tramp!

August 13, 2018 6:24 AM

The Afterlife of Otis Redding (The Up Rising of Otis Redding)
posted by kliuless (8 comments total)

I heard this song on the radio, and I asked, I've heard this, who sings this? 'Otis Redding, I think he died a couple days later after singing that'. That was about the same time Kurt died, and I knew what it meant.

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posted by adept256 at 6:35 AM on August 13, 2018

Part 6. "You're not gonna make it as a whistler."
posted by clawsoon at 8:28 AM on August 13, 2018

What? Isn't he still sitting on the dock?
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:21 AM on August 13, 2018

His set at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is the best 20 minutes in the entire history of Western music in my book. He's gasping for breath, tearing his heart and soul out of his chest, varying tempos and volumes and dragging both the backing band and the audience with him every step of the way.
posted by bassooner at 11:38 AM on August 13, 2018 [6 favorites]

I found it! This is a sort of behind the music podcast I heard that tells the story of writing that song. Y'know the whistle was supposed to be a placeholder? It almost certainly wouldn't have made the final cut if he lived.

Otis hadn't written the last verse by the time he recorded the song, he was supposed to ad-lib a rap during the fade out but forgot what he was going to say, so he ended up whistling a tune instead.

He was to return to Memphis to record the final verse, but never had the chance. He died in a plane crash in December 1967 while on tour.
posted by adept256 at 4:39 PM on August 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

Just a heads up, I notice the 'otisredding' tag is mispelt.
posted by adept256 at 4:41 PM on August 13, 2018

fixed, thanks!
posted by kliuless at 5:05 PM on August 13, 2018

Otis Redding is what my mom would put on the stereo while she made dinner for the family (of 7! ). Or Aretha. Or James Brown. I'd hear it come on the speakers and put my book down and sit down at the counter while she chopped onions or carrots and we'd talk about things. Every now and then she'd stop conversing to sing along to a line, singing "ooh they do be weary" and then continuing with the chatting and chopping. Sometimes she'd try to get me to dance with her but I would get shy and wriggle away.

Now I'm all grown up and live thousands of miles away from Mom. And when Otis comes on at the bar or the cover band strikes up "Sittin On the Dock of the Bay" I grab a partner by the hand and dance.

And when I cook, the only soundtrack is soul music.
posted by Enkidude at 1:22 AM on August 14, 2018 [2 favorites]