Inez Foxx (September 9, 1937 – August 25, 2022) and her elder brother Charlie Foxx (October 23, 1933 – September 18, 1998) were an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

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 atte ...

duo from

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie sang

back-up In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back u ...

and played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

, and doubtless many others, mistakenly thought that the two were husband and wife.

Biography

Both children were born in Greensboro to John and Peggy Fox. According to published information in the North Carolina Birth Index, and the U.S. census, Charlie James Fox was born in 1933 and Inez Rebecca Fox in 1937, though subsequent publicity indicated later birth years for both siblings. They changed their professional names to Foxx with a double 'x'. Charlie Foxx began singing with a gospel choir as a child in the early 1950s, and was later joined by his sister Inez. In 1960, Inez traveled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and recorded for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

using her then-married name Inez Johnston, but with little success. In early 1963, the pair introduced themselves to Henry 'Juggy' Murray, the owner of

Sue Records ''Sue Records was also the name of a Louisiana-based record company which owned Jewel Records (Shreveport record label).'' Sue Records ("The Sound of Soul") was an American record label founded by Henry 'Juggy' Murray and Bobby Robinson in 1957. ...

, and sang him their arrangement of the traditional

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

Hush, Little Baby "Hush, Little Baby" is a traditional lullaby, thought to have been written in the Southern United States. The lyrics promise various rewards to the child for remaining quiet. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib. It has a Ro ...

". The song, re-titled "

Mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...

," was released on Sue's subsidiary label Symbol Records in June 1963. The single reached the top 10 on both the US

and pop charts. It was their most successful record, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the RIAA. It was later covered by artists including Aretha Franklin,

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

and Carly Simon,

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

, Etta James with

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

and

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's '' Boomtown'', 19 ...

. The record company, keen to promote Inez Foxx as a solo singer, issued later recordings under her name alone, despite the presence of two voices on the records. Perhaps because "Mockingbird" was seen as a

novelty record A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

, the pair had difficulty following it up, although "Ask Me" and "Hurt by Love" made the lower reaches of the US charts, and "Hurt by Love" also reached the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 1966, the pair joined

Musicor Records Musicor Records was a New York City-based record label, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder and distributed by United Artists Records. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Arthur Talmadge (a co-fo ...

and recorded for its subsidiary label, Dynamo. They returned to the pop charts in 1967 with "(1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count the Days", and became known for their exciting live performances. They toured extensively in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and their music played a key role in the development of the Northern soul movement, in which scene they had the very popular "Tightrope" single. Inez Foxx married songwriter and producer

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B. ...

in the late 1960s. Together they wrote, and he produced,

the Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

' mid-1960s return to hit-making with the single "I Love You 1000 Times". Luther Dixon produced Inez and Charlie's 1967 Dynamo album ''Come By Here'', but the couple later divorced. Inez also had some success recording on her own, beginning in 1969, but her popularity faded in the 1970s. Charlie was already working as a songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

when they finally disbanded their act. Inez continued to record as a solo singer for

Volt 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 ...

in the 1970s. Charlie Foxx died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

in 1998, at the age of 64, and was buried in Mobile, Alabama. Inez Foxx died in Los Angeles on August 25, 2022, at the age of 84 (though some sources incorrectly stated her age as 79).

Discography

Chart singles

Albums

* ''Mockingbird'' (1964) * ''Come By Here'' (1967) * ''Greatest Hits'' (1968) * ''Inez & Charlie Foxx's Swinging Mockin' Band'' (1968) (instrumental album featuring Inez & Charlie Foxx's backing band) * ''Inez Foxx At Memphis'' (1973) (Inez Foxx solo album) * ''Inez & Charlie Foxx'' (1983)

References

External links

Inez & Charlie Foxx
at Soulful Kinda Music * * * (with links to Inez Foxx and Charlie Foxx) {{DEFAULTSORT:Foxx, Inez And Charlie African-American musical groups American rhythm and blues musical groups Male–female musical duos Sibling musical duos Sue Records artists RCA Records artists United Artists Records artists Musical groups from North Carolina Northern soul musicians 1963 establishments in North Carolina 1971 disestablishments in North Carolina Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Rhythm and blues duos American soul musical groups American musical duos