Hard to Handle

Co-written by Redding with Stax executive Al Bell and Allen Jones and produced by Steve Cropper, 'Hard to Handle' appeared on The Immortal Otis Redding in 1968, months after its author died in a plane crash. The track's locomotive groove made it an R&B chart entry and a touchstone for rock acts seeking raw Memphis soul energy. The Black Crowes' 1990 cover brought it to an entirely new generation, eventually peaking at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The harmony is deliberately spare — a blues-derived I–IV–V framework that gives the horn arrangements and Redding's vocal maximum room to operate. The song's power is entirely in rhythm and performance; the chord structure is a chassis, not a feature.

Redding co-wrote the song with Stax executive Al Bell and staff songwriter Allen Jones. The boastful premise — a man declaring himself impossible to resist — sits squarely in the tradition of Memphis soul self-assertion that Redding had refined across his care…

“Steve Cropper — who also co-wrote 'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay' with Redding — produced the session, giving the track its characteristically tight horn-and-rhythm arrangement.”