SOUL SURVIVOR

Ben Cauley had witnessed history a few times in his life as a young man blessed with the ability to play the trumpet. Memphis, Tennessee was a musical melting pot in the sixties steeping with jazz, blues, and the new kid on the block, rock ‘n roll. Musically, it was a great place to be and Ben Cauley had hung his hat there trying to make a living with a trumpet. If he could, it would be a dream come true for an African-American looking to get a leg up in life in the south.

Ben was fortunate in his timing and location. New music was emerging and gaining radio popularity and it was driven heavily from Memphis by one small record company that was big on marketing this musical style. The “Soul Era” was gaining a major foothold on the pop music scene of America with single releases by artists like Rufus and Carla Thomas, Johnny Taylor, Booker T & The MG’s, and Wilson Pickett to name a few.

Stax Records, a small recording studio, which grew out of a record shop housed in an old theater, was the driving force behind the new music market. Being in the right place at the right time, and having the talent to play the trumpet, bodes well for Ben as he goes in search of a job with Stax Records and lands a position in the studio band hired to back all the recording artists for label sessions. The idea was just taking shape allowing Ben to become one of the founding members of what would become a six-man band touting a trumpet, keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums. The group, primarily described as a “rhythm & blues” band would quickly develop a style all its own offering up “black rock” which later came to be referred to as “funk”.

The group formed in 1966 as a backup session band designed around instrumental R&B who could fill-in for “Booker T & The MG’s” for recording sessions. They billed themselves as “The Bar-Kays” and offered up their own funky styling that would not only make them popular with the recording artists but also with the public. Within their first year, The Bar-Kays were already having some chart success with their own recordings.

Otis Redding had been working the southern music circuit since 1960 when he toured with “Johnny Jenkins & The Pine Toppers” doing some singing and a lot of the driving between show sites. Jenkins gave Otis his big break in 1962 letting him record a song in the remaining time that Jenkins had left in a Stax Records studio session. Redding recorded “These Arms Of Mine” fulfilling a fate that would launch the early roots of his successful career. Redding issued his song on Stax/Volt Records and began touring with Sam & Dave, another Stax act. As Redding gained success and began writing many of his own songs, he frequently recorded with “Booker T & The MG’s” as his backup group. With The Bar-Kays doing relief duty for the MG’s, it was only natural that the group would come to know Otis Redding and eventually work with him in the studio.

Redding’s success was growing rapidly by 1967 and he had a growing need for a backup band that could travel dates with him keeping his music and his performance consistent. Obviously, the band needed to be familiar with Redding’s music and style. The Bar-Kays quickly became the best choice for the job. Redding has just played the Monterey Pops Festival resulting in a significant audience growth and increased demand for his performances throughout the country.

Redding lived in his hometown of Macon, Georgia. While it was home, it was not the best location to use as an operating base for multiple show dates. Rather than attempting to work out of a tour bus with long intervals between dates, Redding had opted to buy a Beechcraft E-18 twin-engine propeller aircraft to take advantage of a tight performance schedule. The aircraft was capable of accommodating six passengers and two pilots plus some of the equipment necessary for the performance. Otis and his Bar-Kays were well-equipped to meet a heavy schedule and serve up “The Soul Review” for the new fans of soul sprouting up throughout America.

On the 7^th of December, 1967, Otis Redding finished his final session for a new release of a song titled, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay". He had co-written the song with MG’s guitarist, Steve Cropper. He then slid into the co-pilot’s seat of his airplane and flew to Nashville where he would perform and then complete two additional weekend gigs. From the Nashville performance, the group would fly to cover two engagements in Cleveland, Ohio, and then move on to another show in Madison, Wisconsin. The Bar-Kays would play all of the dates and travel with Otis. Since the plane could carry only six passengers and two pilots, Redding would fill the co-pilot seat and leave the passenger seats for Redding’s manager, Phil Walden, and five members of The Bar-Kays. The sixth Bar-Kay would catch a commercial flight to the next date. The members of the Bar-Kays normally rotated to this slot flying commercial on one leg as they moved from date to date.

Completing the Nashville date, the group flew out of Nashville to Cleveland on the 9^th of December. First stop would be a local television appearance with "Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels" followed that evening by performances at Leo’s Casino. Once these stops were completed, the entourage bedded down in Cleveland for the night, slept late, and then prepared to fly out to Madison, Wisconsin the next day, December 10^th.

Boarding Redding’s E-18 Beechcraft at 12:30 PM on the 10th for the flight to Madison were Redding, Phil Walden (Redding’s manager), and band members Jimmy King, Ronnie Caldwell, Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham, and Ben Cauley. Band member and bassist, James Alexander would take his turn at riding a commercial flight up to Madison. Ben Cauley grabs the seat directly behind Otis Redding who is riding in the co-pilot seat on the right side of the plane. Pilot, Richard Frasier, was in the left seat of the aircraft.

The afternoon weather for Madison, Wisconsin on 10 December 1967 was not the best but still within service limits for the local airport. Overcast conditions, fog, and light drizzle dominated the sky and limited visibility requiring pilots transiting in and out of the area to employ instrument operating conditions. A few minutes past 3:00 PM, Redding’s Beechcraft was positioned ten miles south of the Madison airport aligning for the approach to the airport runway. Chicago Air Traffic Control issued instructions to contact Approach Control for approach instructions and final landing clearance. When the aircraft had moved down the approach to within four miles of the runway, landing clearance was issued and acknowledged. That was the last transmission from Redding’s aircraft. The time was 3:25 PM and the plane was positioned on final approach over the Squaw Bay portion of Lake Monona, an area populated with lakefront residences.

Just before 3:30 PM, local Monona resident, Bernard Reese, hears the erratic sounds of an aircraft engine and looks up just in time to see the aircraft break from the fog and low cloud cover. The aircraft quickly descended into the waters of Lake Monona with the left wing hitting the water first about one-half mile from the shore. Reese gazed in amazement as the plane paused briefly on the water surface then sank into the cold, icy waters of the lake. Reese then ran to his phone and called the local police.

In the plane, Ben Cauley had been asleep resting with his head against a seat cushion which he had wrapped in his arms. Ben awoke just in time to look across and see fellow band member, Phalon Jones, say the words, “Oh No!” Hearing Jones exclamation, Ben released his seat belt just as the plane hit the icy water. In a matter of seconds, the left wing was torn from the aircraft ripping open the fuselage and ejecting Ben Cauley into the cold, dark waters of the lake. When he surfaced, he was still holding on to the seat cushion which by now had changed roles serving as a flotation device. No one else surfaced as Ben floated in the cold waters of the lake total dazed and confused as to what had transpired in a matter of seconds. Ben was 20 years of age, wet, cold, and unable to swim but he was alive. He would remain in this frigid lake waters for an additional 17 minutes floating on the little seat cushion awaiting the arrival of those who would rescue him from a certain hypothermic death. Otis Redding and most of The Bar-Kays were gone still strapped to their seats in the wreckage of the plane beneath the lake’s surface. Bassist, James Alexander, had been spared by traveling on the commercial flight.

Another day would pass before all of the bodies were brought to the surface. Guitarist, Jimmy King, and pilot, Richard Frasier, had been found floating lifelessly on the surface possibly escaping the plane but not the brutal punishment of the cold waters. Ben Cauley lay in his hospital bed nursing his cuts and still absorbing the shock of his experience. Ben would live, play the trumpet again, and perform for audiences but it would be another forty years before he could come back to this spot along the lake and relive the moments that brought the sudden death of Otis Redding, The King of Soul, and his friends who, along with Ben, had been The Bar-Kays. A moment in history witnessed by Ben Cauley.

(Copyright) WBrown2010