“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” is far and away the most famous song in Otis Redding’s lengthy discography. The breezy single came out on January 8, 1968, and R&B stations around the country immediately began incorporating the track into their regular rotation. The Redding classic peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. The single also performed relatively well in the U.K., South Africa, and New Zealand.
Videos by American Songwriter
From Redding’s calm but passionate vocal delivery to the clever seagull imitations on the guitar, the song is an enduring easy listening tune that takes the listener somewhere warmer, sunnier, and close to the water. Even the whistling outro seems to match the unhurried nature of the song. But when one considers why the song’s outro sounds the way it does, the track takes on a more haunting feel.
The Tragedy Behind “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”
An artist dying at any point in their career is a tragedy. But when an artist dies before they can see their music reach its full potential of sound, influence, and public reception, it becomes even more tragic. The same is true of Otis Redding’s 1968 track, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” The song was a massive success, yes, but Redding wasn’t around to witness it. He laid his final parts for the track at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, just three days before his death.
Although the final whistling verse seems like an appropriate addition to a song about lazily lounging by the water all day, it was never Redding’s intention to leave that part of the song on the final track. He simply hadn’t written the rest of the lyrics yet, so he decided to whistle along to the melody as a placeholder. The soul singer planned on coming back to the studio sometime later to finish the song. Tragically, a plane crash in Lake Monona prevented that from ever happening.
On December 10, 1967, Redding was flying to Madison, Wisconsin, for a show with his backup band, the Bar-Kays, and his manager. Despite the pilot indicating no problems when the air traffic controller cleared him for landing, the plane ultimately crashed into Lake Monona, killing Redding, three of the four Bar-Kays, Redding’s manager, and the pilot. Redding’s trumpet player, Ben Cauley, was the sole survivor of the crash.
The Posthumous Hit Offered Rare Biographical Insight
As perverse as it may seem, tragedy tends to sell. News of Otis Redding’s death only added to the intrigue around his posthumous single, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” It became a No. 1 hit in the U.S., making it the first chart-topping posthumous single in American history. Redding’s seventh studio album, The Dock of the Bay, also performed incredibly well, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B LPs chart. In late June 1968, the album reached No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart as well. While Redding’s death undoubtedly imbued the song with a sense of tragic intrigue, the song was also unique in that it contained more biographical information than Redding typically incorporated into his music, thanks to his co-writer, Steve Cropper.
During a 1990 interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, Cropper said, “If you listen to the songs I collaborated on with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. Otis didn’t really write about himself, but I did. Songs like “Mr. Pitiful,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song),” they were about Otis and Otis’ life. “Dock of the Bay” was exactly that. I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay, was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.”
“He was renting a boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something, and that’s where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. That’s about all he had. I watch the ships come in, and I watch them roll away again. I just took that, and I finished the lyrics.”
Photo by Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.