The great rock and soul singer Otis Redding was born on this day in 1941.  He died in a plane crash in Wisconsin at the age of 26 in December 1967. I think his untimely death is one of the great losses in popular music history. [for example I think Elvis was pretty much a spent force when he passed, Otis was still rising, he had so much ahead of him}

Otis Redding’s greatest hit was “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay” which was recorded right before his death and became a huge hit after his passing. If that is what you know Otis Redding for, dig a little deeper. There is a box set out there that is excellent and if you don’t want to go that route there is a few 2 cd ‘best of Otis Redding’s” The man sure could sing.

He wrote and recorded a song that would become one of the most popular songs ever when covered by another artist- Aretha Franklin “Respect”

The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival was Otis Redding’s big moment. His performance was the most memorable of the entire festival. His music was crossing over to bigger audiences.

Otis Redding died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin. Three days before he had recorded what would become his greatest hit “Dock Of The Bay”