1968 Soul Standard Became the First Posthumous No. 1 Hit

Otis Redding's life and flourishing musical career may have been cut tragically short by his death in a Wisconsin plane crash in December 1967, but his posthumous smash hit, "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay," showcasing the King of Soul's talents as a singer-songwriter, propelled the late artist into musical immortality.

"(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" was recorded in November 1967, with final overdubs on the track recorded on December 7, just 3 days before Redding and his band, the Bar-Keys, were killed when his private Beechcraft H18 plane crashed into Lake Monona, Wisconsin, between tour stops. However, the final production on the future standard had not been completed at the time of his death, as his producer and co-writer, Steve Cropper, later told Classic Bands.

"We recorded about two weeks before he passed away, but it was unfinished. We both knew it needed something," Cropper recalled. However, the pair knew, even then, that the track was something special. "After each session, we'd pull out 'Dock Of The Bay' and play it 'cause we knew it was a hit with 'Dock Of The Bay.'"

Additionally, just days after Redding's sudden passing, the record label were keen to get the single out as soon as possible, much to the producer's alarm. "They said, 'We gotta get Otis' record out real soon,' when Atlantic called from New York. I said, 'You gotta be kidding.'" Cropper continued.

"They hadn't even found it (the plane) yet. We knew the plane went down on Sunday and they got some of The Bar-Kays out, but Otis and the pilot, they hadn't been found yet. They didn't find 'em 'til that Friday morning. He went down on Sunday the 10th. I knew it wasn't finished. What am I going to do?"

Cropper reached out to another producer, Jimmy Gaines, for help finishing the record. There, he asked Gaines for help adding a soundtrack of ocean waves and seagulls on a loop tape, as Redding wasn't there to implement any additions. "The main thing was to keep 'em down so they didn't overshadow the rest of the song," Cropped explained, "but it did fill it out."

Upon its release as a single on January 8, 1968, "Dock of the Bay" shot to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, sitting atop the chart for four weeks. Released just over a month after the artist's passing, the song, which became the first posthumous number one single on the chart, was likely propelled by a renewed demand from Redding's fans and radio plays in the wake of his passing.

The song, later ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and a standard soul classic covered by Glen Campbell, Michael Bolton, and Willie Nelson, served as an early example of how posthumous records could achieve commercial and critical success. Later posthumous records, such as works by John Lennon, Luther Vandross, Aaliyah, and Joy Division's lead singer, Ian Curtis, would go on to achieve similar success, meeting with warm reception from radio listeners and fans.

While posthumous releases, reworked from unfinished recordings and scrapped releases, can have an exploitative nature that goes against the wishes of the deceased artist, Otis Redding's now-timeless record helped pave a longer legacy and influence than the singer's much-too-short 26 years in life.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 1:59 PM.