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The Bar-Kays

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Memphis, United States

The Bar-Kays were a popular Memphis, Tennessee, soul, R&B, and funk group performing from 1966 that continues in some form to perform today, although with only one original member. They began as a favorite soul studio sessions group backing major artists at Stax Records, chosen in 1967 by Otis Redding to play as his touring backup band.

On December 10, 1967, Redding, his manager, and band members Jimmy King (b.1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (b. 1948; organ), Phalon Jones (b. 1949; saxophone), and Carl Cunningham (b. 1949; drums) died in a plane crash in Lake Monona while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin.

Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash and bassist James Alexander (who missed the flight due to returning a rental car) rebuilt the group.

The reformed band consisted of Cauley; Alexander; Harvey Henderson, saxophone; Michael Toles, guitar; Ronnie Gorden, organ; Willie Hall, drums and later Larry Dodson, lead vocals.

The group backed dozens of major Stax artists on recordings afterwards, including on Isaac Hayes’ Hot Buttered Soul album, and changed direction in the 1970s to have a successful funk music career. Lloyd Smith joined the Bar-Kays in 1973. They continued to score hits on R&B charts well into the 1980s and lately have incorporated contemporary rap & remix elements into their continuing career and have performed all over the world.

Tagged as:

funk, soul, rhythm and blues, stax, 60s
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Top Albums

Soul Finger
The Bar-Kays
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The Best of the Bar-Kays
The Bar-Kays
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Too Hot to Stop
The Bar-Kays
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The Best of Bar-Kays
The Bar-Kays
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Top Tracks

1	Soul Finger full track	719
2	Holy Ghost full track	259
3	Son Of Shaft full track	198
4	Too Hot To Stop full track	188
5	Shake Your Rump To The Funk full track	132
6	Hit And Run full track	76
7	Move Your Boogie Body full track	68
8	Knucklehead	63
9	Cozy	46
10	Freakshow on the Dance Floor full track	45
11	Humpin' full track	42
12	Sang and Dance	33
13	You Can't Run Away full track	30
14	Let's Have Some Fun full track	26
15	A Hard Day's Night	25

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Hayzi22 wrote:
last month

The Bar-Kays is my favorite.

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shaktikaa wrote:
December 2009

FFFFFFFFUNKYYYYYYY!!!!

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lutollo wrote:
October 2009

ALMOST MISSED OUT ON THE OTHER ALBUMS BECAUSE OF THE NAME THING...MUST BE AN ARGUMENT WITHIN THE MEMBERS OF THE BAND.

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1eiht7 wrote:
September 2009

Why doesn't Bar-Kays redirect here instead of being a separate thing?

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semdeboche wrote:
July 2009

dont stop dancing!

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lfcjake wrote:
May 2009

bitchin song, love it.

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ladyjan wrote:
January 2009

Love it ooooooom my time let do the Freak!!!!!!! R I P .Bro`s

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brasmeta01 wrote:
December 2008

Take a trip to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s! Go now: http://www.youtube.com/brasmeta01 http://brasmeta01.blogspot.com http://www.lastfm.com.br/user/brasmeta01 http://www.lastfm.com.br/user/brasmeta01/personal http://www.imeem.com/brasmeta01 http://www.youtube.com/playtv10 My MP3 Shared Virtual Disk on 4shared Site: http://www.4shared.com/dir/10428534/42b27ca7/sharing.html Jr. and sons

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FiyahG wrote:
November 2008

trippin out!

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ritesofspring wrote:
October 2008

Hit & Run, In The Hole, Soul Finger FTW!

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theinfamousvale wrote:
October 2008

SHUT THE FUNK UP.

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ShayPtru wrote:
August 2008

woah!! this is awesome..i luv freakshow on the dancefloor..that track is hot why isn't it most played

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film_ronin wrote:
May 2008

SPECIAL $5 MUSEUM ADMISSION MAY 11TH - 18TH!!! STAX MUSEUM OFFERS SPECIAL $5 ADMISSION TO CELEBRTATE NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK AND THE MUSEUM'S FIFTH BIRTHDAY! Come help the Stax Museum of American Soul Music celebrate National Tourism Week with our special admission price of just $5 for everyone Sunday, May 11 - Sunday, May 18!! This is for regular museum hours: Monday - Saturday 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. and

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SeventhHeaven wrote:
May 2008

freakshow baby baby on the dance floor it's just a freakshow!

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whitebicycle wrote:
April 2008

@ all the Superbad initiates: check out the boss Funk Essentials series from Mercury. The Funky Stuff compilations are a great place to cut your funky teeth.

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mikeroach113 wrote:
March 2008

Of the two pics uploaded, are any of them of the original line up?

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Pezville wrote:
January 2008

Holy Ghost without the horns make me cry.

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SaintAlex wrote:
January 2008

Freakshow on the Dance Floor has so little amount of listeners :O that's awesome track and legend!

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brunettediva wrote:
December 2007

great funk music!

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sagm_999 wrote:
May 2007

Hit and run, just for fun

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Recent Activity

gyinja, annem23, alanlaunder and 1 other person added The Bar-Kays to their libraries. 4 hours ago
McSplivens wrote about The Bar-Kays – Soul Finger in Recommended Songs. Sunday morning
McSplivens wrote about The Bar-Kays – Soul Finger in Recommended Songs. Sunday morning
McSplivens wrote about The Bar-Kays in Recommended Songs. Sunday morning
JahJah1, Cazale, conquistadorsep and 2 other people added The Bar-Kays to their libraries. Friday evening
soulfinger87 wrote about The Bar-Kays in Groovy Tunes 2 - Stax Attack!. Wednesday evening
stinsonmusik, giorgos54, Linchaco and 1 other person added The Bar-Kays to their libraries. last week
A deleted user wrote about The Bar-Kays in a deleted journal. last month
seadawgg and galen2010 added The Bar-Kays to their libraries. last month
tea5girl tagged The Bar-Kays with ‘stax soul’. last month