Otis Ray Redding Jr.'s Net Worth as of 2024
$10 Million
Otis Redding was born on the 9th September 1941, in Dawson, Georgia, USA and was a singer, producer, songwriter, and talent scout, best known for his soul and rhythm & blues music, being considered as one of the greatest singers in American pop culture. Thanks to his vocal skills, Redding significantly increased his net worth. He was active from 1958 to 1967. Otis passed away in December 1967, in an air crash.
Have you ever wondered how rich Otis Redding was at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Otis Redding’s net worth was $10 million. In addition to singing, Redding was also a successful producer and songwriter, which also improved his wealth.
Otis Redding Net Worth $10 Million
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was the fourth of six children of Fannie Mae Redding and Otis Redding Sr., a former sharecropper, and occasional preacher in the local churches. His family moved to Tindall Heights in Macon when he was three, and Otis sang in the Vineville Baptist Church choir and played piano and guitar. Redding went to Ballard-Hudson High School where he sang in the school band and earned $6 every Sunday for performing gospel songs on the local radio in Macon. He stated that Little Richard and Sam Cooke were his influences, and he was focused on singing rather than playing instruments.
His father suffered from tuberculosis when Otis was 15, so Redding left school to help his family financially. Redding was forced to do anything he could, from well digging to gas station attendant and musician, and somehow managed to supply his family with enough income. Otis’ career started in 1958 when he was a contestant in a talent show hosted by disc jockey Hamp Swain. Redding sang Little Richard‘s “Heebie Jeebies”, and later joined “The Upsetters” earning $25 per gig. Redding moved to Los Angeles in 1960, along with his sister Deborah, and there he wrote his first songs “Tuff Enuff”, “Gamma Lamma”, “She’s Alright”, and “I’m Gettin’ Hip”. His net worth was starting to rise.
In 1962, Otis met Joe Galkin, an Atlantic record representative who sent him to the Stax studio in Memphis for a tryout. The studio chief Jim Stewart wasn’t impressed with the first song Otis sang, but he gave him another chance and Redding sang “These Arms of Mine,” which Stewart liked so much, he immediately signed a contract with him. The single became one of the greatest in 1962, with over 800,000 copies sold.
Redding’s debut album “Pain in My Heart” was released in 1964 and reached No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two other albums followed in 1965; “The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads”, and “Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul”, and both of them were extremely successful, earning Otis a lot of money and allowing him to buy a 300-acre ranch in Georgia. Otis went back to the Stax studio to record several more tracks, including “Try a Little Tenderness”, and released two more albums “The Soul Album”, and “Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul”. He collaborated with Isaac Hayes and James Brown and became good friends with them. His career and net worth were rising well.
Redding performed at the famous Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and along with his songs, he also sang The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix covers. Many superstar musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones were impressed with his performance, and touted him as the next big star.
Together with Carla Brown, Otis released his last album during his lifetime called “King & Queen” in 1967.
In December that year, Redding and his band appeared on the “Upbeat” television show in Cleveland; these were quite busy days, and the next gig was at the Factory nightclub near the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. The weather was extremely poor, and he could postpone the flight, and the concert, but opted to give it a go instead, and the plane crashed in Lake Monona, only four miles from destination. Ben Cauley, a member of Redding’s band, was the only survivor, and he couldn’t help the rest of them because he was a non-swimmer. The cause of the plane crash was never determined, and James Brown later revealed in his autobiography that he warned Otis not to fly that day. Otis’ body was recovered the next day, and the funeral was held at the City Auditorium in Macon. Although the capacity of the hall was only 3,000, more than 4,500 people attended the commemoration.
Regarding his personal life, Otis Redding was married to Zelma Atwood from 1961, and she gave birth to his son Dexter in 1960, when they still dated. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
