Bar-Kays

    Collection of Bar-Kays

    Initially a funky instrumental soul combo on Stax/Volt, the Bar-Kays were nearly destroyed when most of the band perished in the same plane crash that claimed Otis Redding. Amazingly, the Bar-Kays not only regrouped but prospered, evolving into a popular funk ensemble over the course of the '70s. They continued to score hits on the R&B charts through much of the '80s as well, making for a career longevity that no one would have predicted for Stax's formerly star-crossed number-two house band.

    The Bar-Kays were formed in Memphis, TN, in 1966, growing out of a local group dubbed the Imperials. Modeled on classic Memphis soul instrumental outfits like the Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG's, the Bar-Kays originally included guitarist Jimmy King (not the famed bluesman), trumpeter Ben Cauley, organist Ronnie Caldwell, saxophonist Phalon Jones, bassist James Alexander, and drummer Carl Cunningham. Adopting a mutated version of their favorite brand of rum (Bacardi) as their name, the band started playing heavily around Memphis, and eventually caught the attention of Stax/Volt, which signed the sextet in early 1967. With help from house drummer Al Jackson, Jr., the label began grooming the Bar-Kays as a second studio backing group that would spell Booker T. & the MG's on occasion. That spring, the Bar-Kays cut their first single, "Soul Finger," a playful, party-hearty instrumental punctuated by a group of neighborhood children shouting the title. "Soul Finger" reached the pop Top 20 and went all the way to number three on the R&B chart, establishing the Bar-Kays in the public eye (although the follow-up, "Give Everybody Some," barely scraped the R&B Top 40). Producer Allen Jones began to take an interest in the group and became their manager and mentor; even better, Otis Redding chose them as his regular backing band that summer.

    Unfortunately, disaster struck on December 10, 1967. En route to a gig in Madison, WI, Redding's plane crashed into frozen Lake Monona. He, his road manager, and four members of the Bar-Kays were killed. Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash, and bassist James Alexander had not been on the flight; they soon assumed the heavy task of rebuilding the group. Adding insult to injury, the third and final single released by the original lineup, a cover of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," was virtually ignored. Nonetheless, with Allen Jones' help, Cauley and Alexander assembled a new Bar-Kays lineup featuring guitarist Michael Toles, keyboardist Ronnie Gordon, saxophonist Harvey Henderson, and drummers Roy Cunningham and Willie Hall. At first, their sound was similar to the original lineup, and they were used as the house band on numerous Stax/Volt recording sessions; they also backed Isaac Hayes on his groundbreaking 1969 opus Hot Buttered Soul. Still, they were unable to land a hit of their own, and Cunningham and Gordon both left the group in 1970; the latter was replaced on keyboards by Winston Stewart.

    With 1971's Black Rock album, the Bar-Kays debuted their first-ever lead vocalist, Larry Dodson, and incorporated some of the psychedelic-inspired rock/funk fusions of Sly & the Family Stone and Funkadelic. After playing on Isaac Hayes' hit Shaft soundtrack, Cauley and Toles both joined his backing band permanently, and were replaced by trumpeter Charles "Scoop" Allen and guitarist Vernon Burch. This new lineup took a more mainstream funk direction, scoring a minor hit with a takeoff on Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" dubbed "Copy Cat." The follow-up, another good-humored goof on a recent hit, was "Son of Shaft," which in 1972 became the group's first Top Ten R&B hit since "Soul Finger." That summer, the Bar-Kays played a well-received set at Wattstax (the black answer to Woodstock), but it wasn't enough to keep their commercial momentum going, especially as Stax/Volt headed toward eventual bankruptcy in 1975.

    Armed with new guitarist Lloyd Smith (who'd joined when Burch left in 1973), new drummer Michael Beard, and trombonist Frank Thompson, the Bar-Kays signed with Mercury in 1976 and began the most commercially productive phase of their career. Writing most of their own material and using more synthesizers, their label debut, Too Hot to Stop, was a hit, powered by the smash R&B single "Shake Your Rump to the Funk." The group consolidated their success by opening for George Clinton's P-Funk machine on an extensive tour, and that loose, wild aesthetic was now a more accurate reflection of the Bar-Kays' brand of funk, although they were more easily able to bridge into disco. Follow-up Flying High on Your Love (1977) was the band's first gold record, and Money Talks -- a Fantasy reissue of some previously unreleased Stax material -- produced another Top Ten hit in "Holy Ghost" the following year. Drummer Sherman Guy and keyboardist Mark Bynum subsequently joined the band, and a string of hit albums followed: 1979's Injoy (which featured the Top Five R&B hit "Move Your Boogie Body"), 1980's As One, 1981's Nightcruising (which spawned two hits in "Hit and Run" and "Freaky Behavior"), and 1982's Propositions (more hits in "Do It (Let Me See You Shake)" and "She Talks to Me With Her Body"). All of those albums, save for As One, went gold.

    In 1983, Sherman Guy and Charles Allen left the group, presaging a more commercial direction in keeping with the urban sound of the early '80s. 1984's Dangerous produced one of the group's biggest hits, "Freakshow on the Dancefloor," and a couple more R&B chart hits in "Dirty Dancer" and "Sex-O-Matic." Their sound was becoming derivative, however, and although the group kept recording for Mercury through 1989, the changing musical landscape meant that the hits dried up. By 1987, only Larry Dodson, Harvey Henderson, and Winston Stewart remained; that same year, Allen Jones died of a heart attack, and the group scored its last R&B Top Ten hit with "Certified True." When their contract with Mercury was up, the Bar-Kays called it quits with 1988's Animal. Dodson and original bassist James Alexander put together a short-lived new version of the Bar-Kays for the 1994 album 48 Hours, released on the small Basix label. allmusic by Steve Huey


    Soul Finger (1967)









    01. Soul Finger
    02. Knucklehead
    03. With A Child's Heart
    04. Bar Kays Boogaloo
    05. Theme From Hell's Angels
    06. You Can't Sit Down
    07. House Shoes
    08. Pearl High
    09. I Want Someone
    10. Hole In The Wall
    11. Don't Do That




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/jjdVbdE




    Album: Gotta Groove (1969)









    01. Don't Stop Dancing (To This Music) Part 1
    02. If This World Was Mine
    03. In The Hole
    04. Funky Thang
    05. Jiving 'Round
    06. Grab This Thing
    07. Don't Stop Dancing (To This Music) Part 2
    08. Street Walker
    09. Yesterday
    10. Humpin'
    11. Hey Jude




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/7CAxE7H




    Album: Black Rock (1971)









    01. Baby I Love You
    02. I've Been Trying
    03. You Don't Know Like I Know
    04. Dance To The Music
    05. A Piece Of Your Peace
    06. Six O'clock News Report
    07. How Sweet It Would Be
    08. Montego Bay




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/GnmwyN3




    Album: Do You See What I See (1972)









    01. Do You See What I See
    02. God Is Watching
    03. Be Yourself
    04. You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
    05. You're Still My Brother
    06. I Was Made To Love Her
    07. Your Good Thing (Is About To End)
    08. It Ain't Easy
    09. Love Pollution
    10. People, Unite To Save Humanity
    11. In The Hole
    12. Copycat
    13. Memphis At Sunrise
    14. Medley Son Of Shaft Feel It
    15. I Can't Turn You Loose




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/TkKUrSH




    Album: Cold Blooded (1974)









    01. Cold Blooded
    02. Harmony
    03. In The Scheme Of Things
    04. Waiting And Hating
    05. Smiling, Styling & Profiling
    06. Frame Of Mind
    07. (I've Got To) Use My Imagination
    08. Fighting Fire With Fire
    09. Would I If I Could




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/mk5Y8hU




    Album: Too Hot To Stop (1976)









    01. Too Hot To Stop
    02. You're So Sexy
    03. Bang, Bang
    04. Spellbound
    05. Shake Your Rump To The Funk
    06 Cozy
    07. Summer Of Our Love
    08. White House Orgy




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/3swGRX5




    Album: Flying High On Your Love (1977)










    01. Shut The Funk Up
    02. Standing On The Outside
    03. Woman Of The Night
    04. Whatever It Is
    05. Can't Keep My Hands Off You
    06. Let's Have Some Fun
    07. Attitudes
    08. You Can't Run Away
    09. Flying High On Your Love




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/XUhX5Rk




    Album: Money Talks (1978)










    01. Holy Ghost
    02. Feelin' Alright
    03. Monster
    04. Money Talks
    05. Mean Mistreater
    06. Holy Ghost (Reborn)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/tWgYP5E




    Album: Light Of Life (1978)









    01. Get Up 'N Do It
    02. Shine
    03. I Lean On You, You Lean On Me
    04. Give It Up
    05. Love's Is What It's All About
    06. I'll Dance
    07. We're The Happiest People On Earth
    08. Are You Being Real
    09. Angel Eyes




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/5Scwuat




    Album: Injoy (1979)









    01. More And More
    02. Move Your Boogie Body
    03. Running In And Out Of My Life
    04. Girl I'm On Your Side
    05. Loving You Is My Occupation
    06. Today Is The Day
    07. You've Been
    08. Up In Here




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/YHFBKpG




    Album: As One (1980)










    01. Boogie Body Land
    02. Say It Through Love
    03. Work It Out
    04. Body Fever
    05. As One
    06. Take The Time To Love Somebody
    07. Open Your Heart
    08. Deliver Us




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/SJwkdQZ




    Album: Nightcruising (1981)










    01. Nightcruising
    02. Hit And Run
    03. Feel Like Im Fall In Love
    04. Freaky Behaviour
    05. Touch Tone
    06. Unforgettable Dream
    07. Traffic Jammer
    08. Backseat Driver




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/BGv7v6m




    Album: Propositions (1982)









    01. Propositions
    02. Tripping Out
    03. Anticipation
    04. ( Busted )
    05. Do It (Let Me See You Shake)
    06. She Talks To Me With Her Body
    07. I Can't Believe You're Leaving Me
    08. You Made A Change In My Life




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/JmDUdH7




    Album: Dangerous (1984)










    01. Dangerous
    02. Dirty Dancer
    03. Make Believe Lover
    04. Dance, Party, etc
    05. Freakshow On The Dance Floor
    06. Lovers Should Never Fall In Love
    07. Loose Talk
    08. Sex-O-Matic




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/nDdnwZ3




    Album: Banging The Wall (1985)










    01. Your Place Or Mine
    02. Banging The Walls
    03. Paper Doll
    04. Sex Driver
    05. Dance Your Body, Desara
    06. Love Don't Wait
    07. Missiles On Target
    08. Gina




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/hqkcreT




    Album: Contagious (1987)










    01. Certified True
    02. Don't Hang Up
    03. Many Mistakes
    04. Freak City U.S.A.
    05. Contagious
    06. Something in the Air
    07. This Could Be the Night
    08. Time Out
    09. Touch




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/PWYJu26




    Album: Animal (1989)










    01. Animal
    02. Struck By You
    03. Stop! Look What You're
    04. Missing
    05. Someone Else
    06. Are U Available
    07. Just Like A Teeter Totter
    08. I Adore You
    09. Leaving You
    10. Struck By You (12'' Version)




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/2HCHcrc




    Album: The Best Of (1993)









    01. Too Hot To Stop
    02. Cozy
    03. Shake Your Rump To The Funk
    04. Attitudes
    05. Shut The Funk Up
    06. Standing On The Outside
    07. Shine
    08. I'll Dance
    09. Move Your Boogie Body
    10. Deliver Us
    11. Hit And Run
    12. Anticipation
    13. Freakshow On The Dance Floor
    14. Sexomatic
    15. Certified True
    16. Struck By You




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/Zgh8EBU





    Album: The Best of Bar-Kays (1993)









    01. Too Hot To Stop
    02. Cozy
    03. Shake Your Rump To The Funk
    04. Attitudes
    05. Shut The Funk Up
    06. Standing On The Outside
    07. Shine
    08. I'll Dance
    09. Move Your Boogie Body
    10. Deliver Us
    11. Hit And Run
    12. Anticipation
    13. Freakshow On The Dance Floor
    14. Sexomatic (Album Version)
    15. Certified True
    16. Struck By You




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/WrRagrW




    Album: The Best Of Bar-Kays, Vol. 2 (1996)









    01. Let's Have Some Fun
    02. Boogie Body Land
    03. Do It (Let Me See You Shake)
    04. Spellbound
    05. Flying High On Your Love
    06. I Lean On You-You Lean On Me
    07. Are You Being Real
    08. Freaky Behavior
    09. She Talks To Me With Her Body (12' Mix)
    10. Sexomatic (12' Mix)
    11. Your Place Or Mine
    12. Dirty Dancer
    13. Running In & Out Of My Life
    14. Today Is The Day
    15. Unforgettable Dream
    16. Whitehouseorgy




    http://www.fileserve.com/file/7WG6U8B




    Enjoy!!!!Source URL: http://dejr10.blogspot.com/2011/04/bar-kays.html
    Visit ALL SOUL AND FUNK for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection