Prior to his passing, the 59-year-old founder of funk band The Reddings organized summer camps with his family's foundation to teach children how to play music.
- Apr 20, 2023
AceShowbiz - Otis Redding's son has died from cancer. Otis Redding III, the founding member of funk band The Reddings, passed away at the age of 59 on Tuesday, April 18 at Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, Georgia.
On Wednesday, April 19, the late guitarist's sister Karla Redding-Andrews made the sad announcement about his passing through a post in the Facebook page of her family's charity, the Otis Redding Foundation.
"It is with heavy hearts that the family of Otis Redding III confirms that he lost his battle with cancer last evening at Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, Ga," she began breaking the news.
"Otis was 59 years old. Please keep our family in your prayers at this time and please respect our privacy as we consume this huge loss," she went on to admit. "Arrangements will be announced at a later date."
Redding III was only three years old when his famous father passed away in a plane crash on December 10, 1967, along with a number of other band members. More than ten years afterward, he took the role of guitarist in The Reddings, a funk, soul group that released six albums in the 1980s, alongside brother Dexter Redding, who handled bass and vocals, and Mark Lockett, who handled drums, keys and lead vocals.
During his time in the music industry, Otis was requested to sing several of his father's songs. He has expressed his gratitude for the legacy despite his own attempts to create music being eclipsed.
"No matter how hard I try to do my own thing, you know, it's like ... 'sing one of your daddy's songs.' So I go ahead and do what people want, and I live with it. But I'm not under any pressure and I don't put myself mentally under any pressure to go begging for record deals," he said in a 2018 interview with WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine.
Prior to his death, Otis served as a board president for the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. In addition, he along with his family's foundation organized summer music camps that taught children how to play music.
