March 16, 1967 – Otis Redding & Carla Thomas, King & Queen is released. It was recorded January 18–24, 1967.
Six out of eleven songs were cut during their session; the rest were overdubbed by Redding in the following days owing to their concert obligations. Three singles were released from the album: « Tramp », the first cut song, was released as a single in April and peaked at number two on Billboard R&B chart and at number twenty-six on Billboard Hot 100; « Knock on Wood » peaked in September at number eight on the R&B and number thirty on the Pop charts; and « Lovey Dovey » was released late in 1968, and charted at number twenty-one on the R&B list and number sixty on the Hot 100.
REVIEW
by Jason Ankeny, allmusic
Otis Redding never recorded a lighter, more purely entertaining record than King & Queen, a collection of duets with Stax labelmate Carla Thomas. In all likelihood inspired by a series of popular duets recorded by Marvin Gaye — indeed, « It Takes Two, » Gaye’s sublime collaboration with Kim Weston, is covered here — the record serves no greater purpose than to allow Redding the chance to run through some of the era’s biggest soul hits, including « Knock on Wood, » « Tell It Like It Is, »and « When Something Is Wrong with My Baby, » and while clearly not a personal triumph on a par with either Otis Blue or The Dictionary of Soul, the set is still hugely successful on its own terms. Redding and Thomas enjoy an undeniable chemistry, and they play off each other wonderfully; while sparks fly furiously throughout King & Queen, the album’s highlight is the classic « Tramp, » where their battle of the sexes reaches its fever pitch in supremely witty fashion.
TRACKS:
Side one
1 Knock on Wood (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) 2:48
2 Let Me Be Good to You (Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Carl Wells) 2:48
3 Tramp (Lowell Fulson, Jimmy McCracklin) 3:00
4 Tell It Like It Is (George Davis, Lee Diamond) 3:13
5 When Something Is Wrong with My Baby (Hayes, Porter) 3:14
6 Lovey Dovey (Ahmet Ertegün, Eddie « Memphis » Curtis) 2:33
Side two
1 New Year’s Resolution (Randle Catron, « Deanie » Parker, Mary Frierson) 3:14
2 It Takes Two (Sylvia Moy, William « Mickey » Stevenson) 3:03
3 Are You Lonely for Me, Baby? (Bert Berns) 3:14
4 Bring It On Home to Me (Sam Cooke) 3:14
5 Ooh Carla, Ooh Otis (Alvertis Isbell, Otis Redding) 2:32
