Redding remembered

Jet, Oct 7, 2002

REDDING REMEMBERED: This 7-foot bronze statue of late soul singer Otis Redding (inset) recently was unveiled at Gateway Park on the banks of the Ocmulgee River in Redding's hometown of Macon, GA. The statue shows Redding, renowned for his tune (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, sitting on a dock, playing a guitar.

"Today, he would say, `I finally got all the respect I deserved,'" Redding's widow, Zelma, said. She was among the hundreds paying tribute to her late husband, who died on Dec. 10, 1967, when Redding, a pilot and five members of his backup group, the Bar-Kays, were killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert in Wisconsin. Redding was born Sept. 9, 1941, in Dawson, GA, but his family moved to Macon when he was 5. Redding's other hits include I've Been Loving You Too Long, Respect and Try A Little Tenderness.