Soul legend Otis Redding dies in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin
When he left his final recording session in Memphis Otis Redding intended to return soon to the song hed been working onhe still had to replace a whistled verse thrown in as a placeholder with additional lyrics that hed yet to write.In the meantime however there was a television appearance to make in Cleveland followed by a concert in Madison Wisconsin.On its final approach to Madison on this day in 1967 however the private plane carrying soul-music legend Otis Redding would crash into the frigid waters of a small lake three miles short of the runway killing seven of the eight men aboard including Redding.
Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay would be released in its unfinished form several weeks later with Reddings whistled verse a seemingly indispensable part of the now-classic record.It would soon become historys first posthumous 1 hit and the biggest pop hit of Reddings career.In the six months leading up to his death Otis Redding had gone from one great success to another.In June Aretha Franklin had taken a cover version of his song Respect all the way to 1 on the pop charts.
Later that same month the adulation of the young audience of rock fans at the Monterey International Pop Festival had transformed him into an icon of the blossoming counterculture thanks to his blistering now-legendary live performance there.But if Otis Redding was only beginning to gain momentum within the largely white mainstream in 1967 he was already a giant in the world of soul music.
