Intro:

Today we're looking at a song by Otis Redding, an artist underappreciated in his own time but celebrated after his death, and the Blacks Crows, a group who were perhaps outside of their own time and deserved to be bigger than they were. Let's take a look at the historic context in which each hit came out in.

The scene:

1968 was a tumultuous year with the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. The Tet offensive marked the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War. The Apollo 8 mission circled the moon ten times. African American athletes Tommie Smith and Johnny Carlos raised their black-gloved fists as a protest against racial discrimination at the Mexican Olympic Games.

The Original:

The original was released as a B-side to Amen in 1968 (Redding died tragically in 1967). It only reached No.38 on the R&B charts and No.51 on the pop charts. However, Redding is one of those common tragic figures in artistic culture, which became far more successful after their death than alive. The song's inclusion on the album The Immortal Otis Redding meant it would be a song always associated with the singer-songwriter.

From the rock-solid drum beat, iconic piano opening, echoed seconds later by the horns, Too Hard To Handle is an upbeat snippet of joy. The groovy bass holds everything together, alongside a funky guitar riff all accompanied by those sweet, sweet horns (why don't brass instruments appear more in modern music?).

Lyrically Too Hard To Handle is a good old-fashioned bed skill boasting seduction song. I bet the youngsters think that rappers had cornered the market there. Unlike the rappers, this doesn't come across as false bravado.

"Action speaks louder than words
and I'm a man of great experience"

But my favorite line is:

"I'm advertising love for free
So you can place your ad with me"

And of course, the tongue twister chorus, opening with that wonderful coin put down, for all you shower singers to up your game too:

"Boys will come along a dime by the dozen
That ain't nothing but ten cent lovin'
Pretty little thing, let me light your candle
'Cause mama I'm sure hard to handle now, yessir am"

This is an R&B masterpiece from one of the masters. Covering it well would require a formidable group of talented musicians...