Try a Little Tenderness
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| “Try a Little Tenderness” | |||||
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| Single by Otis Redding from the album Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul |
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| B-side | "I'm Sick Y'all" | ||||
| Released | November 14, 1966 | ||||
| Format | 7" 45 RPM | ||||
| Recorded | Stax Studios, Memphis, Tennessee: 1966 | ||||
| Genre | Soul | ||||
| Length | 3:46 (album version) 3:20 (single version) |
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| Label | Volt/Atco V-141 |
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| Writer(s) | "Irving King" (James Campbell and Reginald Connelly) Harry M. Woods |
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| Producer | Jim Stewart Isaac Hayes Booker T. & the MG's |
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| Otis Redding singles chronology | |||||
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"Try a Little Tenderness" is a love song written by "Irving King" (James Campbell and Reginald Connelly) and Harry M. Woods, and recorded initially on December 8, 1932 by the Ray Noble Orchestra (with vocals by Val Rosing) followed by both Ruth Etting and Bing Crosby in 1933. Subsequent recordings and performances were done by such recording artists as Little Miss Cornshucks (1951), Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Frankie Laine, Percy Sledge, Al Jarreau, Nina Simone, Etta James, Tina Turner and John Miles.
In one of the more unusual versions of this song, Jack Webb (better known as the "just the facts, please" detective in the Dragnet radio and TV series) spoke the lyrics over an instrumental background, and this rendition was included in the first of Rhino Records' Golden Throats compilations.
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[edit] Otis Redding version
A popular version in an entirely new form was recorded by African-American artist Otis Redding in 1966. Redding was backed on his version by Booker T. & the MG's, and Stax staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement. [1] Redding's recording features a slow soulful opening that eventually builds into a frenetic R&B conclusion. It has been named on a number of "best songs of all time" lists, including those from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is in the 204th position on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Aretha Franklin had covered the song in 1962 for her LP The Tender, The Moving, The Swinging Aretha Franklin on Columbia Records. After hearing it, Sam Cooke added it to his live shows, as can be heard on his live LP Sam Cooke at the Copa (1964). In Cooke's version, only two verses are included, as part of a medley (with "For Sentimental Reasons" and "You Send Me"). This is the only version that Redding knew, which is why he only sings those two verses.
[edit] Covers
The song has been covered numerous times, including a modest hit by Three Dog Night in 1969. The song was a prominent inclusion in the 1991 feature film The Commitments and its subsequent soundtrack, as were numerous other Redding songs, such as "Mr. Pitiful". In the 2000s it has been covered by Michael Bublé on his second album It's Time and by Sarah Jane Morris on her album August (a stripped cover with just Marc Ribot on electric guitar). The Von Bondies render a cover of the song as a hidden track at the end of their album Pawn Shoppe Heart. John Farnham and Tom Jones performed it in a series of Australian shows in February 2005, which can be heard on the live album and DVD. It was also sung on Children In Need 2007 by duo Sam and Mark.
[edit] Uses in other media
- A slow, instrumental version of the song was used in the opening credits of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, over scenes of a nuclear-weapon laden B-52 bomber accepting a refueling probe.
- In the 1986 movie Pretty in Pink, Duckie appears, in a famous scene, dancing and singing to this song in the record store.
- In the 1988 movie Bull Durham, Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, played by Tim Robbins, butchers the lyrics to this song while singing it during a long bus trip. Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, gets visibly upset at Nuke's performance and informs Nuke of the correct lyrics.
- In the end of the season 5 opener of the TV series Sex and the City, "Anchors Away", the Otis Redding version of the song plays during the credits.
- In the 2000 movie Duets, actors Paul Giamatti and Andre Braugher provide the vocals. Their respective characters, Todd and Reggie, find musical chemistry during their performance of this song that leads them to the national karaoke competition.
- In the 2001 animated film Shrek, Donkey, before letting the title character burst in during the marriage of Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad, sings this song to encourage him to wait until the preacher says, "If anyone objects, let him speak now or forever hold his peace."
- in 11-Feb-1987 on the seventh season of the Magnum PI episode "Forty", Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding featured predominately.
- Singer Chris Brown performs "Try a Little Tenderness" in the 2007 film This Christmas.
- In the play Sailor's Song by John Patrick Shanley, the character Carla dances to this song.
[edit] References
- ^ Bowman, Rob (1997). Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. New York: Schirmer Trade. ISBN 0825672848. Pg. 105-1072
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