Otis Redding entered the recording studio to record tracks, including his legendary tune, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.”
Redding was in rare form, because six weeks earlier, he had Polyps removed from his throat and hadn’t been able to sing for six weeks.
Otis wrote the song in the Summer of 1967, while staying on a house boat in Sausalito after the Monterey Pop Festival.
“To me, ‘Dock of the Bay,’ when I heard it, was not nearly as strong as ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.’ Of course, it was a different kind of record for Otis. I always saw Otis as ‘Pain in My Heart,’ ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,’ and “Try a Little Tenderness’,” Stax Founder Jim Stewart said.
Engineers had been planning to add some background vocals by The Staple Singers to make it more soulful, but the opportunity never presented itself.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” eventually won two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Male Performance and Best R&B Song.
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