Some of these songs get us in our feels anyway, even without the obvious context. Here are some early posthumous hits that will definitely strike a chord.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding
About three days before dying in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, Redding was recording this song. Inspired by The Beatles, who had released Sgt. Pepper that year, Redding was on the hunt for new sounds. He wrote this one with guitarist Steve Cropper, who claimed it was rare for him to write a personal song.
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“…Otis didn’t really write about himself but I did,” he explained to NPR. “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.”
“Time In A Bottle” by Jim Croce
“Time In A Bottle” was originally released via Croce’s album You Don’t Mess Around With Jim. However, it later experienced quite the resurgence following the folk songsmith’s death in September of 1973. Similar to Redding, Croce also died in a plane crash. I like to think that the song’s obvious sentiment is what led it to be pushed as a single and eventually got it to the top of the charts.
“Me And Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin
After Redding got his No. 1 posthumous hit with “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”, Joplin was quick to follow with “Me And Bobby McGee”. Kris Kristofferson penned this one and actually didn’t know that Joplin had recorded it until after she passed away from a heroin overdose. He told Performing Songwriter: “Every time I sing (‘Me And Bobby McGee’), I still think of Janis.”
“I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce
Following the success of “Time In A Bottle” as a single, this song was chosen to be released to light the path for Croce’s final album, I Got A Name. Croce wrote this one for his wife, Ingrid Croce.
Photo by: Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images
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