Mono Mondays: Otis Redding, The Dock of the Bay

This week’s Mono Monday release is the first of what would prove to be many posthumously-released albums by Otis Redding, who had died only six weeks prior to its initial appearance on record store shelves, but there’s an eternal poignancy to its contents, as its title track proved to be the biggest hit of Redding’s career.

The 11 tracks on The Dock of the Day are taken from sessions conducted at various times between July 11, 1965 and December 8, 1967, only two days before Redding was killed when his plane crashed into Lake Monona, just outside of Madison, Wisconsin…and, yes, the title track was one of those songs that was recorded in those last sessions. Reportedly inspired by the way The Beatles had expanded their sound on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Redding wanted to try something different himself, and not only was he convinced that the song – a co-write between himself and Steve Cropper – was the best thing he’d ever recorded, he believed it was destined to be a chart-topper.

As it happens, he was right: “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” became Redding’s first – and, sadly, his last – song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The other two singles from the album, “I Love You More Than Words Can Say” and “The Glory of Love,” weren’t nearly as successful, hitting #78 and #60, respectively, but the album as a whole is bested only by Otis Blue as the most acclaimed of Redding’s full-length efforts.

Not that you needed any further convincing from us to pick up this classic, but, y’know, that’s kind of our job. Now, excuse us while we whistle our way to a close…