The Bar-Kays

Not to be confused with The Mar-Keys, a 1950s/1960s studio session band.
The Bar-Kays
Origin Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Genres R&B, soul, funk
Years active 1966–1989, 1991–present
Labels Stax, Rhino, Island Records
Associated acts Otis Redding, Albert King
Members James Alexander
Larry Dodson
Past members

Vernon Burch (1971-1975)
Ronnie Caldwell
Ben Cauley
Carl Cunningham
Ronnie Gorden
Willie Hall
Harvey Henderson
Phalon Jones
Larry Smith
Charles "Scoops" Allen
Jimmie King
Lloyd Smith
Michael Toles
Marcus Price
Angelo Earl
Winston Stewart
Frank Thompson

(Larry"LJ"Johnson)
James "Jimmi" Kinard

The Bar-Kays are an American soul, R&B, and funk group formed in 1966. The group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (U.S. 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.

History

The Bar-Kays began in Memphis, Tennessee as a studio session musician group, backing major artists at Stax Records. They were chosen in 1967 by Otis Redding to play as his backing band and tutored to do so by Al Jackson, Jr., Booker T. Jones, and the other members of the M.G.'s.[1] Their first single, "Soul Finger", was issued on April 14, 1967, reaching #3 on the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles chart and #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 10, 1967, Redding, his manager, and band members Jimmie King (born June 8, 1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (born 1948; electric organ), Phalon Jones (born 1949; saxophone), and Carl Cunningham (born 1949; drums) died when their airplane plunged into Lake Monona while attempting to land at Truax Field, both near Madison, Wisconsin. Redding and the band were scheduled to play their next concerts in Madison. Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash. Bassist James Alexander was on another plane, as the plane only held seven passengers. Cauley and Alexander rebuilt the group.

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 afterwards, including Isaac Hayes's Hot Buttered Soul.

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.[2] Lloyd Smith joined in 1973 and the band changed musical direction during that decade to have a successful funk music career. With the Stax/Volt label folding in 1975, the group signed with Mercury Records.[3] 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.[3] In the Fall of 1977, the group came out with Flying High on Your Love, an album that featured Shut The Funk Up as a "near-perfect disco song punctuated by the funky horn triumvirate of Charles "Scoop" Allen."[4]

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 the group took a more commercial direction.[5] Nonetheless, the Bar-Kays continued to have hits on R&B charts well into the 1980s. Marcus Price was also a member of the Bar-Kays, until he was murdered coming from rehearsal in 1984, a crime never solved by the Memphis police. The band took a hiatus in the late 1980s, but regrouped in 1991, with Alexander once again being the only original member involved. Since 1991, Larry Dodson, Archie Love, Bryan Smith, and Tony Gentry have been added to the group.

Alexander's son is the award-winning rapper and record producer, Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, who was named after deceased band-member Phalon Jones. Jazze Pha produced the most recent effort by the group, "Grown Folks", released in 2012.

Discography

Albums

Singles

In popular culture

The Bar-Kays appear in the 1973 film documentary, Wattstax.

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".

References

  1. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-bar-kays/id382848
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The great rock discography. The National Academies. p. 144. ISBN 1841953121. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Thompson, Dave (2001). Funk. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 74. ISBN 0879306297. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All music guide to soul: the definitive guide to R&B and soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 35. ISBN 0879307447. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All music guide to soul: the definitive guide to R&B and soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 34. ISBN 0879307447. Retrieved 19 March 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bar-Kays.