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Otis Redding And The Bar Kays Are Lost In A Wisconsin Plane Crash

Submitted by Roanman on Sat, 12/10/2016 - 08:31

On this day in history, December 10, 1967, Otis Redding and all but one member of the Bar Kays lost their lives when the plane they were travelling in crashed into Lake Monona just outside of Madison, Wisconsin.

Just three days earlier Redding had finally completed a six month project, writting and recording what would become his greatest hit and an American pop music staple, (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay.

This is Otis Redding backed by Booker T and The MG's, Booker T Jones on the organ, Steve Cropper on his Tele, Duck Dunn holding down the bass position and Al Jackson Jr on the drums. With them are arguably the greatest horn section in the history of Soul if ot all of recorded music, The Memphis Horns which were for the most part, Wayne Jackson on trumpet and Andrew Love standing at about center stage on the saxaphone. I think that's Joe Arnold on the second sax.

From the "Legendary Stax-Volt Euaropean Tour of 1967".

Try a Little Tenderness

The Bar Kays were Redding's every day, road band and had scored a #3 hit record on Billboard's R&B Singles chart themselves with their 1967 instumental Soul Finger.

This is Jimmy King on the guitar, Ronnie Caldwell sporting a very nice perm, on the organ, Phalon Jones on the saxaphone and Carl Cunningham on the drums, all of whom lost their lives in Lake Monona. Ben Cauley on the trumpet was the only survivor of the crash. Bassist James Alexander enjoyed the glorious fortune of having to take a later flight.

The band was rebuilt by Cauley and Alexander and charted it's share of Disco and Funk hits on the R&B charts well into the 80s.

This is the Bar Kays.

Soul Finger

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