Co-written with Steve Cropper, "Dock Of The Bay", was a postumous #1 hit on the BILLBOARD Pop charts, just one following his untimely passing on December 10, 1967. En route another engagement in Madison, Wisconsin, and due to severe weather conditions, Otis Redding alongside his backing band, the Bar-Kays, and personal pilot, Richard Fraser, were killed when their plane plunged 40ft in icy the waters of Lake Monona. Their last public appearance was a live performance on the television series, "Upbeat", just prior to their untimely passing. The Bar-Kays, who had major hit with the R&B instrumental, "Soul Finger", were just getting recognition by way going on tour with Otis as his backing band for the reason he was impressed with their performance. Despite warnings from friends and the weather report, he chose to travel to his next engagement in Madison, Wisconsin for the reason he did want to disappoint his fans. Just prior to his passing, Otis wrote and recorded his final melodic masterpiece, "Dock Of The Bay", just three or four days in the recording studio. Also, prior to his passing, he received rave reviews as a featured performer at the Monterey Pop Festival by way of crossing over into the pop music scene and bridging the gap between black and white listeners.

Just 26 years old, his life was tragically cut short in on that fateful day of December 10, 1967, leaving behind a wife and three small children. According to reports, 4,500 mourners were in attendance at his funeral at Macon City auditorium in Georgia, and some of the big name entertainers such as Arthur Conley, James Brown and Rufus Thomas all were in all in attendance. He was laid to rest at his ranch, the family estate in Georgia. Months later, "Dock Of The Bay" went to #1 on the BILLBOARD Pop charts, which was his final melodic masterpiece. Sole survivor, Ben Cauley, gave his insight on what happend in an article in JET magazine, an how he survived the crash. According to him, he heard bandmate, Phalon Jones respond, "Oh, no", before the plane went down. Although he couldn't swim, he managed to stay afloat before he was rescued while the rest of the bodies were recovered the next day. Also according to the weather it was at at least 30-40 degrees, which was too cold to travel by plane, and they were warned by other people that it was too cold to travel, but Redding was adamant on traveling to Madison for his next engagement. Members of his backup band have complained how cold it was; in addition, to the faulty heating system on the plane. They were hungry and wanted to get get to eat, Redding decided they all should wait once they arrived in Madison. While attempting to land in Madison, the pilot was having trouble with the control buttons, and something went wrong when it plunged 40ft into the lake headfirst with Redding strapped in the second seat. With the water being so cold, I can see why everyone drowned and froze to death. As stated in his autobiography, James Brown warned Redding not to fly in those conditions. When I read about this tragedy I decided to write this article to give my insight on what happend.