On this day in music history: March 16, 1968 - “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks, also topping the R&B singles chart for 3 weeks on the same date. Written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper, it is the biggest hit for the R&B vocal legend from Dawson, GA. Redding writes the majority of the song in August 1967 while staying on house boat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, CA. The track is recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis on November 22, 1967. Additional overdubs are recorded on December 8, 1967, and is the final recording session before Redding’s death on December 10, 1967. Booker T. & The M.G.’s guitarist and co-writer Steve Cropper overdubs the song’s shimmering lead guitar lines on the song just before it is mixed. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” is released a month after Otis’ death on January 8, 1968. The single is an immediate smash and ascends the pop and R&B charts simultaneously. Entering the Hot 100 at #67 on January 27, 1968, it climbs to the top of the chart seven weeks later. The record becomes the first posthumous chart topper on the Billboard pop singles chart. “Dock Of The Bay” wins two Grammy Awards in 1969 including Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, and are accepted by Redding’s widow Zelma.  Revered as one of the greatest R&B singles of all time, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of its original release, Rhino Records reissues the song as a limited edition 7" pressed on gold vinyl on January 9, 2018. The reissue features the rare initial mono mix which is quickly withdrawn from the marketplace, and is replaced with the more commonly heard mix with Redding’s lead vocal placed more prominently in the track. As well as being pressed on colored vinyl, the single also features replicas of the original red and black Volt Records labels, and the correct period Atlantic company sleeve. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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