"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper and recorded by Redding at Stax in Memphis on 22 November and 7 December 1967. Redding died in a plane crash on 10 December 1967, and the single was released by Volt in January 1968. Redding had begun the lyrics in August 1967 on a rented houseboat at Waldo Point Harbor in Sausalito, California, and Cropper finished them. Redding considered the song unfinished and wanted a more pop feel, so after his death Cropper added seagulls and crashing waves to the recording. A soulful, folk-tinged ballad whose whistled melody opens the record, it became Redding's most successful song, selling over four million copies. It reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks from March 1968, the first posthumous US number 1, and topped the R&B chart. It reached number 3 in the UK. It won two Grammys in 1969 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Notable covers include King Curtis's 1968 version, Glen Campbell's, and Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's 1969 version. The song appears in the films Top Gun, The Witches and Perfect Days.
