(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay was co-written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.
Song Origins
Otis Redding began writing the lyrics in August 1967 while staying on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, during a tour break, capturing lines about watching ships and tides. He later completed the song with Cropper, a Stax Records guitarist and producer, in Memphis. Redding recorded it twice that year, including days before his death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967.
Release and Impact
The track was released posthumously in 1968 on Stax Records' Volt label, becoming the first U.S. #1 single after an artist's death and reaching #3 in the UK. Cropper helped finish production, including the iconic whistling outro originally meant as a placeholder.
