Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, the fourth of six children, and the first son of Otis Redding Sr. and Fannie Roseman. Redding Sr. was a sharecropper and then worked at Robins Air Force Base, near Macon, … See more

Early career
A member of Pat T. Cake and the Mighty Panthers, Redding toured the Southern United States on the Chitlin' Circuit, a string of venues that … See more

By 1967, the band was traveling to performances in Redding's Beechcraft H18 airplane. On December 9, they appeared on the Upbeat television show produced in Cleveland. They played three concerts in two nights at a club called Leo's Casino. After a phone call … See more

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Redding, who was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg), was an athletic family man who loved American football and … See more

Style
Early on Redding copied the rock and soul style of his role model Little Richard. He was also influenced … See more

Redding has been called the "King of Soul", an honorific also given to Brown and Cooke. He remains one of the genre's most recognized … See more