 A member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, Redding toured the Southern United States on the Chitlin' Circuit, a string of venues that were hospitable to African-American entertainers during the era of racial segregation, which lasted into the early 1960s.Johnny Jenkins left the band to become the featured artist with the Pinetoppers.Around this time, Redding met Phil Walden, the future founder of the recording company Phil Walden and Associates, and later Bobby Smith, who ran the small label Confederate Records.