The evolution of "Try A Little Tenderness"

Here is a great in depth post on the evolution of, "Try a Little Tenderness" from The Awl. Head on over there to read the whole thing. It was recently sampled for The Kanye and Jay-z song, "Otis." Well I don't agree with their assessment of the Jay-z incarnation, I kind of like it minus Kanye and the James Brown scream thing at the end. The Jay/Kanye version will actually be on the next hip hop mix which is tentatively scheduled for mid-August.  Despite our differing opinions, the Awl's post is a well put together look at the history of one of my favorite songs.  I actually didn't know it had so much history and the only other versions I knew of were Sam Cooke's and Aretha's.  *Cues the more you know*

"As nice a story as it’d make, Otis Redding didn’t transform “Try A Little Tenderness” from campy relic to anthem in a single stroke. The process was more gradual, maybe more compromised. Bing Crosby took a go at “Tenderness” in 1933, and in the process injected some humanity into it. No less paternalistic, his interpretation stressed the duties of manhood, the weakness of women, and how love was about being strong by pretending to be vulnerable. Maybe that’s a little too much psychodrama to pull from a performance that, for all Crosby’s sly phrasing and attempts at straight talk, is still relatively light fare. But it was enough for “Tenderness” to catch on as a minor standard, an especially useful one to have in the songbook for black entertainers looking to cross over in the ’50s and early ’60s and perform at “classy joints.” Selling records to white kids was one thing; eons before anyone thought to let youth guide the industry, appealing to white adults was the real meal ticket." via

Bonuses: Apparently the hip hop world doesn't agree with the Awl either, because everyone is going over the, "Otis" beat. Links to the freestyles on Nahright can be found below.

Skillz- Yeah So What (Otis freestyle)

Freeway and Young Chris- Otis freestyle

Skyzoo- Boat Check In (Otis freestyle)

Jadakiss and Styles P- Otis freestyle