Try a Little Tenderness

This song is a standard recorded by many artists, including crooners Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme and Bing Crosby. It was written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Harry Woods, and first published in 1933. Campbell and Connelly were a British songwriting team who often collaborated with a third composer, which in this case was the American Harry Woods. In 1962, Aretha Franklin recorded the song, charting at #100 in the US at a time when most of her singles failed to get much higher. Her arrangement was similar to that of the previous crooner versions and her vocal relatively restrained; it was Otis Redding who did the definitive soulful version of the song, complete with horns, organ, and an uninhibited vocal that builds in intensity as the song progresses.

Redding did not want to record this song, but Stax Records executives and his friends wore him down with a constant barrage of requests. When he finally recorded it, he did it with a pleading vocal that he was "sure" would not be released. The ploy didn't work. Redding's version of "Try a Little Tenderness" became his signature song and the biggest-selling of the records released before his death.

Sam Cooke's version of this was a big influence on Redding. It was never released as a single but was one of high points of his live "Sam Cooke at the Copa" LP (1964) as part of a medley that started with "Tenderness" (followed by "Sentimental Reasons" and "You Send Me"). Redding idolized the man, particularly after Cooke's death, but he did not want to record "Tenderness." He caved in after tremendous pressure from his friends and (according to one source) a family member - but he didn't want to record it like Cooke (in fact, he considered his version a "joke" to quiet the people who wanted him to record it). The rest is history.