How Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle” Gained Acclaim Years After Its Release

Otis Redding could make even mediocre tracks sound spectacular via the sheer force of his vocal performances. When he latched onto a special song, the effect could be overwhelming.

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“Hard To Handle” was one of the more propulsive tracks that Redding, who helped write the song, had the chance to sing. The song proved sturdy enough that other artists made some hay with it down the line as well.

“Handle” with Care

Otis Redding generally didn’t spend too much time tinkering in the studio. Maybe it’s because he knew that he could rely on his voice to do a lot of the heavy lifting without any fancy arrangements. Or it could have been that he just liked to get on with it.

Whatever the reason, Redding managed to keep up an impressive pace. He released six albums in a three-year span from March 1964 to March 1967. Redding also built up a backlog of unreleased songs. That would allow his record company to release several posthumous singles and albums of unheard material after he died in a plane crash in December 1967.

“Hard To Handle” was released on The Immortal Otis Redding, which was the second of those posthumous releases. It also appeared as the B-side to a single, and it crawled into the Top 40 in that capacity. But it would make an extended impact over the years, well after its release date.

A Song with a Second Life

Redding wrote “Hard To Handle” along with Alvertis Isbell and Allen Jones. We don’t know a lot about what went into its composition. After all, it came out after Redding was gone, along with a slew of other new songs. One can guess that it was simply a groove that the ace band who backed Redding worked up on the spot, allowing the singer and his cohorts to drop in the lyrics.

You can argue that people only started to notice the brilliance of “Hard To Handle” once other artists started doing covers of the song and bringing more attention to it. For example, Grateful Dead made it an early staple of their live performances.

In 1990, The Black Crowes recorded their version of the song on their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker. They even released it as a single, and their rocking take on the song helped gain the band some early exposure.

Behind the Lyrics of “Hard To Handle”

Redding could play the heartbroken suitor very well. But he was also right at home in boastful lover man mode, which he effortlessly inhabits on “Hard To Handle”. “I’m the man on the scene,” he promises in the opening lines. Consider that against the alternative: “Boys and things will come by the dozen / That ain’t nothing but drug store loving.”

As a salesman, this guy proves pretty clever at knowing just what to say to close the deal. “I’m advertising love for free, so you can place your ad with me,” Redding sings. The refrain brings an innuendo-laced boast. “Pretty little thing, let me light your candle,” he explains. “‘Cause Mama, I’m sure hard to handle, now, yes I am.”

Maybe the good-time vibes of “Hard To Handle” weren’t what people wanted to hear so quickly after Redding’s death. But as years passed, fans began to realize what a classic this is, thanks to the niftiness of the song and the potency of the performance.

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