"Mr. Pitiful" is a song written by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and Steve Cropper and included on the 1965 album ''

The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads ''The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads'', simply referred to as ''Soul Ballads'' or ''Sings Soul Ballads'', is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, released in 1965. The album was one of the first issued ...

''.

History

"Mr. Pitiful" was recorded in December 1964 at the

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

studios. The song was written by guitarist Steve Cropper and singer

, his first collaboration with Cropper, as a response to a statement made by radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

Moohah Williams, when he nicknamed Redding as "Mr. Pitiful", because of sounding pitiful when singing ballads. Cropper heard this and had the idea to write a song with that name when taking a shower. Cropper then asked Redding in a car how he felt about this idea, and soon after they recorded the song in about 10 minutes. It was finally cut two or three times and then released with the B-side "

That's How Strong My Love Is "That's How Strong My Love Is" is a song written by Roosevelt Jamison and first recorded in 1964 by deep soul singer O. V. Wright. The song is a soulful love ballad and has been covered many times, most notably in 1965 by Otis Redding, with Re ...

" as a single.

Chart performance

The song became a hit and the most successful from the album ''

'', peaking at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' R&B and at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Cover versions

* It was covered in 1969 by Etta James as "Miss Pitiful". * Robert Plant of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

makes a nod to Otis Redding in the song "

The Crunge "The Crunge" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1973 album ''Houses of the Holy''. The song is a takeoff on James Brown's style of funk similar to the group's attempt at reggae with " D'yer Mak'er". It was also released as ...

" (from the 1973 album ''

Houses of the Holy ''Houses of the Holy'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 28 March 1973 by Atlantic Records. The album benefited from two band members installing studios at home, which allowed them to develop mor ...

''), which is known for paying tribute to

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and funk. * It appeared on '' The Commitments'' (1991) soundtrack (sung by Andrew Strong). * The song was covered by

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

on his 1997 album '' Seňor Blues''. *

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

covered it live five times between August and December 2005 on their

A Bigger Bang Tour A Bigger Bang was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones which took place between August 2005 and August 2007, in support of their album '' A Bigger Bang''. At the time, it was the highest grossing tour of all time, earning $558,255,52 ...

. *

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

covered it with vocals by Sam Moore on their 2009 album ''Great American Soulbook''.

References

* 1965 songs Otis Redding songs Songs written by Otis Redding Songs written by Steve Cropper {{1960s-R&B-song-stub