Otis Redding the Dock of the Bay

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It wasn’t written as a protest song, but it almost sounds like it could have been one during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. It became an anthem of sorts for people of all colors all over the world, both the truly downtrodden and those of us who just feel like we are. I’m talking about Otis Redding’s classic (“Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”

“Dock of the Bay” was based on a few thoughts and lines Redding came up with during some time he spent sitting and watching the ocean in California. He took these ideas back to Memphis, where he and collaborator/producer Steve Cropper ended up making one of the most famous soul records of all time. In an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, Cropper explained how he and Redding came to write the song.

“He had been in San Francisco doing the Fillore,” Cropper recalled. “He had rented a boathouse or stayed out at a boathouse or something [and] that’s when he got the idea of watching the ships coming in the bay there. And that’s about all he had: ‘I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again. Sittin’ on the dock of the bay.’ I just took that…we just sat down and I just kind of learned the changes that he was kind of running over and I finished the lyrics…Otis didn’t really write about himself but I did. ‘Dock of the Bay’ was exactly that: ‘I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay,’ it was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.”

Knowing these details and not thinking something much deeper was involved might serve to shatter the song’s mystique for some of us. “Dock of the Bay” is so universal, about trying to find the beauty in life despite the hopelessness and despair we all have dealt with. The lyric speaks to the human condition, the emotional turmoil so common to all of us, with lines like I’ve had nothing to live for/Look like nothing’s gonna come my way…Looks like nothing’s gonna change/Everything still remains the same, and Sittin’ here resting my bones/And this loneliness won’t leave me alone. Redding and Cropper may not have been depressed when they wrote it, but they came up with a song that we can all identify with and that has stood the test of time. Everything has, indeed, pretty much remained the same.

Shortly after recording the song, Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, and the song became the first posthumous number one record in chart history. “Dock of the Bay” ended up being named the sixth most-played song of the 20th century by BMI. In a testament to its influence on so many artists, this great song has since been covered by numerous artists, ranging from some of Redding’s peers to artists like Pearl Jam and Garth Brooks.

Otis Redding's relaxing classic '(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay' still sounds incredible over 50 years later, but it has a tragic story behind it.

Here are all the fascinating facts behind the iconic song:

1. Who wrote 'Dock of the Bay'?

   The song was written by Otis Redding alongside Steve Cropper, a guitarist and member of Booker T and the MGs, and later a member of the Blues Brothers band.

   While touring with the Bar-Kays in August 1967, Redding wrote the first verse of the song, while on a houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, California.

   He continued to scribble lines of the song on napkins and various bits of hotel paper. In November 1967, he joined Steve Cropper at the Stax recording studio in Memphis to record the song.

2. What inspired the song?

   In 1990, Cropper said of the song's creation: "Otis was one of those the kind of guys who had 100 ideas. The story that I got he was renting boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something and that's where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. And 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. If you listen to the songs I collaborated with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him.

   Picture: Getty

   "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."

   While discussing the song with his wife, Redding stated that was looking to "be a little different", and "change his style". There had been concerns from his record company that 'Dock of the Bay' was too poppy for an Otis Redding song, and there was talk of gospel act the Staple Singers singing backing vocals.

3. Otis Redding died soon after recording the song

   Otis Redding. Picture: Getty

   Otis Redding didn't think the song was ready, but sadly he never got the chance to finish it in the way he had hoped.

   The song features a whistled tune before fading away. It was originally performed by Redding. Cropper said Redding had "this little fadeout rap he was gonna do, an ad-lib. He forgot what it was so he started whistling."

   On December 10, just days after recording the song, his plane crashed into Lake Monona, outside Madison, Wisconsin. Redding and six others were killed. He was aged just 26.

   After Redding's death, Cropper mixed finished the song at Stax Studios. He added the sound of seagulls and waves to the background, as Redding had requested.

4. How did it perform in the charts?

   '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' was released in January 1968, soon after Redding's death.

   The song topped the US chart in March 1968, and its album Dock of the Bay became his largest-selling so far. The track became the first ever posthumous #1 single in the US.

   It became Redding's most successful record worldwide, selling over four million copies.

   It also won two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. In 1999, BMI named the song as the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century.

   Did Otis Redding whistle on sitting on the dock of the bay?

   Otis Redding did originally come up with a whistle for the end of the song. According to Steve Cropper, Redding was still pondering adding a 4th verse to “(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay” or lyrics to an outro. Otis just finished up the song with a whistle as a placeholder because he had nothing else left to add.

   Which singer had a hit song with a cover of Otis Redding Sitting on the Dock of the Bay?

   "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. ... (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay..

   Did Sam Cooke sing Sitting on the Dock of the Bay?

   sittin' on the dock of the bay — Sam Cooke | Last.fm.

   How big was Otis Redding?

   Otis stood 6'2″ tall and weighed over 220 lbs. To compare, that would make him about the same size as four-time world heavyweight boxing champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield. Otis owned a 200+ acre ranch in Georgia called “The Big O Ranch”, complete with horses, pigs and cattle.