Phalon R. Jones, Jr. (1948 – December 10, 1967) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and R&B

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. Jones was a

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

for musical group

the Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of record chart, charting single (music), singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, Hot R&B/Hip ...

, which recorded with and also played backup for

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. Jones and three other members of the Bar-Kays (

Ronnie Caldwell Ronald Louis Caldwell (December 27, 1948 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul and R&B musician. A keyboard player, Caldwell was the only white member of the Bar-Kays musical group based in Memphis, Tennessee. The group recorded with and a ...

, Carl Cunningham and Jimmie King), their

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

Matthew Kelly and the pilot Richard Fraser died along with Redding in a plane crash in

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 east side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes along ...

while on their way to a performance in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

Death

Ben Cauley, Jones' bandmate in the Bar-Kays, was the sole survivor of the accident. Cauley reported that he had been asleep until just seconds before impact, and recalled that upon waking he observed Jones look out a window and say, "Oh, no!" Cauley said that he then unbuckled his seat belt, and that was his final recollection before finding himself in the frigid waters of the lake, grasping a seat cushion to keep himself afloat."Eyewitness Tells of Otis Redding's Violent Death", '' Jet'', December 28, 1967 The specific cause of the crash was never determined. Jones was buried in the New Park Cemetery in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Noted hip-hop and R&B producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, who is James Alexander's son, is named after Jones.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Phalon 1948 births 1967 deaths Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States American male saxophonists People from Tennessee Accidental deaths in Wisconsin Accidents and incidents involving the Beechcraft Model 18 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1967 The Bar-Kays members 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians Musicians killed in aviation accidents or incidents