Fact Finder - Music

Otis Redding's greatest hit, '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay,' was recorded just days before his death in a plane crash in December 1967. The song was a departure from his usual high-energy soul style, featuring a more relaxed, folk-influenced sound. The famous whistling at the end of the song was actually a placeholder. Redding had intended to write more lyrics for the final verse but couldn't think of anything during the recording session, so he whistled the melody instead. He died before he could ever return to the studio to finish it. When the song was released posthumously in 1968, it became the first ever posthumous number-one single in U.S. history. The whistling became one of the most iconic moments in music, perfectly capturing the song's themes of solitude and reflection.