Ben Cauley (Bar-Kays): The Man Who Survived the Crash That Killed Otis Redding

December 10, 1967. Death descended upon Lake Monona. He ripped Otis Redding from the world. He swallowed the entire Bar-Kays. He took away the sound of the future. And then, He saw Ben Cauley. Twenty years old. Shaking. Clinging. Freezing. This was not an omission. This was a decision. An act of cruelty of the highest order. Death decided that death was a blessing... And Ben Cauley would not have it. He would not die. He would be forced to live. He was chosen as a witness, cursed to bear the burden of seven souls and remember exactly what the icy lake had taken. This is not a story of survival. This is a story of a curse. A condemnation... that begins with a single breath in the icy water. #BenCauley #OtisRedding #TheBarKays #StaxRecords #PlaneCrash #SoulMusic #MemphisSoul #MusicHistory #Tragedy #Survivor