BARRY LEVINE: Nation has lost many talented singers in airplane crashes

Let’s play the game of “What if.”

“What if” President John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated in Dallas in November 1963? How much different would this country have been assuming JFK had run for re-election in 1964 and won? What would five more Kennedy years in the White House have meant?

“What if” Mickey Mantle had been able to play his entire career with two good legs? The New York Yankees Hall of Fame center fielder finished his career with 536 home runs while playing from 1951 to 1968 on a pair of legs that had to be taped before every game from his ankles to his hips in order for him to go on the field.

And “What if” Otis Redding had listened to James Brown and not taken his fatal airplane ride of Dec. 9, 1967? Brown claimed in his autobiography, “The Godfather of Soul,” that he had warned the Dawson native not to fly in that airplane. Much would have the history of rock ‘n’ roll been altered had the 26-year-old Redding listened to Brown and not made that flight 47 years ago?

Traveling on Redding’s Beechcraft H18 on the night of Dec. 9, 1967, Redding and his entourage departed Cleveland after doing three concerts in two nights.

Redding’s next stop was Madison, Wis., to play a nightclub in the area.

Four miles from his destination in Madison, the pilot radioed for permission to land. Shortly thereafter, the plane crashed into the icy waters of Lake Monona, killing six people.

Redding’s body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched.

His funeral service was held on Dec. 18, 1967, at the City Auditorium in Macon. More than 4,500 people attended, overflowing the 3,000-seat venue. Redding and his family had moved from Dawson to an area near Macon when he was 3 years old.

Redding died just three days after recording “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” which became the only record to reach No. 1 after the performer died. It remained No. 1 for four weeks.

Redding wrote his No. 1 hit while in a houseboat near Sausalito, Calif. Steve Cropper, a guitarist for the Blues Brothers band, co-wrote the song with Redding.

The song received Grammys for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance and Best R&B song.

Redding finally got the acclaim that he did not receive during his lifetime.

Redding had seven Top 40 hits, including two with Carla Thomas, from 1965 until “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” reached No. 1 in March 1968. None of the seven made the Top 20.

He had three other Top 40 hits in 1968 following “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay,” but none reached the Top 20.

But what would have happened had Redding’s plane landed safely in Madison?

His popularity had obviously risen following his No. 1 smash.

Redding and his backup band, Booker T & the MGs, toured Europe in 1967, making stops in London, Paris and Amsterdam.

Later that year, the British pop newspaper “Melody Maker” published its annual readers’ poll and Redding was named the world’s best male vocalist, halting Elvis Presley’s eight-year run.

That’s certainly a strong indication that Redding’s star, coupled with his No. 1 hit, was about ready to skyrocket as unseating Elvis was a major accomplishment.

Here’s a list of air accidents in which musicians died since 1955:

Feb. 3, 1959 — Singers Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Richie Valens were killed when their chartered plane crashed near Mason City, Iowa.

March 5, 1963 — Country singers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn.

July 31, 1964 — Jim Reeves, a country singer, was killed in the crash of a small plane in Nashville, Tenn.

Dec. 10, 1967 — Soul singer Otis Redding, of Dawson and Macon, died when his plane crashed into a lake near Madison, Wis.

Sept. 20, 1973 — Singer Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash near Natchitoches, La.

Oct. 21, 1977 — Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Stevie Gaines of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash in McComb, Miss.

Dec. 31, 1985 – Singer Rick Nelson died when his plane caught fire and crashed near DeKalb, Texas.

Aug. 27, 1990 — Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan died when his helicopter crashed into a hill in East Troy, Wis., after departing from a concert.

Oct. 12, 1997 — John Denver died in the crash of his experimental plane off the California coast.

Aug. 25, 2001 — Actress and singer Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas along with eight others. The twin-engine Cessna went down shortly after takeoff.

Nov. 24, 2001 — Melanie Thornton, half of the pop duo La Bouche, died in an airline crash in Switzerland.

Feb. 12, 2009 — Two members of jazz musician Chuck Mangione’s band, Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett, were killed in a commuter plane crash outside Buffalo, NY, along with 48 others.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected]