Category: Otis Redding

IT WAS DECEMBER 1967: WHEN WE LOST OTIS REDDING

Detroit Free Press December 12, 1967

 

DECEMBER 10, 1967

— 52 YEARS AGO —

 

 

. . . By 1967, the band was traveling to performances in Redding’s Beechcraft H18 airplane. On December 9, 1967, they appeared on the Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a club called Leo’s Casino. After a phone call with his wife and children, Redding’s next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day, Sunday, December 10, they were to play at the Factory nightclub, near the University of Wisconsin.

Otis Redding, The Barkays, 1967

Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog, and despite warnings, the plane took off. Four miles (6.4 km) from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley, the accident’s only survivor, was sleeping shortly before the accident. He woke just before impact to see bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and exclaim, “Oh, no!” Cauley said the last thing he remembered before the crash was unbuckling his seat belt. He then found himself in frigid water, grasping a seat cushion to keep afloat.  As a non-swimmer, he was unable to rescue the others. The cause of the crash was never determined. James Brown claimed in his autobiography The Godfather of Soul that he had warned Redding not to fly in the plane.

The other victims of the crash were four members of the Bar-Kays—guitarist Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell, and drummer Carl Cunningham; their valet, Matthew Kelly; and the pilot, Richard Fraser.

Redding’s body was recovered the next day when the lake was searched. The family postponed the funeral from December 15 to 18 so that more could attend. The service took place at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people came to the funeral, overflowing the 3,000-seat hall. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon. Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy. Redding died just three days after re-recording “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” He was survived by Zelma and four children, Otis III, Dexter, Demetria, and Karla. On November 8, 1997, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.

(Source: Wikipedia)

 

 

THE DETROIT FREE PRESS

—Tuesday, December 12, 1967—

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Above article is courtesy freep.com newspaper archive. Copyright 2019. Newspapers.com.

The above newspaper feature was ‘clipped,’ saved, and was digitally imaged from the credited source by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

 

 

Otis Redding photographed standing before his personal plane, 1967. (Photo credit: Zelma Redding)

Otis Redding’s personal plane rests on a barge after having been pulled up from lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin. December 1967

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REDDING RECORDS RIDE HOT STREAK . . . MARCH 16, 1968

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1968

Redding Tops in Singles and LP Sales

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK – Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash last December, is achieving the success that eluded him during his lifetime. This week, Redding’s Volt record of “Dock Of The Bay” passed the one million sales mark and went into No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. It marks the first single of Redding’s ever to hit a million. and according to Atlantic Records‘ sales executives. who handle the Stax-Volt line, sales are continuing at a strong pace.

Redding is also setting new sales marks with his album product. His new LP on Volt, “Dock Of The Bay,” which was issued about two weeks ago, had the largest advance order of any of his LP’s. One of the previously unreleased sides in the “Dock of the Bay” LP, called “Open the Door” is receiving such strong airplay that there is a possibility Volt Records may issue it as Redding’s next single.

Sales of Redding’s albums spurted shortly after his death. His albums are among the best-selling items at Atlantic, keeping pace with the firm’s other top artists. The Redding LP’s most in demand are “Otis Blue,” “Otis Redding Live In Europe,” “History of Otis Redding” and the newly issued “Dock Of The Bay.”

The interest in Redding’s career since his death has grown in the consumer press and TV. Virtually every important music magazine has written about Redding and new stories are in the works. A TV film made in England of Redding performing “Shake” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” has been used on many U. S. stations. Currently, two networks are preparing shows on Redding which will he ready in the spring. Also, a packager of TV shows is interested in doing a one-hour documentary on Redding.

Redding’s trip to Europe with the Stax-Volt show last spring was filmed and reports indicate that there will be a one -hour film compiled from the footage. It will be available for showing on either TV or as a regular film feature for distribution on the college circuit. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; March 16, 1968)

Otis Redding photographed performing at the Monterey Pop Festival, June 1967.

 

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THIS WEEK 50 YEARS AGO: THE HOTTEST HIT IN THE USA!

NUMBER 1 IN AMERICA ’68 * Otis Redding * 03/10/68 – 04/06/1968

BILLBOARD HOT 100 TOP FIVE: WEEK-ENDING March 16, 1968

(Click on chart image 2x for detailed view)

NUMBER ONE FOR 1968!

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EIGHTEEN WEEKS on the singles chart, “(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding peaked this week at No. 01 (4 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100, March 10 through April 06, 1968. (Source: Billboard)

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MCRFB Link: For the previous No. 1 record in the U.S.A. 1968 GO HERE.

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WILLIAM BELL: IN TRIBUTE. OTIS REDDING REMEMBERED

Otis Redding 1967 (Photo: Jean Pierre Leloir)
OTIS REDDING 1967 (Photo: Jean Pierre Le Loir)

Otis Redding (mcrfb)THIS DAY IN POP MUSIC HISTORY

 

1967: Otis Redding and four members of his band, the Bar-Kays, are killed when their tour plane crashes into a frozen lake near Madison, WI. Three days earlier, Redding had recorded what was to be his break-though pop hit, “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay.”

(source: oldies.about.com)

A TRIBUTE TO A KING * William Bell * STAX (1968)
Otis Redding, The Wisconsin State Journal, December 8, 1967
Otis Redding, The Wisconsin State Journal, December 8, 1967
DECEMBER 11, 1967
DECEMBER 11, 1967

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REDDING, SIX OTHERS DEAD IN PLANE CRASH . . . DECEMBER 23, 1967

Motor City Radio Flashbacks logoFrom the MCRFB news archive: 1967

Redding, Band Members Killed; Bodies Pulled From Wisconsin Lake

 

 

 

 

Otis Redding (click on image for largest view).
Otis Redding

LAKE WINONA, WIS. — Otis Redding, star Stax/Volt Records’ soul artist,was killed here on Sunday, December 10, when his plane crashed into a lake. Redding was 26. Also killed were four members of the Bar-Kays, his accompanying group; pilot Richard Frazier; and Matthew Kelley, 17, the artist’s valet.

One member of the Bar-Kays, Ben Culley, survived the crash. He was reported in fair condition in a nearby hospital. Another member of the group, James Alexander, was on a different flight. Dead are Phalon Jones, 18; Ronnie Caldwell, 19; Jimmy King, 18; and Carl Cunningham, 18, all from Memphis.

The crash occurred when the private twin-engine plane was attempting to land at at the Madison Airport after a flight from Cleveland. Redding’s body was flown to Macon, Georgia, for a funeral on Friday, December 15.

The Bar-Kays: (first row) Phalon Jones, James Alexander (middle row) Jimmie King, Ronnie Caldwell, Ben Cauley (back row) Carl Cunningham. (Click image for larger size).
The Bar-Kays (bottom row) Phalon Jones, James Alexander (middle row) Jimmie King, Ronnie Caldwell, Ben Culley (back row) Carl Cunningham (click image for larger size).

Redding’s best-known Volt singles were “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Satisfaction,” “These Arms Of Mine,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and “Respect.” “Respect,” which Redding wrote, recently was a top-seller for Aretha Franklin. He hit the Hot 100 chart twice this year with Carla Thomas in “Tramp” and “Knock On Wood,” both on Stax. He had five Volt albums, one on Atco, and one with Miss Thomas on Stax.

Three months ago, Britain’s Melody Maker, a fan magazine, selected Redding as the world’s top male vocalist dethroning Elvis Presley, who held the top spot since 1956. Redding had been seventh last year.

Earlier this month, Redding had accepted an invitation from Vice-President Hubert Humphrey to head a troupe of Stax/Volt artists to entertain U.S. troops in Viet Nam in the spring. Redding and the Bar-Kays were the only soul artists at the recent Monterey Pop Music Festival The Bar-Kays had one album on Volt.

In August, Redding and Miss Thomas were crowned king and queen of the “Memphis Sound” at the Chicago Daily Defender’s Billiken Day Parade. Redding was to have appeared in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 26, when Ralph J. Gleason, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, planned to produce a Redding TV special for the National Educational Television Foundation.

Redding owned the 300-acre Big O ranch outside of Macon, which recently was visited by a BBC-TV film crew. He had earned more than $600,000 from public appearances this year. He was survived by his widow, Zelma, and three children. END

(Information and news source: Billboard; December 23, 1967).

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Otis Redding Wisconsin State Journal (Tues., 12-12-67)
Wisconsin State Journal Tuesday, December 12, 1967 (click on image for detailed view).

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