Otis Redding Statue

Overview

Centered within a fountain, this life-sized bronze sculpture immortalizes the legendary musician Otis Redding, Jr., sitting on the pilings of a dock strumming a guitar, a beautiful reflection of his Grammy award-winning song, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

Originally located in Gateway Park, the statue was created by sculptors Bradly Cooley and Bradley Cooley Jr. in partnership with NewTown Macon and the Redding family. It was moved in 2025 to its new permanent home in front of the Zelma Redding Amphitheater at the Otis Redding Center for the Arts.

Born in Dawson, Ga., and raised in Macon, Otis Redding, Jr. was one of the most influential vocalists of the 1960s, with his concert tours being among the biggest box office smashes of any touring performer during his time. Redding, who unseated Elvis Presley as London-based Melody Maker Magazine’s International Male Vocalist of the Year in 1967, died tragically in a plane crash on December 10, that same year, just days after recording his hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

Redding’s many awards and accolades include induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and three recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame.