Almost Hits: Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness (1966)
"Try A Little Tenderness" is one of the oldest songs ever discussed as part of the Almost Hits series and it's one with a very interesting story. First, let's get the statistics out of the way. Otis Redding recorded the track on November 4, 1966 and it was released before the year ended. It peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 - early in the year of his fatal, December 1967, plane crash. More recently, it was ranked at #136 on Rolling Stone's 2021 list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time . "Try A Little Tenderness" was written by the songwriting team of Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly - who together sometimes went by the name Irving King - and Harry Woods. It was first recorded in 1932 by British big band leader, Ray Noble with Val Rosing providing the vocal. The arrangement was typical of depression era pop, and the opening line "Oh, she may be weary, and young girls they do get weary wearing that same old shabby dress" easily expressed ...