| Mr. Pitiful | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Otis Redding |
| Album: | Sings Soul Ballads |
| B-Side: | That's How Strong My Love Is |
| Released: | 1964 |
| Recorded: | December 1964 Stax Recording Studios (Memphis, Tennessee) |
| Genre: | Soul |
| Length: | 2:26 |
| Label: | Volt/Atco 8444 |
| Producer: | Jim Stewart |
| Prev Title: | Security |
| Prev Year: | 1964 |
| Next Title: | I've Been Loving You Too Long |
| Next Year: | 1965 |
"Mr. Pitiful" is a song written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper[1] and included on the 1965 album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads.
"Mr. Pitiful" was recorded in December 1964 at the Stax Records studios. The song was written by guitarist Steve Cropper and singer Otis Redding, his first collaboration with Cropper, as a response to a statement made by radio disc jockey Moohah Williams, when he nicknamed Redding as "Mr. Pitiful", because of sounding pitiful when singing ballads. Cropper heard this and had the idea to write a song with that name when taking a shower. Cropper then asked Redding in a car how he felt about this idea, and soon after they recorded the song in about 10 minutes. It was finally cut two or three times and then released with the B-side "That's How Strong My Love Is" as a single.
The song became a hit and the most successful from the album The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard R&B and at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.