When Redding first sang Steve Cropper the lines “Watching the ships roll in/And then I watch ’em roll away again,” Cropper says he “always envisioned a ship going under the Golden Gate Bridge.” “Dock of the Bay” was exactly that: “I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay” was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform. Otis didn’t really write about himself but I did. If you listen to the songs I collaborated with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. And that’s about all he had: “I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.” I just took that… and I finished the lyrics. And the story that I got he was renting boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something and that’s where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. He had been in San Francisco doing The Fillmore. Otis was one of those the kind of guy who had 100 ideas. In a September 1990 interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, Cropper explained the origins of the song: & the M.G.’s (Stax’s house band), at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, to record the song. In November of that year, he joined Steve Cropper, producer and guitarist for Booker T. While touring he continued to scribble lines of the song on napkins and hotel paper. He had completed his famed performance at the Monterey Pop Festival just weeks earlier.
While on tour with the Bar-Kays in August 1967, Redding wrote the first verse of the song, under the abbreviated title “Dock of the Bay,” on rock impresario Bill Graham’s houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, California. Listen to an interview with Karla Redding-Andrews, executive director and vice president of the Otis Redding Foundation, and illustrator Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor or WABE (Atlanta, GA NPR)’s City Lights with Lois Reitzes. Listen to an interview with illustrator Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor at the Otis Redding Foundation’s DREAMCast podcast. Zelma Redding, is to empower, enrich, and motivate all young people through programs involving music, writing, and instrumentation. Today, the mission of the Otis Redding Foundation, established in 2007 by Mrs. He provided scholarships and summer music programs which continued until his untimely death on December 10, 1967. Redding was dedicated to improving the quality of life for his community through the education and empowerment of its youth. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay is the perfect picture book for parents wanting to share a classic song with their children, allowing both to find joy in it along the way. With lyrics by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper and illustrations by Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor, this picture book imagines a lonesome cat fishing off a dock and hoping the fish will bite soon. The song was one of the last Redding recorded, and ranked number four on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart, going on to win two GRAMMYs and be certified triple-platinum. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay is a charming picture book set to one of the King of Soul’s™ greatest hits. Then I’ll watch ’em roll away again, yeah. (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay is the latest from LyricPop, a children’s picture book collection by LyricVerse and Akashic Books. Included in Publishers Weekly‘s Spring 2021 Children’s Sneak Previews Included in Publishers Weekly‘s Spring 2021 Children’s Announcements! A great summer-day song with such cheerful art makes it easy to recommend this.”
“This amiable story can be taken at face value about the power of kindness, or can offer children an introduction to music as well as songwriting.