Macon musicians make mark in video games

Macon’s rich music history makes its most famous musical acts a natural fit for any music-based video game.

Another Macon native got his music included in a video game when Otis Redding joined the vast library of music for “Rock Band” on Tuesday.

Redding’s “Rock Band” debut came in the form of an “Otis Redding 01 Track Pack” of five songs.

The release included “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song),” “I’m Sick Y’all,” “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” and “Love Man.”

The songs cost $1.99 (or 160 Microsoft points) each or $8.49 (680) for the entire pack.

Redding made his video game debut in “Karaoke Revolution Vol. 2” for the PlayStation 2 back in 2004, with “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”

Redding, however, isn’t the only Maconite to make an appearance in video games or even in “Rock Band.”

The Allman Brothers made their game debut in “Guitar Hero 2” with “Jessica,” but the song included in the game was a cover version. The band’s first master track recording appeared in “Rock Band 2” with the inclusion of “Ramblin’ Man.” In May 2009, “Blue Sky” and “Midnight Rider” were released as downloadable content.

“Ramblin’ Man” was later available as an on-disc track in “Guitar Hero: World Tour.”

Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country” was released as a part of a country track pack available last year, and the song became downloadable Dec. 29.

REM — bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry went to high school in Macon — were on the original “Rock Band” game with their hit “Orange Crush.” “Losing My Religion” was later released as a downloadable single for “Rock Band.” “The One I Love” appeared in “Guitar Hero: World Tour,” and the band had a three-song track pack released as downloadable content for the game.

REM has also had some crossover appeal in other music games with its appearance in Microsoft’s answer to Karaoke Revolution, “Lips.”