 Redding quit school at age 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and by performing in talent shows at the historic Douglass Theatre in Macon.In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins's band, the Pinetoppers, with whom he toured the Southern states as a singer and driver.An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine", in 1962.