The Song Otis Redding Never Finished — And The Unexpected Tribute Tom Jones Gave on TV in 1969
When Tom Jones performed “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” on This Is Tom Jones in 1969, most viewers simply saw it as another soulful rendition by a superstar at his peak. What they didn’t see—or didn’t know—was the weight carried behind that moment. The song he sang that night was more than a chart-topping hit. It was the final, unfinished work of Otis Redding, completed only after his tragic death.
Two years earlier, Otis Redding recorded the song just days before the plane crash that took his life in December 1967. At the time of his passing, the track was incomplete, with the iconic whistling part added only because he hadn’t yet written the final verse. Ironically, that “temporary placeholder” would become one of the most recognizable endings in music history.
What many forget is this:
“Dock of the Bay” became the first posthumous No.1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history.
And in the UK, one of the earliest televised performances of the song after Otis’s death came from none other than Tom Jones.
In 1969, Tom Jones was a firestorm on stage—electrifying, powerful, and always full of explosive energy. Week after week, he dominated television with show-stopping numbers. And yet, during this particular performance, he took an entirely different approach: he sat down, dimmed the energy, and delivered the song with an unexpected stillness.
No dramatic crescendos.
No powerhouse belts.
Just Tom Jones, a soft spotlight, and a song left unfinished by a man taken too soon.
For a moment, the room fell completely silent. And if you watch closely, you’ll notice that Tom doesn’t sing it as a typical cover. He sings it almost like a eulogy—preserving the lonely, reflective tone Otis infused into every line. His delivery is warm, restrained, and deeply respectful.
Records show that Tom Jones admired Otis Redding immensely. Though the two never performed together, Tom often credited Otis as one of the most influential voices of the era. Choosing to sing this song—so soon after its creator’s passing—was Tom’s way of keeping Otis’s legacy alive in front of millions of viewers.
One detail often forgotten is that during Otis’s final studio session, he told producer Steve Cropper:
“I’ll fix the ending when I get back from the trip.”
He never returned.
The whistling remained.
The unfinished became eternal.
Tom Jones could have reshaped the arrangement or added vocal fireworks, but he didn’t. Instead, he honored the simplicity—the quiet sadness—that Otis left behind. That choice is precisely what makes the performance so meaningful. It wasn’t showmanship. It was remembrance.
Today, viewers who revisit the 1969 footage often describe a sense of loneliness radiating from the performance—not Tom’s loneliness, but Otis’s. As if Tom became a vessel, carrying a voice that could no longer sing for itself.
“Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay” is not just a classic song.
It’s a goodbye cut short.
And Tom Jones, in one of the brightest years of his career, chose to deliver that goodbye gently—without fanfare, without explanation—simply by singing it the way it was meant to be felt.
That is why the 1969 performance is more than a TV moment.
It is a tribute.
A bridge between two powerful voices.
A memory passed from Otis Redding to Tom Jones.
And from Tom Jones to all of us.