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Mar-Keys
The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were an American studio session band for Stax Records, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound. Career Early success with "Last Night" (1961) The group began as The Royal Spades while its members were in high school. They tried to get a record made for the local Satellite Records (the forerunner of Stax), unsuccessfully, even though the label was owned by the mother and uncle of the group's tenor sax player, Charles "Packy" Axton. When the band eventually made a record, Axton's mother, Estelle Axton, convinced them to change their name, and they became "The Mar-Keys". However, the live lineup of the Mar-Keys was not always the same as the band heard on the recordings. Their first and most famous recording was the organ- and saxophone-driven single " Last Night", a number three hit nationally in the US in 1961. It sold over one million copi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Packy Axton
Charles "Packy" Axton (February 17, 1941 – January 20, 1974) was an American rhythm and blues tenor saxophone player and bandleader, who was a member of the Mar-Keys and later the Packers. Early life Charles Everett "Packy" Axton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Everett and Estelle Axton. Estelle Axton and her brother, Jim Stewart, were the founders of Stax Records. He graduated from Messick High School in 1959. Career By 1959, Packy Axton had become a member of the Royal Spades, a group formed by Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Charlie Freeman and Terry Johnson, which expanded to include a horn section composed of Axton, Don Nix, and Wayne Jackson. In 1961, they renamed themselves the Mar-Keys and had a major hit with " Last Night" (number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 2 on the R&B chart). Axton, Cropper and Jackson were the only members of the band to perform on the record; the other parts were played by session musicians. The Mar-Keys quickly fractur ... [...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 soun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Night (Mar-Keys)
"Last Night" is an instrumental recorded by The Mar-Keys. Released in 1961, the track appeared on ''Last Night!'', the first LP released by the Stax label. Background The label of the single gives writing credit simply to "Mar-Keys"; it was registered with BMI as having been written by Charles Axton, Floyd Newman, Gilbert C. Caple, Jerry Lee Smith and Chips Moman. The song is in a twelve-bar blues form, with brief stops, where Floyd Newman intones "Last Night" before his saxophone solo, which is followed by him excaliming "Oh, yeah!" before the last three choruses, including the pauses, before the song's fade. According to Steve Cropper, in an interview with Paul Nassari of the '' Sunday Mail'' newspaper, in Adelaide, Australia, "Jerry Lee ‘Smoochy’ Smith came up with the piano riff that was played on organ. Since roducer ChipsMoman didn't want a guitar on it for whatever reason, I wound up playing the hold-down on the organ on the root note. It hurts me in the Mar-Keys hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Cropper
Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. He also acted as the producer of many of these records. He was later a member of the Blues Brothers band. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him 36th on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, while he has won two Grammy Awards from his seven nominations. Early life Born on a farm near Willow Springs, Missouri, Cropper lived in the nearby towns of Dora and West Plains before moving with his family to Memphis at age nine. In Memphis, where he was exposed to black church music, which, he said, "blew me away". Cropper acquired his first guitar via mail order at age 14. He loved the Five Royals and he admired guitarists including Tal Farlow, Chuck Berry, Ji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Nix
Don Nix (born September 27, 1941, Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an American songwriter, composer, arranger, musician, and author. Although cited as being "one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock", he is a key figure in several genres of Southern rock and soul, R&B, and the blues. He played "Memphis soul" sound. Career A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Nix came from a musical family (his brother, Larry Nix, became a mastering engineer for Stax Records and for the Ardent Studios in Memphis). Don Nix began his career playing saxophone for the Mar-Keys, which also featured Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and others. The hit instrumental single "Last Night" (composed by the band as a whole) was the first of many successful hits to Nix's credit. Without Nix, the Mar-Keys evolved into Booker T. & the M.G.'s. As a producer, Nix worked with other artists and producers, such as Leon Russell of Shelter Records; Gary Lewis and the Playboys in Dick Clark's Caravan of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Jackson (musician)
Wayne Lamar Jackson (November 24, 1941 – June 21, 2016) was an American soul and R&B musician, playing the trumpet in the Mar-Keys, in the house band at Stax Records and later as one of The Memphis Horns, described as "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever". Jackson was born in West Memphis, Arkansas just a few days apart from his musical partner Andrew Love with whom he created the signature horn sound at Stax on hit records by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others. Jackson was also the voice on the Mar-Keys singular hit "Last Night", due in part, to his proximity to the microphone. After the years recording at Stax, they incorporated themselves into The Memphis Horns and began freelancing, recording on sessions for such artists as Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Al Green, and Dusty Springfield. The duo also toured with The Doobie Brothers, Jimmy Buffett, Robert Cray, and numerous other performers. In 2012, the Memphis Horns received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which are the regular performers at a nightclub, especially jazz and R&B clubs. The term can also refer to a group that plays sessions for a specific recording studio. House bands on television shows usually play only cover songs instead of originals, and they play during times that commercials would be seen by the home viewing audience. Therefore, only those present in the studio during the show's taping see their full performances. History House bands emerged with jazz music in Chicago during the 1920s. The practice of using regular backing musicians during studio sessions became customary as a means for record companies to save money and add convenience at a time when the music industry had seen increased studio costs and musical specializa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floyd Newman
Floyd Newman (born August 17, 1931) is a saxophonist, session musician and bandleader. As a baritone sax player, he was long associated with Stax Records, and as a member of The Mar-Keys’ horn section and the Memphis Horns. Born in Memphis, in the late 1940s he became a member of the B.B. King Review, with, among others, George Coleman and George Joyner. Newman later moved to Detroit and recorded with Jackie Brenston, and toured with Sam Cooke before returning to Memphis. Newman also led a band featuring Howard Grimes on drums, Joe Woods on guitar and Isaac Hayes on keyboards, and which performed at the Plantation Inn. This line-up also recorded a 45, “Frog Stomp”, co-written by Newman and Hayes. Newman and Hayes had previously coincided in Ben Branch’s house band at the Tropicana Club, with Hayes as a vocalist.Guralnick, Peter (2002''Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom'', pp. 50–53. Canongate BooksAt Google Books. Retrieved 30 August 2013 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Jackson Jr
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal Alchemist'') or Alphonse Elric, a character in the manga/anime * Al Borland, a character in the ''Home Improvement'' universe * Al Bundy, a character in the television series ''Married... with Children'' * Al Calavicci, a character in the television series ''Quantum Leap'' * Al McWhiggin, a supporting villain of ''Toy Story 2'' * Al, or Aldebaran, a character in ''Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World'' media Music * '' A L'', an EP by French singer Amanda Lear * ''American Life'', an album by Madonna Calendar * Anno Lucis, a dating system used in Freemasonry Mythology and religion * Al (folklore), a spirit in Persian and Armenian mythology * Al Basty, a tormenting female night demon in Turkish folklore * ''Liber AL'', the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a session musician and record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. Hayes and Porter were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of writing scores of songs for themselves, the duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, and others. In 2002, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. " Soul Man", written by Hayes and Porter and first performed by Sam & Dave, was recognized as one of the most influential songs of the past 50 years by the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also honored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, and by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as one of the Songs of the Century. During the late 1960s, Hayes also be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booker T
Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944), American musician and frontman of Booker T. and the M.G.'s * Booker T (wrestler) (born 1965), ring name of American professional wrestler Booker Huffman Also * Booker T. Bradshaw (1940–2003), American record producer, film and TV actor, and executive * Booker T. Laury (1914–1995), American boogie-woogie and blues pianist * Booker T. Spicely (1909–1944) victim of a racist murder in North Carolina, United States * Booker T. Whatley (1915–2005) agricultural professor at Tuskegee University * Booker T. Washington White (1909–1977), American Delta blues guitarist and singer known as Bukka White * Booker T. Boffin, pseudonym of Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums like Elvis Presley's 1969 ''From Elvis in Memphis'' and the 1985 debut album for The Highwaymen. Moman won a Grammy Award for co-writing " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", a 1975 hit for B.J. Thomas. Music career Early years Moman was born in LaGrange, Georgia.Edd Hurt, "Chips Moman: The Cream Interview", ''Nashville Cream'', August 17, 2012 Retrieved 15 June 2016 After moving to |
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