BG 043

14" x 22-1/2" 1966

In the short space of ten months, this was the quality of work being turned out by Wes Wilson that started from basically nothing, design-wise. Wes really led the the genre in '66 and '67.

Incredible that the wonderfully talented Otis Redding died when his airplane crashed in Wisconsin.....he was only 26 years old. Steve Cropper, who co-wrote and produced "The Dock by the Bay" had been informed of the tragedy on the Monday after Otis' plane went down on Sunday. Stax called him and asked him to finish up "The Dock by the Bay" single (they had only laid down the basic backing and vocal tracks) and Steve worked all night and the next day, laying in the seagulls, the waves, keyboards, and various musical frills, and sent it off to the record company on the Tuesday or Wednesday (he can't remember, it was so hectic and emotional for him). They didn't recover Otis' body until the Friday.

The record was released the following week and I bought it.

I had temporarily moved to a beautiful Russian Victorian mansion on Divisidero, just off Haight in 1967...it was an all black neighborhood. I was playing drums in my front room to Otis blasting out of my big JBL studio monitors when I felt a presence behind me. I stopped, spun around, turned down the music and was facing a friendly, drunk, middle-aged black dude dressed to the nines who was smiling and said, "You sure got GOOD taste in music, son!" I noticed an army 1911 Colt .45 automatic hanging out of his inside coat pocket as he leaned on my shoulder to keep from falling over.

I asked him why the gun, and he replied, "Hey, man, you don't walk around here at night without one, no matter WHAT color you is!" And he howled with laughter and slapped me on the back.

He then took me to his favorite bar down the street, and I met most of my new neighbors who were all curious as to why a guy like me would want to live in their neghborhood....I must have been the only white guy who ever walked into the bar, certainly....it was a great evening for all of us, and after that, I had neighbors dropping in regularly just to sit and jam or shoot the breeze. One dude brought his tenor sax (and his .38) and we really rocked out.

They all carried pieces.

Staple holes, perfect condition.