MACON, Ga. — Singer and guitarist Otis Redding III, the son and namesake of the legendary 1960s soul singer, has died from cancer at age 59, his family said Wednesday, according to NBC +AP
Redding was just three years old when his father, Otis Redding, died with several band members in a plane crash on Dec. 10, 1967. More than a decade later, the younger Redding and his brother, Dexter, formed the funk band The Reddings, which recorded six albums in the 1980s.
“It is with heavy hearts that the family of Otis Redding III confirms that he lost his battle with cancer last evening,” said his sister, Karla Redding-Andrews, in a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Otis Redding Foundation, the family’s charity in Macon.
He was once hired for a European tour as guitarist for soul singer Eddie Floyd, under whose guidance the younger Redding became comfortable performing “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” and other songs of his famous father.
“He said, `You can play guitar with me, but you’re going to have to sing a few of your dad’s songs,‘” Redding recalled in a 2018 interview with NBC affiliate WCSH of Portland, Maine. “I was like, ‘Huh? I don’t sing,’ you know. And he was like, ‘Well, you’re going to sing “Dock of the Bay” with me tonight.’”
