songs "Hey Hey Baby" and "These Arms of Mine" as Jenkins andhouse bandBooker T. & the M.G.'sended their sets earlier than scheduled.
The performance of the latter song was highly praised;Jim Stewartwas so impressed that he offered Redding a contract to record for Stax Records of Memphis, Tennessee, which Redding signed soon afterward. "These Arms of Mine" became Redding's first-released Stax Records single, with "Hey Hey Baby" on its B-side. After a series of unnoticed numbers, the song "These Arms of Mine" became Redding's first successful single and sold around 800,000 copies. The song was also included in Redding's 1964 (Atlantic Records) Atco label debut albumPain in My Heart.
As a member of Teacake's Band, Redding toured in theSouthern United States, especially on theChitlin' Circuit. These performance venues were safe for African American musicians during theage of racial segregationwhich lasted into the early 1960s.Lead guitaristJohnny Jenkinslater left Teacake to become the featured artist with The Pinetoppers.Around this time, Redding metPhil Walden, the future founder of the recording company Phil Walden and Associates, and laterBobby Smith, who ran a small record label, Confederate Records. He signed with Confederate and recorded his second single, "Shout Bamalama" (a rewrite of "Gamma Lamma"), which he performed with his band "Otis and the Shooters".Wayne Cochran, the only solo artist signed to Confederate, became Pinetoppers' bass guitarist.
Around the time Walden started to look for a record label,Atlantic RecordsrepresentativeJoe Galkinwas interested in working with guitarist Jenkins and proposed to send him to a Stax studio inMemphis. Jenkins, who attended disc jockeyHamp Swain's "The Teenage Party", saw Redding's performance with the backing band, but he was not satisfied with their performance. Subsequently, he offered Redding to help winning the contest; with his help he won several weeks in a row.On the way to a gig, Redding drove for Jenkins, as the latter did not possess a driver's license.Jenkins performed with house bandBooker T. & the M.G.'s. When that set ended early, Redding had the opportunity to perform. The first song was "Hey Hey Baby", but studio chiefJim Stewartthought it sounded too much likeLittle Richard. The next song was "These Arms of Mine", which featured Jenkins on guitar,Steve Cropperon piano,Lewie Steinbergon bass,Booker T. Joneson organ andAl Jackson Jr.on drums.
The following musicians played on the session for "These Arms of Mine".
"These Arms of Mine" was released on the Volt sister label in October 1962, but charted in March the following year.The single sold more than 800,000 copies.It was included on Redding's debut albumPain in My Heart, which was released on January 1, 1964 by Stax on theVoltsister label.
When Redding performed the song "These Arms of Mine" during a session, featuring Jenkins on guitar and Cropper on piano, producer Jim Stewart praised his performance and noted, "Everybody was fixin' to go home, but Joe Galkin insisted we give Otis a listen. There was something different about [the ballad]. He really poured his soul into it."
"These Arms of Mine" was included on severalsoundtracks, such asThe Boat That Rocked,Perfect Stranger,in theLostepisode "S.O.S.",Glory Road,EDtv,Road House,The Sapphiresand most prominently inDirty Dancing.It is also prominently featured in the TV series12 Monkeys, including playing in the opening and closing sequence of the series and having an episode named after it.
Fromallmusic