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

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and R&B

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Jones was a

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

for musical group

the Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...

, 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 regarded as 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, 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 "va ...

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 ...

while on their way to a performance in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

Death

Ben Cauley Ben S. Cauley Jr. (October 3, 1947 – September 21, 2015) was an American trumpet player, vocalist, songwriter, and founding member of the Stax recording group the Bar-Kays. He was the only survivor of the 1967 plane crash that claimed the live ...

, 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 Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Noted

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

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 Musicians 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