1st I just published 2 drafts That I thought I had already posted. Some of the context will be mixed up.
A couple more thoughts on the Stax visit.
My friend Cameron has told me the story of Otis Redding writing “ Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay” at the Sausalito House boats. When I read the book about Stax and Otis Redding more details were filled in.
He had been booked for 4 nights at The Fillmore. Bill Graham had access to a household that he would let performers stay at. Otis was staying there.
At this point Otis was a superstar.
He was trying to figure out where he wanted his career to go. He was in a very introspective state of mind. He starts to write. He has a few choruses and he heads back to Stax in Memphis.
Steve Cropper picks up the story. They start to work on it in an acoustic version. It’s Friday, Steve says, Otis we just signed the Staple singers to Stax, let’s have them contribute. Otis thinks this is a great idea. He’s flying out to do a weekend concert. Tells Steve I’ll see you Monday.
Otis dies in a place crash that weekend.
The record executives tell Steve “we have to get that song out quick” Forcing him and the band to finish it quickly. He recalls, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Otis never heard the version we know and of course the Staples were never involved. We were left with a treasure.
This morning we are driving toward Tupelo, Miss.
Marlina asks do we want To go to Elvis’s birthplace? I said sure.
There is a city park dedicated to to his birthplace in Tupelo. Very nicely laid out with numerous panels of quotes of people who knew him as a boy. He moved to Memphis when he was 13.
He got a guitar on his 11th birthday. He didn’t want it. He wanted a gun or a bicycle instead. His mother was afraid he would get hurt with either of those gifts. He grudgingly took the guitar. As they say…..
Story after story of what a nice kid he was and the strict upbringing he was raised under.
I know very little about him, but came away with much more respect. It would have been fun to have known him. We can get so caught up in the hoopla that it’s easy to forget the fragile human who underlies that persona.
The house and immediate grounds were created by the local garden club and waves of volunteers.
Trips often have these little gems of surprise.
Keep looking for the good in each other , and you’ll find it , when you least expect it to
Paul
Pau's Travels 