Musician Otis Redding III, son of ‘Dock of the Bay’ singer, dead at 59

MACON, Ga. — Musician Otis Redding III, the youngest child and namesake of the legendary 1960s soul singer, died on Tuesday. He was 59.

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Redding died in a hospital in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, WSB-TV reported.

“It is with heavy hearts that the family of Otis Redding III confirms that he lost his battle with cancer last evening,” the musician’s sister, Karla Redding-Andrews, said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Otis Redding Foundation.

Redding was only 3 years old when his father, Otis Redding Jr., and several members of his band, died in a plane crash on Dec. 10, 1967, outside Madison, Wisconsin, The New York Times reported. The elder Redding’s song, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” became the first posthumous No. 1 record on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts.

Redding III formed a funk band, the Reddings, with his brother, Dexter Redding, and a cousin, Mark Lockett, during the 1980s, according to the newspaper.

The band recorded six albums. Otis Redding III played guitar, while his brother played bass and was the lead vocalist. Lockett was the group’s keyboard player.

“We never had a gold or platinum record, but we toured the world,” Redding III told The Macon Telegraph in 2017.

Their singles included “Remote Control” and “Call The Law, " according to The Associated Press.

According to WSB, Redding III volunteered for local charities, including Meals on Wheels of Middle Georgia. He also volunteered with the Historic Macon Foundation.

“When we asked him to serve on our board and our Development and Engagement Committee, he readily agreed. But he wasn’t one to simply lend his name to a good cause, then forget about it,” Historic Macon wrote on its " target="_blank">Facebook page. “He donned a green apron and helped out at our Flea Market (and he shopped too!). “He attended our membership drives and annual meetings, spreading the word about our preservation mission. And when we needed to go BIG for our 2022 Patrons Party after the pandemic, he and his band delivered. In short, he was always eager to help. That’s the kind of man he was.”

The younger Redding said he never tried to live up to his father’s musical legacy.

“I go ahead and do what people want, and I live with it,” he told WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine, in a 2018 interview. “I don’t put myself mentally under any pressure to go begging for record deals.”

According to the AP, Redding III was hired as a guitarist for soul singer Eddie Floyd and became comfortable performing his father’s songs, including his biggest hit.

“He said, `You can play guitar with me, but you’re going to have to sing a few of your dad’s songs,’” Redding told WCSH. “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.’”

Redding III underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer in 2018 at an Atlanta hospital, WSB reported.

“Any time you hear the word you have a life-threatening disease like cancer, it gets to you mentally,” Redding III told the television station.

Otis Redding III was born on Dec. 17, 1963, in Macon. His mother was Zelma Atwood, according to the Times.

In addition to his sister and brother, Redding III is survived by another sister, Demetria Redding, according to the newspaper.

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