Too hot to stop (Pt. I) / (same) (Mercury 12" MK-26, 1976) Holy ghost / Monster (Stax 12" D-123, 1978) Give it up / Shine (Mercury 12" MK-87, 1978) Move your boogie body (Mercury 12" MK-120, 1980) Boogie body land (Mercury 12" MK-158, 1980) Body fever (Mercury 12" MK-167, 1980)
Bar-Kays
Jimmy
King (b. 1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (b. 1948; organ), Phalin Jones (b. 1949;
saxophone), Ben Cauley (b. 1947; trumpet), James Alexander (bass) and Carl
Cunningham (b. 1949; drums) were originally known as the River Arrows. Signed to
Stax, the Bar-Kays were groomed as that label’s second string houseband by Al
Jackson, drummer in Booker T. And The MGs. The above sextet scored three R&B
hits in 1967, spearheaded by the powerful, nagging instrumental ‘Soul
Finger’ which deservedly crossed over into the US and UK pop charts. The Bar-Kays
were employed as Otis Redding’s backing group on tour, and the tragic plane
crash in 1967, which took his life, also claimed King, Caldwell, Jones and
Cunningham. Alexander, who fortuitously missed the flight, put a new line-up
together
With
Ben Cauley, the sole survivor of the accident. The latter musician soon dropped
out, leaving the bassist at the helm of a frequently changing line-up. Primarily
a session group, the Bar-Kays provided the backing on many releases, including
Isaac Hayes’s Shaft and several of
Albert King’s 70s recordings. The group pursued a funk-based direction on
their own releases with the addition of vocalist Larry Dodson, but while ‘Son
Of Shaft’ reached the US R&B Top 10 in 1972, consistent success was only
secured on their move to Mercury Records. Later singles, including ‘Shake Your
Rump To The Funk’ (1976), ‘Move Your Boogie Body’ (1979) and ‘Freakshow
On The Dancefloor’ (1984), were aimed squarely at the disco market. Since 1987
the group has featured Dodson, Harvey Henderson (tenor saxophone) and Winston
Stewart (keyboards).
Albums:
Soul Finger (1967), Gotta
Groove (1969), Black Rock (1971),
Do You See What I See (1972), Cold
Blooded (1974), Too Hot To Stop (1976),
Flying High On Your Love
(1978), Light Of Life
(1978), Money Talks (1978), In
Joy (1979), As One (1980), Night
Cruisin’ (1981), Propositions (1982),
Dangerous (1984), Banging
The Wall (1985), Contagious (1987).
Albums:
I Just Can’t Stop It (1980),
Wha’ppen (1981), Special
Beat Service (1982). Compilation:
14/hat
Is Beat (1983).
Albums:
The Beat (1979), The
Kids Are The Same (1982), To Beat Or
Not To Beat (1983, mini— album).