Otis Redding

Hailing from Georgia, Otis Redding joined Stax in 1962 and made his debut with These Arms Of Mine in the same year. He followed through with a sequence of extraordinarily moving tracks like Pain In My Heart, That's How Strong My Love Is and I've Been Loving You Too Long. 

Otis Redding had a less powerful but more expressive voice than Wilson Pickett, and while at home on fast numbers like Mr Pitiful, handled slow songs with complete mastery. 

Redding was only 26 when the light aircraft in which he was travelling crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin in 1967. Redding and four members of his backing group, The Bar-Kays, were killed. His body was found the day after the crash, still strapped into his seat. In a cruel irony, just three days earlier he had recorded what was to be his biggest hit - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay.