The morning of Sunday, December 10, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio, was a dreary one, full of heavy rain and fog pouring off Lake Erie. The gloomy weather seemed to foreshadow the tragedy that was to come hours after a Beechcraft H18 airplane took off for Madison, Wisconsin, carrying a load of musicians and their valet, Matthew Kelly. A musician dubbed the “King of Soul” bought the airplane two months earlier. He was using it to tour with his band and tourmates, the Bar-Kays. It would be the first and last time he did.
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The owner of the plane was renowned soul singer Otis Redding. Adding to the tragedy was the fact that his star was only just beginning to skyrocket after an impressive closing set on Saturday night of the Monterey Pop Festival in June of that year. Redding and his bandmates were on their way to perform at the Factory nightclub in Madison when their plane crashed into the frigid water of Lake Monona. The only survivor of the crash was Bar-Kays member Ben Cauley. Everyone else onboard, including Redding, his other bandmates, their valet, and the pilot, died…