Oh she may get wooly, women do get wooly, because of all the stress…

posted by kirkaracha

July 16, 2007 4:33 pm

Try a Little Tenderness. Otis Redding owns the song, but it’s had an interesting history. Ruth Etting, Bing Crosby [mp3], and Ted Lewis [Windows Media] recorded the song (with more lyrics) in the early ‘30s. An instrumental version was the opening theme for Dr. Strangelove. Tennessee Ernie Ford did the song on his variety show. And then there was Jack Webb’s deadpan Dragnet-style version [Amazon sample].

Otis Redding was inspired by early '60s versions by Aretha Franklin [Amazon sample] and Sam Cooke [Rhapsody]

Drummer Al Jackson Jr. transformed the song by doubling the beat in rehearsal.

Three Dog Night's version [music only; "foggy dress"?] was a minor hit in 1969. Alison Moyet live on David Letterman. Duckie danced to Otis' version in Pretty in Pink (1986). Sixteen-year-old Andrew Strong's version was the high point of The Commitments (1991). Shirley Bassey belted the standards version in 1997 [Caution: contains "zany" comedy bit]. Paul Giamatti and Arnold McCuller teamed up in Duets (2000; Andre Braugher lip-synched).

Tim Robbins mangled the lyrics in Bull Durham, but I couldn't find it online, and there's a referece to that scene in The Upside of Anger when Kevin Costner's character is upset at a wedding singer messing up the words.