Otis Redding died December 10, 1967, when a plane carrying him and his backing band the Bar-Kays crashed into Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin. Only Ben Cauley (trumpet player for the Bar-Kays) survived the crash - Redding's body was found the day after the crash, still strapped into his plane seat. There's an official monument to the crash in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, located just a few blocks from the State Capitol at the following address: Monona Terrace, 1 John Nolen Drive, Madison, WI 53.
Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia. At age 15, with his father suffering from tuberculosis and unable to work, Redding dropped out of school to support the family. He worked as a well digger and gas station attendant before being hired by Little Richard's house band, the Upsetters. He got his break when, as chauffeur and gofer for Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers, he asked the Stax producer and engineer if he could record a song when the Pinetoppers were finished. The result was his first R&B hit, "These Arms of Mine."
He recorded with Stax Records, a Soul label in Memphis that had a string of hits in the late '60s. The house band, known as Booker T. and The MGs, played the instruments on his songs. Other famous Stax artists include Isaac Hayes, Albert King and Wilson Picket. Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, was released in early 1964 on Stax's Volt label.
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