It starts with a heartbeat. Just a simple, steady thump of Al Jackson Jr.’s kick drum and a lonely, late-night horn line. If you only heard the first thirty seconds, you might think you were listening to a lullaby. But by the time the three-minute mark hits, the room is on fire. People are screaming. Otis is drenched in sweat, testifying like a man possessed.
That is the Otis Redding song Try a Little Tenderness.
Honestly, it is probably the most famous "crescendo" in the history of popular music. It’s the sound of a slow burn turning into a five-alarm blaze. But what most people don't realize is that this song wasn't written for Otis. Not even close. It was actually a dusty, polite relic from the 1930s that almost stayed in the vault because the band thought it was too "old fashioned."
The Song That Shouldn't Have Worked
Back in 1966, Otis Redding was already the king of Stax Records, but he was looking for something different. Jim Stewart, the co-founder of Stax, suggested "Try a Little Tenderness." Now, you have to understand how weird this was. This was a "standard." It had been recorded by Bing Crosby and Ruth Etting way back in 1932. It was a song your grandparents danced to at a tea room.
When Otis first brought it to the MG’s—that’s Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Al Jackson Jr.—they weren't exactly thrilled.
"We didn't want to do it," Steve Cropper later admitted. He thought it was too "pop." It felt soft. But Otis had a vision. He didn't want to sing it like Bing Crosby. He wanted to deconstruct it. He wanted to start it in the gutter and end it in the stratosphere.
The arrangement was a collaborative stroke of genius. Isaac Hayes, who was working as a staff writer and producer at Stax at the time, played a massive role in the orchestration. He’s the one who helped craft those tension-filled horn stabs. The secret weapon, though, was Al Jackson Jr. on the drums. If you listen closely, he’s playing a "rimshot" beat that feels like a ticking clock. It builds and builds, getting louder and faster, driving Otis to push his voice harder until the whole thing explodes into that iconic "Gotta, gotta, gotta!" finale.
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Why This Version Changed Everything
Before this track, soul music was often categorized. You had the smooth, polished Motown sound from Detroit and the raw, gritty rhythm and blues from the South. The Otis Redding song Try a Little Tenderness bridged that gap. It took a sophisticated melody and injected it with pure, unadulterated passion.
It’s about the delivery.
Otis doesn't just sing the lyrics; he inhabits them. When he says, "You know she's waiting, just anticipating / For things she'll never, never, never, never possess," he isn't just telling a story. He’s pleading. He’s demanding empathy for the women of the world who were being overlooked by their men. It was a radical sentiment for a soul singer in the 60s—this idea that masculinity wasn't about being "tough," but about being attentive and kind.
Musically, it’s a masterclass in dynamics.
In the world of music theory, we call this accelerando and crescendo, but those words feel too clinical for what’s happening here. It’s more like a physical transformation. The tempo actually increases. Most producers will tell you that’s a mistake. You’re supposed to keep the "click" steady. But in this case, the rushing tempo is what creates the excitement. It’s the sound of a heart rate spiking.
The Monterey Pop Performance: A Legend is Born
If the studio recording is a masterpiece, the live version at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967 is a religious experience.
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Otis was nervous. He was playing for a "hippie" audience—mostly white kids who were there to see Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. He didn't know if they would "get" him. He walked out on stage in a lime-green suit and proceeded to blow the roof off the place (metaphorically, since it was outdoors).
When he got to "Try a Little Tenderness," he turned it into a ten-minute marathon of soul. He pushed the band to the breaking point. By the time he finished, he was the undisputed king of the festival. Tragically, he would pass away in a plane crash just months later, but that performance cemented the song as his definitive anthem. It proved that soul music was universal. It didn't matter what you looked like or where you came from; when Otis yelled "Sock it to me," you felt it in your bones.
The Sampling Legacy: From Otis to Jay-Z and Kanye
The influence of the Otis Redding song Try a Little Tenderness didn't stop in the 60s. It’s lived a dozen lives since then.
Think about "Otis" by Jay-Z and Kanye West from the Watch the Throne album. They didn't just sample a beat; they sampled the spirit of the song. They took that frantic, chopped-up vocal of Otis screaming and turned it into a modern hip-hop anthem. It’s a testament to how "hard" Otis was. Even in a world of 808s and heavy bass, his voice from 1966 still carries enough weight to lead a platinum rap record.
But it’s not just hip-hop. You see it in movies like Pretty in Pink, where Jon Cryer’s character, Duckie, lip-syncs to it in one of the most memorable scenes of 80s cinema. It’s used there for the same reason Otis sang it: to show a vulnerability that hides beneath a frantic exterior.
Common Misconceptions About the Song
A lot of people think Otis wrote the lyrics. He didn't. As mentioned, it was Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods in the 30s. Otis actually changed some of the words to fit his style, making it more urgent.
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Another myth? That the band nailed it in one take.
While Stax was known for its "live in the studio" feel, "Tenderness" required a lot of finessing. The transition from the slow intro to the fast ending is incredibly difficult to play without sounding messy. It took the genius of the MG’s to keep it tight while making it feel like it was falling apart. They were the tightest band in the world for a reason.
How to Truly Appreciate the Track
To really "get" what Otis was doing, you have to listen to the song in three specific ways:
- The Lyrics as Advice: Treat it like a manual. The song is literally telling men how to treat their partners. "It's not just sentimental, no, no, no." It’s a call to action.
- The Al Jackson Jr. Factor: Focus entirely on the drums. Ignore the vocals for a minute. Listen to how the snare hits get harder and the hi-hat starts to sizzle as the song progresses. That is the engine of the track.
- The "Otis-isms": Listen for the ad-libs. The "Lord have mercy," the "Gotta, gotta," the rhythmic grunts. These aren't just filler. They are rhythmic instruments in their own right.
The Final Word on a Soul Classic
The Otis Redding song Try a Little Tenderness is more than just a hit record. It’s a document of a man giving everything he had to a microphone. It captures a specific moment in American history where the elegance of the past met the raw power of the future.
If you're looking to dive deeper into soul, don't just stop here. Go back and listen to the Sam Cooke version of this same song. It’s beautiful, smooth, and refined. Then, listen to Otis again. You’ll hear the difference between a singer and a force of nature.
Next Steps for the Soul Enthusiast:
- Listen to the "Live in Europe" version: It’s even faster and more aggressive than the Monterey version.
- Compare the 1930s original: Find a recording of Bing Crosby singing it. It will make you realize just how much Otis reinvented the wheel.
- Watch the "Stax/Volt Revue" footage: Seeing the MG's play this live is a lesson in musical telepathy.
- Check out the "Otis" sample: Listen to how Kanye West chopped the "Oh!" and "My!" sounds to create a syncopated rhythm.
By understanding the architecture of this song, you aren't just listening to music—you're witnessing the blueprint of modern performance. Otis showed us that it’s not about how you start; it’s about how you finish. And he finished with a bang.