Stax Funk – Wattstax, STAX 50: Isaac Hayes , Booker T & The MG’s, Staple Singers, Albert King, William Bell, David Porter, Mabel John, Steve Cropper, Dramatics, Emotions, Bar-Kays, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus Thomas, Memphis, Emotions, Bar-Kays, Dramatics, Johnnie Taylor, Booker T. and & M.G.s, Rufus Thomas, Staple Singers, Mad Lads, Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas, Otis Redding , Soul Children, William Bell

PRESS RELEASE: Kirk Whalum now CEO of Soulsville Foundation!!

We are pleased to announce to you that internationally renowned jazz and gospel musician and native Memphian KIRK WHALUM has joined the Stax Museum, Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School as our new President & CEO! Please join us in welcoming this incredible new addition to the Soulsville Family! Kirk brings a wealth of music industry and show business expertise to the Foundation and will help us tell the world about all of the great work that we do. We are also pleased to announce that Mark Wender (pictured with Kirk) has joined the Soulsville Foundation as Chief Operating Officer. Mark has a long and prestigious career in various aspects of business, video production, and working with nonprofit organizations. Please join us in welcoming him as well.

–Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earthjuice@prodigy.net

L-R: Mabel John, Al Bell, David Porter, Isaac Hayes and Steve Cropper

Isn’t that a great picture? It was taken at a press confrence that I attended in NYC where the plans for the plans the STAX 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2007 I just wanted to share with you all the following press release from earlier this year regarding the reactivation of the legendary STAX label.

STAX RECORDS/CONCORD MUSIC GROUP TO ISSUE STAX 50: A 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION BOX SET

Deluxe 2-CD set, out March 13, 2007, includes all the major Stax hits, digitally remastered with extensive liner notes

Features Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Little Milton and many more

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The 50th anniversary of the legendary soul label Stax Records will kick off with the release of a deluxe edition 50-song, 2-CD box set titled Stax 50: A 50th Anniversary Celebration. The most comprehensive Stax hits collection ever – featuring for the first time all major Stax hit singles – Stax 50 will formally inaugurate Concord Music’s re-launch of Stax. The set is packaged in a hardcover box with lenticular cover art of the famous snapping finger logo. Street date is set for March 13, 2007.

Last month, Concord Music Group announced a year of activity that will include deluxe reissues, special events and the reactivation of the legendary label with a slate of new artist signings.

Stax 50 features hits from the Memphis label’s heyday of the 1960s and ’70s, including the many legendary artists who jointly created the “Stax sound,” among them Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, The Dramatics, Little Milton, The Mar-Keys, Mel & Tim, Jean Knight, and The Emotions.

Stax Records holds a critical place in American music history as one of the most popular soul music record labels of all time – second only to Motown in sales and influence, but first in gritty, raw, Southern-steeped soul music. Stax placed more than 167 hit songs in Billboard’s Hot 100 pop charts as well as a staggering 243 hits on the R&B charts. In addition to the “core” artists who appear on Stax 50, the label was also home to recordings by Albert King, Big Star, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley and even the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

As noted in Stax historian Rob Bowman’s extensive liner notes for the box, “The story of Stax Records is about as improbable and unforeseeable as any tale could possibly be.” The label was launched in Memphis by a white country fiddler named Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton. The name came from combining the first two letters of each of their last names. Originally known as Satellite Records, with a roster that spanned pop to blues to rockabilly, the label’s 1960 name change to Stax cemented the label’s commitment to R&B and soul, commencing with Rufus & Carla Thomas’ “‘Cause I Love You.” Within a short time, Stax, based in a former movie theater on Memphis’ McLemore Avenue, grew into a self-contained indie powerhouse with its own studio, A&R staff, writers, producers and house band.

Concord Music Group, which acquired the legendary Memphis label as part of its purchase of Fantasy Records in 2004, will also honor Stax’s 50th year by releasing definitive collections, rare performances, unreleased tracks and more from the Memphis R&B imprint in deluxe new packages. Plans for digital releases, remixes and other projects are also in the works; the anniversary year’s releases are slated to include more than 20 CDs and DVDs.

In addition, Concord Music Group will reactivate Stax this year as a dynamic new force in contemporary R&B music committed to the power and legacy of their forbearers. The first new Stax signings are Isaac Hayes and Angie Stone.

I think that this is some pretty exciting news. In fact I’d go so far as to say that this is probably the biggest story of the year thus far in the arena of Soul Music. This means two things: 1. We will be getting brand new/updated STAX compilations (which we are featuring in this issue of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter) 2. We will be getting NEW music from STAX as well featuring both classic artists and newer artists. All of this is happening as the STAX Museum celebrates the 50th year of the label itself. All of this in my mind is pretty important because it helps to better place the past into the proper perspective and it also sets the stage for the future.

–Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration [BOX SET] [IMPORT]
(50 tracks)

Disc: 1

1. Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes) – Carla Thomas
2. Last Night – The Mar-Keys,
3. You Don’t Miss Your Water – William Bell
4. Green Onions – Booker T. & the MG’s
5. Walking the Dog – Rufus Thomas
6. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) – Otis Redding
7. Candy – The Astors
8. Respect – Otis Redding
9. You Don’t Know Like I Know – Sam & Dave
10. I Want Someone – The Mad Lads
11. Hold On! I’m Comin’ – Sam & Dave
12. Let Me Be Good to You – Carla Thomas
13. Your Good Thing (Is About to End) – Mable John
14. Knock on Wood – Eddie Floyd
15. B-A-B-Y – Carla Thomas
16. Tramp – Otis & Carla
17. Soul Finger – The Bar-Kays,
18. Born Under a Bad Sign – Albert King
19. Soul Man – Sam & Dave
20. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
21. I Got a Sure Thing – Ollie & the Nightingales
22. Soul Limbo – Booker T. & the MG’s
23. I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) – Eddie Floyd
24. What a Man – Linda Lyndell
25. Private Number – William Bell, Judy Clay
26. Who’s Making Love – Johnnie Taylor
27. I Forgot to Be Your Lover – William Bell
28. I Like What You’re Doing (To Me) – Carla Thomas

Disc: 2

1. Time Is Tight – Booker T. & the MG’s
2. So I Can Love You – The Emotions
3. Walk on By – Isaac Hayes
4. Do the Funky Chicken – Rufus Thomas
5. Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone – Johnnie Taylor
6. Mr. Big Stuff – Jean Knight
7. Never Can Say Goodbye – Isaac Hayes
8. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get – The Dramatics
9. Respect Yourself – The Staple Singers
10. Theme from Shaft – Isaac Hayes
11. Son of Shaft – The Bar-Kays,
12. That’s What Love Will Make You Do – Little Milton
13. I’ve Been Lonely for So Long – Frederick Knight
14. Hearsay – The Soul Children
15. In the Rain – The Dramatics
16. I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
17. Starting All Over Again – Mel & Tim
18. Dedicated to the One I Love – The Temprees
19. If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me) – The Staple Singers
20. Cheaper to Keep Her – Johnnie Taylor
21. I’ll Be the Other Woman – The Soul Children
22. Woman to Woman – Shirley Brown

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Very Best of Isaac Hayes [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
(18 tracks)

1. Precious, Precious
2. Walk on By
3. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
4. I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself
5. I Stand Accused
6. Look of Love
7. Never Can Say Goodbye
8. Theme from Shaft
9. Do Your Thing
10. Let’s Stay Together
11. Soulsville
12. Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) – Isaac Hayes, David Porter
13. Theme from The Men
14. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right
15. Rolling Down a Mountainside [From Wattstax]
16. Joy, Pt. 1
17. Wonderful
18. Title Theme [From Three Tough Guys]

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Very Best of Booker T & The MG’s [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
(16 tracks)

1. Green Onions
2. Chinese Checkers
3. Mo’ Onions
4. Soul Dressing
5. Boot-Leg
6. My Sweet Potato
7. Booker-Loo
8. Hip Hug-Her
9. Groovin’
10. Slim Jenkins’ Place
11. Soul-Limbo
12. Heads or Tails
13. Hang ‘Em High
14. Over Easy
15. Time Is Tight
16. Mrs. Robinson
17. Soul Clap ’69
18. Something
19. Sunday Sermon
20. Melting Pot

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Very Best of Staple Singers [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
(20 tracks)

1. Long Walk to D.C.
2. Ghetto
3. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay
4. When Will We Be Paid
5. Brand New Day (Theme from the Landlord)
6. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom)
7. Love Is Plentiful
8. Who Took the Merry out of Christmas
9. You’ve Got to Earn It
10. Respect Yourself
11. I’ll Take You There
12. This World
13. Oh La de Da
14. Be What You Are
15. If You’re Ready (Come Go with Me)
16. Touch a Hand, Make a Friend
17. City in the Sky
18. My Main Man/There Is a God
19. Back Road into Town
20. I Got to Be Myself

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Very Best of Albert King [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
(20 tracks)

1. Laundromat Blues
2. Oh, Pretty Woman
3. Crosscut Saw
4. Born Under a Bad Sign
5. Cold Feet
6. (I Love) Lucy – Booker T. & the MG’s, Albert King,
7. Blues Power
8. Drowning on Dry Land
9. Tupelo, Pt.1 – Steve Cropper, Albert King, , Roebuck “Pops” Staples
10. Water – Steve Cropper, Albert King, , Roebuck “Pops” Staples
11. Wrapped Up in Love Again
12. Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me
13. Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
14. Angel of Mercy
15. I’ll Play the Blues for You, Pt. 1
16. Breaking Up Somebody’s Home
17. Playing on Me
18. That’s What the Blues Is All About
19. Flat Tire
20. Crosscut Saw

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

Very Best of William Bell [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]
(20 tracks)

1. You Don’t Miss Your Water
2. Any Other Way
3. Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need)
4. Never Like This Before
5. Everybody Loves a Winner
6. Eloise (Hang on in There)
7. Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday
8. Tribute to a King
9. Every Man Oughta Have a Woman
10. Private Number – William Bell, Judy Clay
11. I Forgot to Be Your Lover
12. My Baby Specializes – William Bell, Judy Clay
13. My Whole World Is Falling Down
14. Happy
15. Born Under a Bad Sign
16. All for the Love of a Woman
17. Save Us
18. Lovin’ on Borrowed Time
19. I’ve Got to Go on Without You
20. Gettin’ What You Want (Losin’ What You Got)

Click here for more info

–Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net

MEMPHIS WDIA-AM 1070 HISTORY (AMERICA’S FIRST BLACK PROGRAMMED RADIO STATION):

WDIA Sign-On, Goodwill Revue, Comedy Acts, Pigmeat Markham, Ray Charles, Jingles, Vintage Commercials, WDIA Talk Shows, Martin Luther King Poem, Nat D. Williams, Rufus Thomas, Beale Street.

LISTEN TO SOUL-PATROL’S 90 MIN. BROADCAST OF ‘SOUL COMES HOME (Celebration of Stax Records and Memphis Soul Music ): Eddie Floyd, Jean Knight, William Bell, BookerT. & the MG’s, Little Milton, Isaac Hayes, The Bar-Kays w/Chuck D, Michael McDonald, Carla Thomas/Michael McDonald, Al Green Solomon Burke, Sir Mack Rice, Rance Allen, Mavis Staples

**Stax Funk – Wattstax, Isaac Hayes, Dramatics, Emotions, Bar-Kays**
	Stax History I grew you listening to WLAC Nashville and WDIA Memphis.And guess what? Rufus “Dog” Thomas still has a Saturday evening song on WDIA. As for mentioning some memphis artist, man they had some greats pass thur Memphis. Remember: The Dramictics “I Wanna go outside in the Rain”and what about Booker T & the MG’s-Green Onions. What about Mel and Tim”starting all over again.I can go on and on. Here’s some I still remember by the color of the labels on the 45’s. Sam and Dave, Jean Knight, Otis Redding, Rufus and Carla Thomas. The Staple Singers also. –JW Kidd One of the most important companies in Black music history. Stax is most often compared to Motown, but in this context, Stax can be viewed quite differently. Much more than simply being the Southern Branch Of Soul Music during the sixties. Stax, viewed in its proper context should be seen more as an incubator for FUNK. Ironically but not untypically, the label was founded by a white guy, Jim Stewart, whose musical background was actually in country music. During the late sixties and early 70s Stax was far more identified with both the emerging Black Power movement and its cousin……FUNK than Motown ever would be. They were a driving force behind the black music of the 70’s. They had many a great artists performing for them. We won’t ever forget the Emotions, Isaac Hayes (I Stand Acussed), the Staple Singers (I’ll Take You There). A lot of their artists produced a large volume of the sound tracks from the movies of the 70’s. Isaac Hayesfrom Stax produced Shaft and other songs like I Stand Acussed and many others. The Staple Singers produced I’ll Take You There and many other great songs. However in my opinion we haven’t been giving Stax the respect that it deserves. They were a great record company with a great roster of artists, produced a lot of classic jams in blues, soul, funk and rock. Very diverse, very southern very cool.
	Wattstax – “Black Woodstock” August 1972 brought the Watts Summer Festival which commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots and achievements by blacks. Sponsored by Stax Records and Schlitz Beer, the festival ended with a seven hour concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum attended by 100,000 people. The proceeds benefited the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, the Martin Luther King Hospital in Watts and future festivals. Hosted by Reverend Jesse Jackson, the show featured Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Kim Weston, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, The Soul Children, Richard Pryor, The Emotions, and The Dramatics. The concert was filmed and Wattstax was released as a movie and a double album (and another album the following year of material not included in the first). The concert and movie were very powerful in affirming unity and pride in the black community. I remember seeing the movie as a teenager and the impact it made on me and my friends. –Jose Munoz
	Isaac Hayes – “Black Moses” Isaac Hayes – “Black Moses” 1. Never can say goodbye 2. (They long to be) Close to you 3. Nothing takes the place of you 4. Mans temptation 5. Never gonna give you up 6. Medley: Ikes rap II – Help me love 7. Need to belong to someone 8. Good love 6-9969 9. Medley Ikes rap III – Your love is so doggone good 10. For the good times 11. I’ll never fall in love again 12. Part-time love 13. Medley – Ikes rap IV – A brand new me 14. Going in circles I have Isaac Hayes to thank for saving me from a bad situation. One of his songs came on the radio just in time to keep me from going through a bad situation. Isaac Hayes was great in his days. I know we all remember Shaft. He made great music during the days when blacks were being portrayed in the movies as drug dealers, pimps, murders and bums (black umemployed males). It’s sad to say that those seemed to be the only roles blacks could get back in the late 60’s and early 70’s but the music that went along with the movies was great. It’s too bad that Isaac Hayes last attempt at music was not much of a success. I would love to hear him sing some more. That HOT BUTTERED SOUL album has some great grooves. I had some extra space at the end of a tape I was just making for a friend, so I put “Hyperbolicsyllabic…” on there. Well, the extra space was no accident. I made sure to use an extra-long tape so there’d be room at the end for that track. That cut is so funky–I just had to get it on there to share it.
	Dramatics The Dramatics signed to Stax-Volt Records in 1968. The first Volt single,”Your Love Was Strange”, flopped, and the Dramatics were dropped by the company, they were resigned two years later and placed under the direction of songwriter and producer Tony Hester. The Hester sound, which showcased the group’s multilead vocals, immediately took the Dramatics to the top. The lively “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” gave them their first gold single, and the album of the same title yielded “In The Rain”, a ballad that went Number One R&B and number five Pop. An eight month cross-country tour with James Brown helped to solidify a fervent following for the group. After years of spilt-ups and solo records, the Dramatics finally regrouped in 1983 for a reunion record and decided to keep it together (with the exception of Howard). Aside from their world-wide touring schedule, they have recently contributed their material and voiced to numerous special projects, including “Doggy Doggy World”. This track was a part if the highly successful “Doggystyle”, the Number One Album debut by controversial rapper Snoop Doggy Dog. Looking through my collection, I ran across : The Dramatics – “Joy Ride” which include hits like: Side: 1 1. Finger Fever 2. Richest Man Alive 3. Stand Up And Move 4. Sing And Dance Your Troubles Away 5. I Get Carried Away Side: 2 1. Be My Girl 2. After This Dance 3. Say The Word 4. I Can’t Get Over You 5. Sundown Is Coming (Hold Back The Night) The orginal members of this album: L. J. Reynolds, Lenny Mayes, Willie Ford, Larry Demps & Ron Banks. I find it had to find a group of such into the “rap” style of music. Oh the Dramatics..My most memorable one would have to be “Toast To The Fool”…But you know there was one song that made people sit up and pay attention..”The Devil Is Dope”..”Brothers and Sistas…The Devil is Dope..Out To Get Your Soul..While Your Gettin High Lucifer Is Out To Get Your Soul..He’ll Make You A Slave…Dont You Help Your Pusher Man..He’ll Pull You Down,Down Down…. Very Meaningful Lyrics..And with so many of our people “enslaved” to crack cocaine…also very appropriate and applicable to today’s society…… One of my favorite Dramatic tunes was “Hey You Get Off My Mountain”. That songs brings back really great memories for me. My Aunt in her older age use to like that song also. I had her listening to it. To bad I can’t go back to those days of yesteryear and relive those wonderful moments. Actually I enjoyed the video the Dramatics did with Snoop very much because of all the 70’s refrences (always good to see Pam Grier again) !! Plus it showed me that Snoop has a keen sense of just where the roots of hip hop really lie. His view doesn’t seem to be shared by many hip hop fans. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get “Some people …are made of plastic” “Some people….are made of wood” “Some people….have hearts of stone” “Some people….are just up to NO GOOD” “But baby…..I’m for REAL” “I’m as REAL…as REAL can get” “And if what your lookin for…..id REAL lovin” “Then What You See ……Is What You Get” !! Me and Mrs. Jones….loved the Dramatics version of this….and then who could forget “Be My Girl ” ??? Made ya wanna just say yes !!!!!! lol Guess I will have to dub u this one !!!!! The Dramatics version is a BADD SLOW JAMMM!!!!!!
	Emotions SO I CAN LOVE YOU Uh huh.yeah,uh huh,yeah Come on back (Come on back)…. I’m not ready to let you go Come on back (Come on back)…. Baby.I’m not ready to let you go No no no no I will tell you when I’m ready……. (Tell you when I’m ready) Got to.got to let you know…… (I got to let you know) * Don’t walk away from me,babv…… (Like that) ‘Cause she came into the room……. (Don’t turn your back) ‘Cause you’re gonna tell her today That I mean what I say…… (And tell her right away) When I say stay right here.baby……I just can’t let you go Stay right here,baby……. So I can love you.love you A little bit more When I say stay right here,baby So I can love you,Iove you a little bit…….So I can love you,Iove you a little bit So I can love you.uh huh,yeah So I can love you,uh huh,yeah * * So I can love you,uh huh,yeah So I can love you Just a little bit Ionger.baby (* * Repeat with ad lib and fade) ======================== Oh Why!! That is one baadaasss track! I loved the Emotions before they jumped ship to Columbia, back when they were on STAX Records. They were vocal divas! This song came out when I was in the 9th grade and I remember it well because it got played at all of the school dances I attended that year. There is just “something” that the voice of a 22 year old woman does to the hormones of a 13 year old boy. Whatever that “something” is has stayed with me for all these years. I still listen to the song often as it still does that “something” to me each & every time that I listen to it. The song came out in 1969 and it represents a real turning point in the approach of female singers. As noted earlier, when it comes to slo jams there is a differnce between FUNK & Soul music. The fact that “So I Can Love You” came out in 1969 is no accident. The period between 1968-1972 is a transitional one for Black music as Soul music is becoming Funky. The singers on “So I Can Love You” are not begging, they are demanding: “Stay Right here baaaaaby, sooooo I can LOVE you….LOVE you…….(just a little bit more)…..uhhh uhhh yeah….Come on back….COME ON BACK…I’M NOT READY TO LET YOU GO……..NO NO NO….I WILL TELL YOU WHEN I’M READY” This kind of thing represents a major shift in thinking away from the “Come See About Me” ? ..kind of thinking best illustrated by groups such as the Supremes Perhaps this change was in part due to the growing influence at this time of the Womans Liberation movement, where women were now demanding to be heard and acknowleged ? Hey Baby Bro…Im right here…Now why you gotta go there….darn… sitting here in this place all alone..and yall know thats my JAM !!!!!!!!! The Emotions have got to be one of the baddest girl groups ever formed… now this one will make you get yo grind on !!! HEY HEY HEY !!!!! yep they had it goin on !!!! U go ladies !! Strong and assertive lyrics certainly were a distinguishing point about the Emotions. I think that sometimes it’s too easy at tymes to just “clump” them into a pack of “nameless & faceless girl groups” without looking at the essence of what they were really doing.The Emotions were truly grounbreakers in my opinion for women in Funk. That’s why it’s no surprise that later on they hooked up with EWF !! Hey man these ladies were baaad.That song was a theme song at dances and parties.Remember that organ on this song?? I can’t begin to tell you just how important this song has always been to me…….:) Someone once told me that GRINDING is something like having sex with your clothes on……..(& “So I Can Love You” is one of the very best songs ever made to GRIND off of…..:)) “So I Can Love You”! Excellent choice from the power female group of the past. “Uh huh yeah”; Liked it very much. The sweet sensuous sound of the Emotions was great. They hadvery simple lyrics which were worth their weight in gold! Many times, simple is best especially when it comes to dealing with human emotions. Sometimes the sheer simplicity of it all can get lost in our desire to sometimes over analyze things to death. The music/message of the Emotions for me is something “to take to the bank.” I love the Emotions. I still have that album from way back in. I was in 10th grade I believe. I remember one of my little boyfriends tried to sing it to me.Boy that brings back memories. It was played at my tenth grade prom and I remember me and a couple girlfriends got in front of everyone and sang that song. That was the good ole days. Music just isn’t what it used to be. The music seemed to have a message to it back then. Have a good one. For me this was a truly powerful song that is one which has stayed with me all these years. Your right they certainly don’t make them like this anymore !! I wonder if the Emotions were just coming on the scene today, if they could even get a record deal ?? It’s one of my all time favorites………………:)
	Bar-Kay’s Soul Finger! Soul Finger! 🙂 I even got to play that one in high school pep band. It was always a fun one to jam on…. Hey You got that one right on the money…Soul Finger is the Jam…….hmmmm…somewhere round 1967….the song went to # 3 on the Billboard R&B charts…Sadly enough however..several members of the original band were killed in December of 1967 in a plane crash with Otis Redding…as we know the two remaining original members went on to reform the band and came out totally FUNKIN in the 70’s !!!!! “Son Of Shaft”, “Humpin”, “In The Hole”, “Holly Ghost”,”I Thank You”, “Don’t Stop Dancing” (parts 1&2), “Memphis Sunrise”. The Bar-Kay’s were some badd MF’s !!!! “You didn’t have to love me like you did… but you did….” The Bar-Kay’s were a nice compliment to Booker T & the MG’s and I always thought are what Booker T & the MG’s would havesounded like if they had stayed together. I remember seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn playing “Soul Finger” once at a concert Listening to the Bar-Kays tear it up behind Otis on his live recordings, I know the original band were some serious MFs to deal with. But I don’t know anything about the second edition that was popular in the ’70s. Did that group have a vocalist, or did they remain an instrumental band? I wonder because of your quote from “I Thank You,” which of course was originally a great Sam and Dave record. How did the Bar-Kays approach the song? The Bar-Kay’s had a vocalist (Larry Dodson) and also still played instrumentals in the second edition. James Alexander – bass & Ben Cauley – trumpet survived the plane crash and put a new band together and in 1970, when Booker T & the MG’s left became the “first string” house band at Stax. They played behind Isaac Hayes on “Hot Buttered Soul” & “Shaft” so that will give you a pretty good idea of what they sounded like. Another thing about the second edition of the Bar-Kay’s that distingued them from the first edition was how they dressed. Several of the members would appear on stage in blonde wigs and what I might call “Jimi Hendrix type threads“, very different from the band that toured with Otis. Did they play behing Otis at Monterey ??? If they did I wonder if they had a chance to meet Jimi Hendrix and were influenced by him ? I can’t remember off the top of my head who played with Otis at Monterey, but the Bar-Kays would be a good guess. I’ll have to check my Stax/Volt and Otis stuff next time I get back to my parents’ house–most of my music collection is still there. I do know that Monterey made a big impression on Otis and the Stax people, however. People who knew Otis said it was a real eye-opener for him to see such a large crowd of white hippies go so crazy for his set. The Monterey experience had a direct influence on the approach he took torecording “Dock of the Bay.” I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jimi Hendrix Experience had a big influence on Stax style, as well! I’m a big time Bar-Kays fan, I loved them on Stax records.Also I can remember back in the 70’s they tour as much as any band of the period.Holy Ghost is still you of my favorites as well as the whole “Flying high on your Love”album.Also the story of James Alexander missed the plane with Otis Redding is still a topic of discussion with funk fans. I heard that Larry Blackmon of Cameo once said he tour with the Bar-kays to learn the ropes.Also the Barkays had some nice slow songs back then,anybody remember them. I can understand why Larry Blackmon wanted to tour with them.. The Bar-Kays had it goin on..However I dont feel that they ever really got the recgonition the deserved..do you ?? Boy…I was into the Bar-Kay’s also as well as the rest of the artists on Stax. Whew…the Memphis sound. How many artists can we name from that city? Also how does that sound compare to the Muscle Shoals Mississippi sound? Did’nt some of the same musicians also work at Stax? I tore up many dance floor and wore out many a brotha on Holy Ghost !!!! Oh yeah..Oh Yeah…… You “wearin out brothas” again I see ??………..lol I always dug “Shake Your Rump To The Funk” !!! (s) Glad to hear your such a big fan…You and I could have probably worked out a time or two to Holy Ghost !! lol