‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’ — Otis Redding
This is probably Otis Redding’s most well-known song. While sitting on the bay’s dock, he wrote the song’s lyrics! He had been on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, California, after the Monterrey Pop Festival. The distinction is the same. Isn’t it amazing that they used the real sound of waves for the background track? He wrote it and then recorded it a few months later with guitarist Steve Cropper. This occurred only a few days before he died in a plane crash. His personal vehicle sank into Wisconsin’s Lake Monona. The song was the first posthumous single to reach number one in the United States.
‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’ — Otis Redding
‘Let It Be’ — The Beatles
It’s been said that tough times produce incredible creativity. In the case of Paul McCartney and this song, this was the case. The Beatles were breaking up, so he found solace in a dream he had about his late mother giving him advice. It was the source of inspiration for the song’s first few lines: “When I find myself in times of trouble / Mother Mary comes to me.” This was the title track of what became the last studio album of the band. In more ways than one, it was iconic. “Let it Be,” released in March 1970, was the Beatles’ final single before they announced their breakup.
‘Let It Be’ — The Beatles