Otis Redding - Death

Death

By 1967 the band had taken to traveling on Redding's Beechcraft H18 to gigs. They flew to Nashville, and on December 9, 1967, appeared on the nationally syndicated Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a small club called Leo's Casino. After a phone call with his wife and children, Redding's next stop was in Madison, Wisconsin. On the next day they were to play at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin after the opening act "The Grim Reapers", precursor of Cheap Trick.

Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog, and Redding had been warned to postpone the flight, they did not stop their trip. Four miles from their destination at Truax Field in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into Lake Monona. Ben Cauley, one of The Bar-Kays and the accident's only survivor, was sleeping shortly before the accident. He woke just before impact, and saw his 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. The non-swimmer was unable to rescue the passengers, who did not immediately die. The cause of the crash was never determined. James Brown argued in his autobiography, The Godfather of Soul, that he recommended Redding shortly before his departure not to fly on that outdated and overloaded plane. The only other Bar-Kays to survive were James Alexander and Carl Sims, who instead flew on a commercial flight for lack of room on the H18. Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson of The Memphis Horns had earlier declined to take part in the tour.

Redding died just three days after recording Dock of the Bay, and one day before the third anniversary of Sam Cooke's death. His unexpected death was a shock for friends and family. Aretha Franklin stated, "I heard it on the TV. My sister Caroline and I stopped everything and stayed glued to the TV and radio. It was a tragedy. Shocking."

Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. Many musicians asked the family to postpone the funeral from December 15 to December 18 so that they could attend. The service took place at the City Auditorium in Macon, attended by many prominent musicians. More than 4,500 people came to the obsequy, overflowing the 3,000-seat hall, although many did not know who he was. Johnny Jenkins and Isaac Hayes did not come, fearing their reaction would be worse than Zelma Redding's. Redding was entombed at his ranch in Round Oak, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Macon. Jerry Wexler delivered the eulogy. Redding was survived by his wife and three children, Otis III, Dexter and Karla. In November 8, 1987, a memorial plaque was placed on the lakeside deck of the Madison convention center, Monona Terrace.