Shout Bamalama

Album: Otis Redding Anthology (1961)
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Songfacts®:

  • This was one of the first songs Otis Redding recorded. It's a Little Richard-style shouter that was released on 45 by Bethlehem Records in 1961. King records re-released the single after Redding became a household name.
  • Redding wrote this song. In addition to his talents as a singer, he was also a very prolific songwriter, and some of his compositions became hits for other artists, including "Respect," which scored for Aretha Franklin.
  • In 2001, a group called the Detroit Cobras recorded this on an album of Motown covers.
  • The song was memorably featured in John Hughes' 1986 teen movie Pretty in Pink. In the movie, the character Duckie lip-synchs the song, referring to it as one his mother taught him.

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