Otis Redding and Red Wine in the Mountains

I swore to myself I'd stay off the internet for the entire three days of my thesis vacation. I swore I wouldn't use the internet features on my phone either. Well, I lied. You have no idea how addictive it is to check your email. I had to forcibly hide my phone and I had to turn off the wireless function on my computer-- but I've decided to be thoughtful in my use. It will be a reward, much like the 5 magazines and 3 books I also bought for my trip- you know, the trip I was suppose to work the entire time. Distractions are surrounding me.

And I see updating my blog as a treat, a reward...for me, of course.

Regardless, one of the wonderful things about taking a trip like such- is getting to listen to music. And tonight on the agenda has been Otis Redding.

It did get me thinking about the first time I heard the song, "Try A Little Tenderness"- it most certainly wasn't Otis- in fact, it was Jon Cryer acting it out.



So, then I got curious- who else has done this song (read: distraction)-
Michael Buble, Chris Brown (hmmm), Three Dog Night, Percy Sledge, Nancy Wilson (are you kidding, why don't I own this?), Michael Bolton, Etta James (again, why am I missing this?), Perry Como, Rod Stewart, David Hasselhoff, Frank Sinatra and certainly the best version Mel Torme. I'm totally buying Torme later.

But where did it come from you ask?
Here are some facts (wiki-style)- written by Irving King (James Campbell and Reginald Connelly) and Harry Woods. Initially recorded in 1932 by Ray Noble Orchestra with Val Rosling on vocals. The Otis version is no doubt the most popular. And apparently placed 204 in the Top 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone.

So, here you go- because I've got purple teeth and all- you should watch Otis sing it too.




I'm back to outlining a paper now. Enjoy.