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DeNyse Co.’s Sign Pays Tribute To Otis Redding in Late Singer’s Adopted Hometown

Gray, GA roadside installation tells the story of “Rockhouse Redding”

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The Southeast has earned the well deserved reputation of the cradle of American Music – a legacy of racial strife and economic challenges undoubtedly had an influence. Georgia claims many of Southern music’s most memorable icons –James Brown, the Allman Brothers and Outkast are just a few members of its pantheon. Otis Redding, a native of Dawson, GA whose credits include “I’ve Been Loving You”, “Try a Little Tenderness” and “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”, also stands prominently among Georgia’s musical legacy. By the time he died in a plane crash at age 26 in Monona, WI in December 1967, he was an icon.
Before his untimely death, Redding bought a farm in Gray, GA, and had moved his family there. As such, Gray was chosen as the site for a roadside memorial sign that pays tribute to “Rockhouse Redding.” The Jones County Historical Society enlisted Signature Design’s (Atlanta) Therese Huffman to design a two-sided sign that celebrates his legacy.
In turn, she contracted the DeNyse Co. (Douglasville, GA) to fabricate the sign, which captures Redding in a full-throated bellow on one side, and a listing of his discography and artistic accomplishments on the other. Protruding out one side is a supersized rendition of a vinyl album, halfway visible as if being slid out of its cover. The 7 x 7-ft. sign features a 3M vinyl face printed at 300 dpi that’s applied to a fabricated-aluminum base structure. A gasket and tamper-proof fasteners ensure a water-tight sign.
Mark DeNyse, the shop’s project manager, said receiving clean artwork for the project was a challenge, but said the slight imperfections in the original photos impart character. The album comprises ½-in.-thick aluminum with routed, dimensional grooves. Its silhouette was masked and sprayed after the base color was painted onto the album, which is secured in place with an aluminum subframe.
The sign, which features an interactive audio system that introduces new generations to Redding’s signature husky voice, was unveiled at a local music festival, with many of Redding’s relatives in attendance.
 

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