George Bishop of the Mighty Majors and producer/songwriter Walter Grady took a stab at an Otis Redding tribute song circa late 1967 or early 1968, but it likely never made it off this rare, crackly acetate from the long-defunct Robbins Recording Studios of Greensboro:

bishopgrady_-_good-bye_otis.mp3

Curt Moore and Roy Roberts must’ve beaten them to the punch:

roy_roberts_-_the_legend_of_otis_redding.mp3

Roberts wasn’t even supposed to be the singer on the session—just the guitarist—but a last-minute switch due to someone else’s hangover led to Bo-Ro #102, his first release, and the launching of a solo career that has taken him to Raleigh and beyond: