"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper.

While on tour with the Bar-Kays in August 1967, Redding had grown in popularity and was inundated with fans at his hotel in San Francisco.

Rock concert impresario Bill Graham offered him a respite, staying at his houseboat at Waldo Point Harbor in Sausalito, California.

While touring in support of the albums King & Queen (a collaboration with vocalist Carla Thomas) and Live in Europe, he continued writing lines for the song on napkins and hotel paper.

There were discussions of contracting the Stax gospel act the Staple Singers to record backing vocals, but this was never carried out.

[20] "Dock of the Bay" was popular in countries across the world and became Redding's most successful song, selling more than four million copies worldwide.

[40] Reprise Records issued a live album featuring Redding and Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Redding was especially successful in the United Kingdom, where The Dock of the Bay went to number one, becoming the first posthumous album to reach the top spot there.

[43] Jim Morrison made reference to "Dock of the Bay" in the Doors' song "Runnin' Blue", written by Robby Krieger, from their 1969 album The Soft Parade.

During the verse, the lyrics "Got to find a dock and a bay" are heard more than once, as well as several other references to Redding's song.

It was actually written ten miles farther north, in Sausalito, as Redding watched “the ships come in” on Richardson Bay.

Zelma Redding, Otis's widow, said she was so moved by Bolton's performance "that it brought tears to my eyes.

"[47] In a framed letter that hangs on the wall of Bolton's office, she referred to the record as "my all-time favorite version of my husband's classic.

King Curtis' version charted for five weeks starting in March 1968 and peaked at #84 (the same month, the original was #1).

Also in 1969 Nino Tempo and April Stevens recorded 'Sea Of Love/(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay' which played upon the similarity of the chords (And the subject matter) of the two songs.

His version features the song's co-writer, Steve Cropper, on guitar and members of the band Boston—Brad Delp, Sib Hashian and Barry Goudreau—on backup vocals.