Just One More Day

I ask you, honestly is there an all around voice in the history of all around voices better than the man that is Otis Redding? You could argue Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson perhaps? You could even add Al Green and Sam Cooke sang better than Otis and it would be hard to win that argument but there is no way anyone could argue on how once you start listening to Otis your soul yearns for more. With a voice that is one part smooth as glass, two parts Southern Baptist preacher, and two parts gravel road Otis’ voice is unmatched by those other magnificent vocalists I mentioned earlier. The man mastered the begging and the pleading on a record before Teddy did it and he rivaled James Brown for the beg and plead crown. And in my opinion Otis was at his beg and plead best on “Just One More Day”.

The song is about a man who would do anything his woman wants him to do if he could just have one more day and as a man I can definitely relate to that sentiment. Hell, regardless of the sex I think we can all relate to that at one time or another. This was a song in his collection that I think was severely overlooked which is understandable when you look through his collection of hits and classics but “Just” should be right up there. The music is beautifully mournful, melodic, and simple. It’s Otis and a guitar at first and then an organ comes in followed by some horns (a staple of his). Then the more instruments come in but it never loses that intimate feel. The song then builds at the end and Otis gets his begging and pleading on but you saw that coming even if I didn’t give you the heads up.

Taken from us far too soon who knows what Otis was working on and would have given us before his untimely demise. Thankfully though the man was a workhorse and left us so many songs to enjoy and remember him by. “Just One More Day” is definitely one of those for me.