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September 9, 1941 - December 10, 1967 
Born in Dawson, Georgia, Otis Redding’s father was a Baptist Minister.When he was 5, the family moved to Macon, Georgia.Otis attended Ballad Hudson High School and participated in the school band. 
Otis dropped out of high school and went on to work with Little Richard's former band, the Upsetters. He began to compete in local talent shows for the five ($5) dollar prize. He won 15 straight times and was no longer allowed to compete. 
Ironically, although he consistently impacted the R&B charts beginning with the Top Ten appearance of "Mr. Pitiful" in 1965, none of his singles fared better than #21 on the pop Top Forty until the posthumous release of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." That landmark song, recorded just four days before Redding's death, went to #1 and stayed there for four weeks in early 1968. 
Redding was discovered while singing with Macon guitarist Johnny Jenkins' band, the Pinetoppers, and first recorded as a member of that group for the tiny Confederate label in 1960. When Jenkins was booked to cut some sides at Stax Records in Memphis in October 1962, Redding was given an opportunity at the end of a session, and he recorded "These Arms of Mine"........one of my personal favorites. 
He was invited to perform at the Apollo Theatre for a live recording and would go on to show his dance movements with "Shake" and "Satisfaction". When Otis was done, the sold-out audience would shout, scream, and dance until Redding came back on stage for an encore performance. 
He met his wife Zelma Atwood in 1959 and later married in August 1961. Together they have four children: Dexter, Karla, Otis III, and Demetria who was adopted after his death. His family was close to his heart and soul. In 1965, he moved them into a spacious 300 acre property, "The Big O Ranch" in Round Oak, Georgia, affectionately named after "The Big O" himself. 
"The Very Best of Otis Redding," a CD issued in 1992, went gold after selling more than 500,000 copies. 
Otis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. 
Sitting in the morning sun, in a marble tomb cooled by shade trees, Otis Redding rests about a hundred paces from the ranchhouse he built before death and a posthumous hit made him a legend. It's approaching 30 years since Redding's plane crashed into an icy Wisconsin lake on Dec. 10, 1967 - three days after he recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay." The soul singer's music now reaches a second generation of fans, and his widow, Zelma Redding, meets them at her front door. Somehow, they find the unmarked road leading to the Redding family's 440-acre ranch. They show up every month or so, asking permission to pay their respects. "This is not Graceland. This is my home," Mrs. Redding notes. But when visitors mind their manners, she escorts them to the grave. ~~taken from an article by RUSS BYNUM, associated press~~ 
Most information taken from The Official Otis Redding Web Site 
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