Otis Redding III, son of the legendary soul singer Otis Redding, has died at the age of 59 after a battle with cancer, his sister announced Wednesday on social media.
Born on Dec. 17, 1964, in Macon, Georgia, Otis was just three years old when his father died in a plane crash, but that didn't stop him from inheriting his father's love for music.
By the age of nine, Redding was playing guitar in the band Father's Pride, and started working at a local record store just two years later.
In 1975, the youngest Redding and his older brother, Dexter, created a new funk band called The Reddings and went on to release six records throughout the 1980s. Their biggest hit, "Remote Control," landed them on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at #6 on the soul chart, but their music never matched the success of their father's.
Redding continued to perform and later was hired as a guitarist for soul singer Eddie Floyd, who encouraged him start singing his father's songs.
“No matter how hard I try to do my own thing, you know, it’s like ... sing one of your daddy’s songs,” Redding said in a 2018 interview with WCSH-TV. "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."
Despite being overshadowed by his father's legacy, Redding III was a talented musician in his own right, and his music was a testament to his father and the impact he had on the world of music.
He was also actively involved in his family's philanthropic organization, The Otis Redding Foundation, and participated in an annual camp dedicated to mentoring children with musical aspirations.
The Redding family has requested the public respect their privacy during this difficult time. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
