1967 Otis Redding Dies In Plane Crash

I was only vaguely aware of Otis Redding prior to what might be called his "breakthrough" event - an appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. I now know, of course, that he was already established as a singer, songwriter and record producer well before Monterey and had been performing professionally since the late 1950s.

His activities, were limited to a large extent in those early days by the ongoing effects of racial segregation that persisted in the USA well into the 1960's. As a result, he performed mainly on what is referred to as the "Chitlin Circuit" named after the popular soul food dish of pigs intestines (called chitterlings).

He was, however, in very good company. Other performers on that circuit also did OK for themselves,  albeit after having moved away from it into wider circulation, as segregation gradually became a thing of the past. These include Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Wilson Pickett, to name but a few.

Prior to the major impact on his career that was to be Monterey, Otis had nonetheless made a lot of headway, (and quite a lot of money), and had released several singles that sold very well including "These Arms of Mine" which sold almost a million copies.

Monterey was, however, his opportunity to break into the largely white audience from which he had previously been hidden, at least to an extent. His appearance was the closing act on the Saturday night and he was backed by Booker T and the MGs. from most of the accounts that are available, he went down a storm and was certainly brought to the notice of such influential folk as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

Post Monterey, Otis had success with the single "Sweet Soul Music", which was actually a re-working, in conjunction with singer Arthur Conley, of the Sam cooke song "Yeah Man" but was out of action for some time due to requiring surgery to treat polyps which had formed on his larynx.

It was during the post Monterey period, three days before his death as it turned out, that he wrote and recorded his masterwork, "Sittin On The Dock of The Bay" which was released posthumously and became a massive hit worldwide selling in excess of 4 million copies.

In December 1967, Otis and his band were hopping from venue to venue in his private aircraft. They were due to travel from Nashville where they had made a TV appearance and played at a small venue, to Madison Wisconsin - the location of the venue for their next appearance, a nightclub called the Factory.
Weather conditions were poor and they were advised not to make the trip. Make it they did, however, and the pilot ran into trouble just before reaching its destination.

The exact cause of the accident has not been determined but the plane crash landed in Lake Monona killing all but one of passengers and the pilot. The only survivor was trumpet player Ben Cauley.

Otis Ray Redding jnr was born in September 1941 and died on the 10th December 1967 aged only 26.