Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay | Soul Sunday

When Otis Redding died in a December 1967 plane crash that also claimed all but one of The Bar-Kays—the Memphis hitmakers backing him on a Midwestern tour—the Dawson, Georgia-born 26-year-old singer-songwriter was poised for yet another phase in a meteoric and varied career. Instead, within a month, Redding’s posthumous LP On The Dock Of The Bay was topping charts worldwide. The title song, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” which Redding co-wrote with session ace and frequent collaborator Steve Cropper, stood apart from his oeuvre as brooding and introspective but still entered the soul canon, joining “These Arms Of Mine,” “Respect,” “Try A Little Tenderness,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” and other Redding blockbusters. Though shy, he was a born performer, starting with youthful days singing gospel in his adopted hometown of Macon, Georgia. When tuberculosis disabled his father, Otis quit school at 15 to help support his family. He dug wells. He pumped gas. And, at talent shows or a capella, he sang. He sang with the Upsetters, Little Richard’s former band, then joined the Pinetoppers, whose leader, guitarist Johnny Jenkins, needed a driver, a job Redding held when he rode into an on-the-fly 1962 Stax Records session.That led to a contract with Atco and his first hit single, “These Arms Of Mine.” That number showcased the manly vulnerability and rough-hewn emotive presence at the mic that marked his work onstage and in the studio during his brief life. Besides crisscrossing the segregated South to play for Black listeners, he toured Europe to great acclaim and played the Whiskey a Go Go, a reputation-making Los Angeles nightclub. In July 1967 he delivered an incendiary set closing the second night of the pioneering Monterey Pop Festival, a performance immortalized in the documentary Monterey Pop. – Michael Dolan 🔔 Subscribe to the Rhino Channel! https://Rhino.lnk.to/YouTubeSubID 💌 Let's keep in touch! Join the Rhino mailing list to be the first to hear about our new music and merch https://Rhino.lnk.to/emailLY Stay connected with RHINO on... Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RHINO Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rhino_records TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@rhinorecords X https://twitter.com/Rhino_Records ********** RHINO is the ultimate destination for timeless music and unforgettable moments in pop culture! Since 1978, Rhino has been the world’s leading pop culture label specializing in curation of music from the ‘60s, ‘70s, '80s and '90s. We upload classic music and videos from our vault every week so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell 🔔 ! If there’s something you want to see or hear, let us know in the comments 🗣️ Visit Rhino.com to shop our vast catalog of vinyl, CDs, boxed sets, and merchandise. We regularly announce exciting new releases. Join our mailing list via the link in our bio so you don’t miss a chance to expand your collection!