The Bar-Kays | |
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 The Bar-Kays in 1968 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1964–1989; 1991–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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The Bar-Kays are an American funk band [4] 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 1972, and "Boogie Body Land" (R&B number 7) in 1980. [5]
The Bar-Kays began in Memphis, Tennessee, as a studio session group, backing major artists at Stax Records. [6] In 1967, they were chosen by Otis Redding to play as his backing band, and were tutored for that role by Al Jackson, Jr., Booker T. Jones, and the other members of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. [7] Their first single, "Soul Finger", was issued on April 14, 1967, [6] reaching number 3 on the US Billboard R&B Singles chart and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. [5]
On December 10, 1967, Redding and four members of the band—Jimmie King (born June 8, 1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (born December 27, 1948; electric organ), Phalon Jones (born 1948; saxophone), and Carl Cunningham (born 1948; drums)—and their partner, Matthew Kelly, died when their airplane crashed into Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin, [8] while attempting to land at Truax Field. Redding and the band were scheduled to play their next concerts in Madison. Trumpeter Ben Cauley was the only survivor of the crash. [1] [6] Bassist James Alexander was on another plane, as the plane carrying Redding held only seven passengers. Cauley and Alexander rebuilt the group. [6]
The re-formed band consisted of Cauley; Alexander; Harvey Henderson, saxophone; Michael Toles, guitar; Ronnie Gorden, organ; Willie Hall, drums; and later Larry Dodson (formerly of fellow Stax act the Temprees), lead vocals. The group backed dozens of major Stax artists on recordings, including Isaac Hayes on his album Hot Buttered Soul . [6]
Cauley left the group in 1971, leaving Alexander, Dodson (vocals, vibes), Barry Wilkins (guitar), Winston Stewart (keyboards), Henderson (tenor sax, flute), Charles "Scoops" Allen (trumpet), and Alvin Hunter (drums) to create the album Black Rock. [9] Lloyd Smith joined in 1973, and the band changed musical direction during the 1970s, forging a successful career in funk music. [6] With the Stax/Volt label folding in 1975, the group signed with Mercury Records. [10]
In 1976, Dodson (vocals), Alexander (bass), Lloyd Smith (guitar), Allen (trumpet), Henderson (saxophone), Frank Thompson (trombone), Stewart (keyboards), and Mike Beard (drums) brought their "Shake Your Rump to the Funk" track into the R&B Top Five. [10] In autumn 1977, the group came out with Flying High on Your Love, an album that featured "Shut the Funk Up", a "near-perfect disco song punctuated by the funky horn triumvirate of Charles 'Scoop' Allen, Harvey 'Joe' Henderson, and Frank 'Captain Disaster' Thompson and dominated by vocalist Larry 'D' Dodson's call to 'get on up or just shut the funk up'". [11] The group peaked as a funk band from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. They released singles such as "Move Your Boogie Body" (1979), "Hit and Run" (1981), "Freak Show on the Dance Floor" (1984), "Certified True" (1987), "Struck by You" (1989). [6]
In 1983, Sherman Guy left the group, and Larry 'LJ' Johnson took his place on vocals and percussion. Charles Allen left the group just before it took a more commercial direction. [12] The Bar-Kays continued to have hits on R&B charts well into the 1980s. [5]
Guitarist Marcus Price, a member of the band, was murdered in 1984. [13] The crime has never been solved by the Memphis police. [14]
The band took an extended break in the late 1980s but regrouped in 1991, with Alexander once again being the only original member. Since 1991, Larry Dodson, Archie Love, Bryan Smith, and Tony Gentry have been added to the group.[ citation needed ]
Alexander's son is the award-winning rapper and record producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, named after Phalon Jones, who died in the 1967 plane crash. In 2013, the group was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. [15] On June 6, 2015, the Bar-Kays were inducted into the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in Clarksdale, Mississippi. [16]
Trumpeter Ben Cauley died in Memphis on September 21, 2015, at the age of 67. [17]
The Bar-Kays appeared in the 1973 film documentary, Wattstax . [18]
"Freakshow on the Dance Floor" was featured in the first breakdance scene in the 1984 movie, Breakin' . [19]
In the 1985 movie, Spies Like Us , starring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, The Bar-Kays' hit "Soul Finger" was being played by the crew of a Soviet mobile ICBM platform on patrol in the Tajik S.S.R. Their songs "Too Hot To Stop" and "Soul Finger" are featured in the 2007 comedy film, Superbad . "Soul Finger" is also featured in the 2012 remake of Sparkle.[ citation needed ]
The Sugar Hill Gang's 1979 single "Rapper's Delight" contains multiple references to the Bar-Kays.[ citation needed ]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [20] | US R&B [21] | |||||
| 1967 | Soul Finger | — | — | Volt | ||
| 1969 | Gotta Groove | — | 40 | |||
| 1971 | Black Rock | 90 | 12 | |||
| 1972 | Do You See What I See? | — | 45 | |||
| 1974 | Coldblooded | — | — | |||
| 1976 | Too Hot to Stop | 69 | 8 | Mercury | ||
| 1977 | Flying High on Your Love | 47 | 7 |
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| 1978 | Money Talks | 72 | 21 | Stax | ||
| Light of Life | 86 | 15 | Mercury | |||
| 1979 | Injoy | 35 | 2 |
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| 1980 | As One | 67 | 6 | |||
| 1981 | Nightcruising | 55 | 6 |
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| 1982 | Propositions | 51 | 9 | |||
| 1984 | Dangerous | 52 | 7 | |||
| 1985 | Banging the Wall | 115 | 11 | |||
| 1987 | Contagious | 110 | 25 | |||
| 1989 | Animal | — | 36 | |||
| 1994 | 48 Hours | — | — | Basix Music | ||
| 2003 | The Real Thing | — | — | JEA Music | ||
| 2007 | House Party | — | — | IM Records/Koch | ||
| 2012 | Grown Folks [EP] | — | — | Right Now Records | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [5] | US R&B [5] | US Dance [5] | CAN [22] | UK [23] | |||||
| 1967 | "Soul Finger" | 17 | 3 | — | 13 | 33 | |||
| "Knucklehead" | 76 | 28 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Give Everybody Some" | 91 | 36 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | "Son of Shaft" | 53 | 10 | — | — | — | |||
| 1976 | "Shake Your Rump to the Funk" | 23 | 5 | — | — | 41 | |||
| 1977 | "Too Hot to Stop" | 74 | 8 | — | — | — | |||
| "Spellbound" | — | 29 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1978 | "Let's Have Some Fun" | — | 11 | — | — | — | |||
| "Attitudes" | — | 22 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | "Holy Ghost" | — | 9 | — | — | — | |||
| "I'll Dance" | — | 26 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Are You Being Real" | — | 61 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Shine" | — | 14 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Move Your Boogie Body" | 57 | 3 | 90 | — | — | ||||
| "Today Is the Day" | 60 | 25 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1980 | "Boogie Body Land" | — | 7 | 73 | — | — | |||
| "Body Fever" | — | 42 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1981 | "Hit & Run" | — | 5 | 49 | — | — | |||
| 1982 | "Freaky Behavior" | — | 27 | 60 | — | — | |||
| "Do It (Let Me See You Shake)" | — | 9 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | "She Talks to Me With Her Body" | — | 13 | 62 | — | — | |||
| 1984 | "Freak Show on the Dance Floor" | 73 | 2 | — | — | — | |||
| "Sexomatic" | — | 12 | — | — | 51 | ||||
| "Dirty Dancer" | — | 17 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | "Your Place or Mine" | — | 12 | 44 | — | — | |||
| "Banging the Walls" | — | 67 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1987 | "Certified True" | — | 9 | — | — | — | |||
| "Don't Hang Up" | — | 56 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1989 | "Struck by You" | — | 11 | — | — | — | |||
| "Animal" | — | 66 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | "Mega Mix" | — | 96 | — | — | — | |||
| 1995 | "The Slide" | — | 82 | — | — | — | |||
| 2021 | "Perfect Gentleman" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2022 | "Choosey Lover" (feat. Jazze Pha) | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African-American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence in the mid-to late 1990s with the subgenre neo-soul, which added modern production elements and influence from hip-hop.
Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records.
Carla Venita Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz " (1960), "B-A-B-Y" (1966) and "Tramp" (1967), a duet with Otis Redding. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues, country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern black churches. Bass guitar, drums, horn section, and gospel roots vocal are important to soul groove. This rhythmic force made it a strong influence in the rise of funk music. The terms "deep soul", "country soul", "downhome soul" and "hard soul" have been used synonymously with "Southern soul".p. 18
Mary Frierson, later Mary Cross, better known by her stage name of Wendy Rene, was an American soul singer and songwriter. She recorded for Stax Records in the mid 1960s.
Pain in My Heart is the debut album of soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. Redding recorded for Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Volt LPs were initially issued on the Atco label, which released this album.
The Soul Children was an American vocal group who recorded soul music for Stax Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They had three top 10 hits on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart – "The Sweeter He Is" (1969), "Hearsay" (1972), and "I'll Be the Other Woman" (1973) – all of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100.
Ronald Louis Caldwell was an American soul and R&B musician.
King & Queen is a studio album by American recording artists Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. It is Thomas' fourth album and Redding's sixth and the final studio album before his death on December 10, 1967. Influenced by Marvin Gaye's duets, the album features ten covers of soul classics and the eleventh finishing song co-written by Redding.
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.
Phalon R. Jones, Jr. was an American soul and R&B musician. Jones was a saxophonist for musical group the Bar-Kays, which recorded with and also played backup for Otis Redding. Jones and three other members of the Bar-Kays, their valet Matthew Kelly and the pilot Richard Fraser died along with Redding in a plane crash in Lake Monona while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ben S. Cauley Jr. 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 lives of soul singer Otis Redding and four members of the Bar-Kays.
"Soul Finger" is the first single released by R&B group the Bar-Kays. It was issued by Stax Records on the Volt Records label on April 14, 1967.
Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha, is an American songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003. He produced her 2004 single "1, 2 Step," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 as he served as the executive producer for its parent album, Goodies (2004). Released in a joint venture with LaFace Records, the album was met with critical and commercial success, although she parted ways with Sho'nuff shortly after.
The Bo-Keys are a soul jazz band from Memphis, Tennessee, formed as an homage to the city's rich musical tradition.
Coldblooded is an album by the Memphis, Tennessee-based funk band The Bar-Kays. Released in 1974, it was their last album for Volt Records before moving on to Mercury Records in 1976. This album did not chart.
Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Nicknamed the "King of Soul", Redding's style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s.
Injoy is an album by the Memphis, Tennessee-based funk band the Bar-Kays.
Soul Finger is the debut album of the Bar-Kays, issued three months after the single of the same name. It was recorded by Tom Dowd and Chris Huston on Friday, June 23, 1967, at the Stax studio in Memphis. Though all but one member of the group were black, the album cover art, by Loring Eutemey, suggests an interracial pop music party feeling. The instrumental band, after being signed in early 1967, was tutored by Al Jackson, Jr. and the other members of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which shows in the tightness of the rhythm section. That summer they also were selected by Otis Redding as his new backup band.
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding recorded it twice in 1967, including just three days before his death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967. It was released on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous #1 single in the US. It reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart.
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