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Member Since: 10/30/2000
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"Left My Home In Georgia" (A Celebration of the Recording of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

Artist Song
Otis Redding  (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay (from the original 45) 
Otis Redding  Sweet Lorene (b-side of  
Otis Redding and the Pinetoppers  Shout Bamalama 
Ray Charles  Georgia On My Mind 
John Hiatt  Memphis In The Meantime 
Otis Redding  These Arms of Mine (Live at the Apollo) 
Otis Redding  Mr. Pitiful 
Otis Redding  Shake 
Sam Cooke  Twistin' The Night Away 
Little Richard  The Girl Can't Help It 
Otis Redding  Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Live at the Whiskey A Go-Go) 
Bob Dylan  Just Like A Woman 
Beatles  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends 
Otis Redding  Day Tripper (Live in Europe) 
Otis Redding  Try a Little Tenderness (Live at the Monterey Pop Festival) 
Otis Redding   Hard to Handle 
Peter Gabriel  Sledgehammer 
Toots Hibbert  I've Got Dreams to Remember 
Al Green   Tired of Being Alone 
Otis Redding  I Can't Turn You Loose 
Otis Redding  Respect 
Otis Redding  You Left The Water Running 
Willie Nelson  December Day 
Otis Redding   (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay 

Comment:

My all-time favorite song is "(Sittin' On)The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Both of my sons first heard me sing "Dock of the Bay" to them before they were 20 minutes old. This Saturday, December 7th, marks the 35th anniversary of Redding's completion of the basic tracks for the song. Sadly, December 10th will mark the 35th annivesary of Redding's death in a plane crash (the song was subsequently finished up by guitarist/producer/songwriter Steve Cropper, who had co-written it with Redding). This CD is my little tribute to Otis and to "Dock of the Bay." It begins with the A and B sides of the single, recorded from an original 45 that's been in my record collection since before I actually called it a "collection." It then runs through a variety of Otis songs, not necessarily greatest hits, but songs I like, as well as songs by other artists that are related in some way to "Dock of the Bay". A few of the choices may seem a bit incongruous, so here's an explanation: Sam Cooke and Little Richard were both big influences on Otis, which is why they're here. Dylan gave Redding a pre-release copy of "Just Like a Woman" after catching Otis at the Whiskey A Go-Go show, claiming that his vocal on the song was inspired by Otis. Otis felt the song had "too many damn words," but did begin listening more to Dylan and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album (hence the inclusion of the Beatles' track) during the Summer of '67. Both Dylan and the Beatles influenced the writing of "Dock of the Bay" to some extent. Peter Gabriel has said in interviews that "Sledgehammer" was written as a tribute to Redding and Stax Records. Toots Hibbert and Al Green were also greatly influenced by Redding. Finally, the Willie Nelson track isn't that obviously related other than it being about a "December Day," and having the same kind of country/soul feel that "Dock of the Bay" has. Anyway, this is just my way of saying "Thanks, Otis!"

Feedback:

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The Misfit
Date: 12/6/2002
This looks lovely.
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Curtis_Burns
Date: 12/6/2002
A fitting tribute. Wonderful.
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Sean Lally
Date: 12/6/2002
Great, great, great! My fave Otis songs are "Tell the truth" and "I've got dreams to remember". What a voice, what a presence.
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Mo Twang!
Date: 12/6/2002
Very nice.
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valis
Date: 12/6/2002
Great tribute.., wonderful story, too!
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laufi
Date: 12/6/2002
really nice story and great music all over in this mix.
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Franklin Onn
Date: 12/6/2002
Tremendous! Wonderful tribute to the song and the man. I like the inclusion of some of his live stuff. Those Stax guys could really tear it up!
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Rob Conroy
Date: 12/6/2002
Beautiful, Rich.
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joey de vivre
Date: 12/6/2002
Otis would've liked this! -- (Did you ever hear the "dock of the bay" out-take where he tries some unsuccessful whistling and ends up with "you ain't ever going to make it as a whistler, man" - ? )
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Moore1
Date: 12/6/2002
This one is really nice.
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Moe
Date: 12/6/2002
A touching and beautiful tribute. I agree with everything my esteemed colleagues have said.
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DJ Usurp
Date: 12/6/2002
Oh hell yes.
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Abe12
Date: 12/7/2002
Wow.
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dj1
Date: 1/11/2003
I, too, am a huge Otis fan. Bravo on this compilation!
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Ken Harris
Date: 2/18/2003
Clearly heartfelt and genuine...I respect that immensely...Really nice work...