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Bar-Kays
The Bar-Kays are 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 1972, and " Boogie Body Land" (R&B number 7) in 1980. Biography Black rock years The Bar-Kays began in Memphis, Tennessee, as a studio session group, backing major artists at Stax Records. 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. Their first single, " Soul Finger", was issued on April 14, 1967, reaching number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart and number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. 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; saxopho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stax Records
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. Stax was influential in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music. Stax also released gospel, funk, and blues recordings. Renowned for its output of blues music, the label was founded by two siblings and business partners, Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton (STewart/AXton = Stax). It featured several popular ethnically integrated bands (including the label's house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s) and a racially integrated team of staff and artists unprecedented in that time of racial strife and tension in Memphis and the South. According to ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman, the label's use of "one studio, one equipment set-up, the same set of musicians and a small group of songwriters led to a readily identifiable sound. It was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Alexander (musician)
James Alexander (born December 17, 1948) 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. Early life and family Alexander was born at McLemore Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee. In a 2014 interview, he stated that the clinic was across the street from Stax Records' headquarters, and that he grew up about a block away from Stax. Alexander attended Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. He 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. Contrary to widespread belief, James Alexander's relationship, which produced his son Phalon, was not with R&B and gospel singer Deniece "Niecy" Williams, but rather with another woman (herself an experienced singer) named Denise Williams. Career James Alexander was the bassist for the Bar-Kays when four of the six band members, including Jones, were killed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul Finger
"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. Background The song was written by the Bar-Kays while they were rehearsing with Norman West to perform a cover of J. J. Jackson's "But It's Alright".Liner notes, ''The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959–1968''. Atlantic, 1991. p. 31. It begins with the melody of the popular children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and then cuts into the main riff, punctuated with a high trumpet trill. It features a chorus of neighborhood children who had been loitering outside the recording studio; they were instructed to shout "Soul Finger!" and were paid with Coca-Cola. The idea for the title and the shouts came from the Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter. The track was used as the opening theme tune to BBC Radio 1 DJ Stuart Henry's shows from 1969 to 1974. Chart performance "Soul Finger" was a hit in the United States, peaking at numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boogie Body Land
"Boogie Body Land" is a song written by the band members of the Bar-Kays. It was released in 1980 by Mercury Records. "Boogie Body Land" was included in their 1980 album ''As One'' which was produced by Allen Jones. As a single it peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...'' Black Singles and number 73 on the Dance chart. Lowest position was 74 on the latter. Track listing 1980 releases ;7" vinyl * US: Mercury / 45-76088 Personnel * Performer: Bar-Kays * Songwriters: Allen Jones, Charles Allen, Frank Thompson, Harvey Henderson, James Alexander, Larry Dodson, Lloyd Smith, Mark Bynum, Michael Beard, Sherman Guy, Winston Stewart Chart performance References {{authority control 1980 singles 1980 songs Mercury Record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalon Jones
Phalon R. Jones, Jr. (1948 – December 10, 1967) 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 ( Ronnie Caldwell, Carl Cunningham and Jimmie King), 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. 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, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African Americans, African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove (music), groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drum kit, percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with Rhythm section, rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths. Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African Americans, African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove (music), groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drum kit, percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with Rhythm section, rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths. Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 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 on December 10, 1967, seventeen days prior to his 19th birthday, of a plane crash in Lake Monona with Redding and three other band members ( Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham and Jimmie King), their valet Matthew Kelly and the pilot Richard Fraser while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin. Caldwell is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis. External links * 1948 births 1967 deaths Victims of aviation accide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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