In honor of Otis Redding, who died 54 years ago today, Black Pumas have released a gorgeous cover of “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay.”
“Otis Redding is one of my live performance heroes, especially for his vocal tone and general stage presence,” says Eric Burton. “‘(Sittin’ On) the Dock of The Bay’ to me boasts his exceptional gifts as both an artist and songwriter.”
On the heels of receiving two nominations at the 64th annual GRAMMY Awards, Black Pumas have also announced that they will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, December 13.
Additionally, the band is currently on tour throughout the U.S., and announced an exclusive livestream event during their show in Los Angeles. Black Pumas will be the first band to livestream from the newly minted YouTube Theater, and fans can tune into their Official YouTube Channel to watch the performance on Friday, December 17 at 9 pm PT.
Last month, the band dropped a cover of Lou Rawls’ classic Christmas single, “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas.”
Previously only available as a part of Spotify Holiday Singles, “Christmas Will Really Be Christmas (Lou Rawls Cover)” is available everywhere today for the first time.
“We were really attracted to the message, the lyrics, the arrangement, the feeling,” frontman Eric Burton says. “It’s a message that needs to be heard right now. I was a little nervous about singing in Lou Rawls’ low register, so I sang it an octave higher and it was nice to arrange vocals with the ladies [backup singers Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller] as well to put our own spin on it.”
Producer/bandleader Adrian Quesada says, “A Christmas song isn’t exactly something that we set out to do, but this Lou Rawls song is amazing. It was produced by one of my favorite arrangers and producers, David Axelrod. On that side of it I was drawn to it initially and I confirmed with Eric. I think we were both attracted to the message too, it touches on a message that I think is poignant to today’s times, that Christmas isn’t really Christmas until everyone has peace and happiness.”