Otis Redding III dies aged 59 after battling with cancer

Redding was just 3 years old when his father, Otis Redding died with several band members in a plane crash in 1967. More than a decade later, Redding and his brother Dexter formed funk band The Reddings, which recorded six albums in the 1980s.

“It is with heavy hearts that the family of Otis Redding III confirms that he lost his battle with cancer last evening,” his sister, Karla Redding-Andrews, said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Otis Redding Foundation. “Please keep our family in your prayers at this time and please respect our privacy as we consume this huge loss.”

After the band recorded their final album in 1988, Redding was hired for a European tour as a guitarist for a soul singer Eddie Floyd, and became comfortable performing “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” and other songs of his famous father.

Redding worked with his family’s foundation to organise summer camps that teach children to play music, and served as board president for the local chapter of Meals on Wheels.