One of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s, Otis Redding exemplified to many listeners the power of Southern "deep soul" -- hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, and an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads.

Otis Redding was the star recording artist for Stax Records, a Memphis label that made classic Soul music. They never recovered from the death of Redding in 1967, and Stax was shut down in 1975. In 2001, construction started on a Soul music museum where the studios once stood.

Redding started to compose this while he was recovering from surgery removing polyps from his vocal chords. The doctors told him not to sing or talk for six weeks after the operation.

Stax guitarist Steve Cropper wrote this with Otis Redding. Cropper produced the album when Redding died, including this with various songs Redding had recorded the last few years. In a 1990 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Cropper explained: "Otis was one of those kind of guys who had 100 ideas. Anytime he came in to record he always had 10 or 15 different intros or titles, or whatever."

Redding died in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, 6 weeks before this hit was released and 3 days after he recorded it. It was by far his biggest hit and was also the first ever posthumous #1 single in the US. Redding was a rising star moving toward mainstream success at the time of his
death. There is a good chance he would have recorded many more hits if he had lived.

When Otis recorded this, he and Cropper didn't have a last verse written, so he whistled it. He planned to return to Memphis and fill in the verse after performing in Madison, Wisconsin, but he died before he had the chance. When Cropper produced the song, he left the whistling in, and it fit the mood of the song perfectly. It is probably the most famous whistling in any song.

Redding wrote this soon after listening to The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which had just been released. Shortly before he started recording "Dock of the Bay," Redding alluded to it as an extension of the Beatles' music. In 1966 and 1967, Redding performed "A Hard Day's Night" and "Day Tripper" at some of his concerts.

Redding recorded this with Booker T. & the MG's, the house band for Stax Records. They played with all the Stax artists, including Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, and Albert King. Redding died 5 months before Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in Memphis, where this was recorded. The mood of peace and harmony evoked in this song gave way to angry racial tensions. Booker T And The MGs contained 2 whites and 2 blacks, standing out as an integrated band in a segregated city.

In 1993, the 3 remaining members of Booker T. & the MG's (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Booker T. Jones), backed Neil Young on his tour. They ended each show with this song.

During the Vietnam War, this was very popular with American troops fighting there. The song portrayed quite the opposite of their reality. The song is featured in the 1987 film Platoon, an Oliver Stone masterpiece about the war in Vietnam.


Music licensing company BMI named this as the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century, with around 6 million performances. This won 1968 Grammy Awards for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance, plus Best Rhythm & Blues Song for writers Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.

67 years ago, on the 9th of September 1941, Otis Redding was born. For many he remained the only king of blues in music history.