Otis Redding’s Final Appearance…The Day Before The Plane Crash

While searching for something else, I found this and thought you may enjoy seeing it. This video is from the syndicated music show “Upbeat” that was done at WEWS in Cleveland on December 9, 1967.

Redding’s next stop was Madison, Wisconsin; the next day they were to play at The Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin.

Although the weather was poor, with heavy rain and fog and despite warnings, the plane took off. 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. Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley, the accident’s sole survivor.

I never met Otis, but I knew his brother Rogers and his wife Zelma. One day in 1973, they were both in my car in Macon, Georgia when a brand new song came on the radio and we were all electrified. None of us had ever heard it before, but they both said, “That’s going to be a huge record”, and it was…the song was “Let’s Get It On” from Marvin Gaye. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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