Ronnie Caldwell
Encyclopedia
Ronald Louis Caldwell was an American
Soul
and R&B musician
.
A keyboard player, Caldwell was the only white
member the Bar-Kays
musical group based in Memphis, Tennessee
. The group recorded with and also accompanied singer Otis Redding
. According to James Alexander
, Caldwell was fully accepted within Memphis' black
community, to the point that Caldwell felt free to go about in public with his black girlfriend, despite the attitude of racial segregation
prevalent at that time.
Caldwell died just a few weeks before his nineteenth birthday in a plane crash in Lake Monona
with Redding and three other band members while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin
.
Ronnie Caldwell is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis
, Tennessee
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and R&B musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
A keyboard player, Caldwell was the only white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
member the Bar-Kays
Bar-Kays
The Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group who began performing in 1966 and continue to perform today, although with only one original member. The group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" The Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group...
musical group based in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. The group recorded with and also accompanied singer Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
. According to James Alexander
James Alexander (musician)
James Alexander is an American soul and R&B musician. He is a longtime member of the band The Bar-Kays, for which he plays bass guitar. He also is the father of noted hip-hop and R&B producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, whom he named after his best friend and late Bar-Kays bandmate Phalon Jones...
, Caldwell was fully accepted within Memphis' black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
community, to the point that Caldwell felt free to go about in public with his black girlfriend, despite the attitude of racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
prevalent at that time.
Caldwell died just a few weeks before his nineteenth birthday in a plane crash in Lake Monona
Lake Monona
Lake Monona is a freshwater drainage lake in Dane County, Wisconsin surrounded on three sides by the city of Madison, Wisconsin and on the south side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes along the Yahara River in the area and forms the south shore of...
with Redding and three other band members while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
Ronnie Caldwell is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.