Title: Otis Redding – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay
Year/Genre: 1968, Soul
Condition: EX

Cultural Facts:

1. Cut just days before Redding’s fatal plane crash; the released vocal is essentially his last major statement, shaping how the song is heard culturally.

2. The whistling ending was a placeholder—Otis planned to finish it later, which is why the take feels like a postcard mid-thought.

3. It signaled a shift toward broader pop crossover right as Stax’s world was changing fast, freezing a “what could’ve been next” moment.

3/16/25 sc 12/17/25 LM