{{Short description|American funk band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = The Bar-Kays | image = The Bar-Kays 1968 press photo.jpg | caption = The Bar-Kays in 1968 | image_size = | alias = | origin = Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | genre = {{Hlist|Funk|R&B|soul|funk rock<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |last1=Huey|first1=Steve|title=Biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bar-kays-mn0000048300/biography|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>|psychedelic soul<ref>{{cite book |last=McDonough |first= Jimmy |author-link= |date= Aug 29, 2017 |title= Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhqrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 |location= |publisher=Hachette Books |page=125 |isbn=978-0306822681}}</ref>|disco<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bar Kays: ''Flying High on Your Love'' > Review|first=Amy|last=Hanson|publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=2022-02-23|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/flying-high-on-your-love-mw0000836344}}</ref>}} | years_active = 1964–1989; 1991–present | label = {{hlist|Stax|Mercury|Rhino|Island}} | website = | current_members = {{plainlist| *James Alexander *Chris J *Carlos Sargent *Ez Roc *Bo Dae *Angelo Earl *Darryl Sanford *Devin Crutcher *Katrina Anderson}} | past_members = {{plainlist| *Larry Dodson *Ben Cauley *Ronnie Caldwell *Carl Cunningham *Phalon Jones *Jimmy King *Marcus Price *Vernon Burch *Ronnie Gorden *Michael Toles *Winston Stewart *Charles "Scoops" Allen *Alvin Hunter *Barry Wilkins *Lloyd Smith *Dywane Thomas *Mike Beard *Frank Thompson *Sherman Guy *Larry "LJ" Johnson *Harvey Henderson *Tony Gentry *Archie Love *Bryan Smith *Carl Sims *Daroll Hagen *Mark Bynum}} }}
The '''Bar-Kays''' is an American funk band<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bar Kays: ''Propositions'' > Review|first=Amy|last=Hanson|publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=21 February 2022|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/propositions-mw0000740315}}</ref> formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''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.<ref name="VF"/> The Bar-Kays also served as the backing band for a variety of singers, including Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding.
==Biography== ===Black rock years=== The Bar-Kays began in Memphis, Tennessee, as a studio session group, backing major artists at Stax Records.<ref name="LarkinSM">{{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-733-9|page=16}}</ref> In 1967, they were chosen by Otis Redding to play as his backing band, and were tutored for that role by Al Jackson, Jr., Booker T. Jones, and the other members of Booker T. & the M.G.'s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-bar-kays/382848|title=The Bar-Kays on iTunes|publisher=iTunes|date=1967-12-10|access-date=2015-10-14|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022104513/https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-bar-kays/id382848|archive-date=October 22, 2015}}</ref> Their first single, "Soul Finger", was issued on April 14, 1967,<ref name="LarkinSM"/> reaching number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart and number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="VF"/>
On December 10, 1967, Redding and four members of the band—Jimmie King (born June 8, 1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (born December 27, 1948; electric organ), Phalon Jones (born 1948; saxophone), and Carl Cunningham (born 1948; drums)—and their valet, Matthew Kelly, died when their airplane crashed into Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lauterbach|first1=Preston|title=The Day the Music Died: Ben Cauley remembers the passing of Otis Redding and the Bar-Kays|url=https://memphismagazine.com/culture/the-day-the-music-died/|website=Memphis Magazine|access-date=21 January 2022|date=December 1, 2007}}</ref> while attempting to land at Truax Field. Redding and the band were scheduled to play their next concerts in Madison. Trumpeter Ben Cauley was the only survivor of the crash.<ref name="AllMusic"/><ref name="LarkinSM"/> Bassist James Alexander was on another plane, as the plane carrying Redding held only seven passengers. Cauley and Alexander rebuilt the group.<ref name="LarkinSM"/>
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, including Isaac Hayes on his album ''Hot Buttered Soul''.<ref name="LarkinSM"/>
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''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Rock Discography|last=Strong|first=Martin Charles|year=2002|publisher=The National Academies|isbn=1841953121|page=144|access-date=March 19, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DE9qW3YfHG4C&q=Bar-Kays+charles+allen&pg=PA144}}</ref> Lloyd Smith joined in 1973, and the band changed musical direction during the 1970s, forging a successful career in funk music.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> With the Stax/Volt label folding in 1975, the group signed with Mercury Records.<ref name="Funk">{{cite book|title=Funk|last=Thompson|first=Dave|author-link=Dave Thompson (author)|year=2001|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=0879306297|page=74|access-date=March 19, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIEjkWXZdrMC&q=Bar-Kays+charles+allen&pg=PA74|edition=illustrated}}</ref>
===Funk years=== 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.<ref name="Funk"/> In autumn 1977, the group came out with ''Flying High on Your Love'', an album that featured "Shut the Funk Up", a "near-perfect disco song punctuated by the funky horn triumvirate of Charles 'Scoop' Allen, Harvey 'Joe' Henderson, and Frank 'Captain Disaster' Thompson and dominated by vocalist Larry 'D' Dodson's call to 'get on up or just shut the funk up'".<ref>{{cite book|title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|last=Bogdanov|first=Vladimir |year=2003|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=0879307447|page=35|access-date=March 19, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&q=Bar-Kays+charles+allen&pg=PA35|edition=illustrated}}</ref> The group peaked as a funk band from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. They released singles such as "Move Your Boogie Body" (1979), "Hit and Run" (1981), "Freak Show on the Dance Floor" (1984), "Certified True" (1987), "Struck by You" (1989).<ref name="LarkinSM"/>
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 it took a more commercial direction.<ref>Bogdanov, p. 34.</ref> The Bar-Kays continued to have hits on R&B charts well into the 1980s.<ref name="VF"/>
===Later years=== Guitarist Marcus Price, a member of the band, was murdered in 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Bar Kays Member Killed by Robbers in Memphis|magazine = Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gq0DAAAAMBAJ&dq=marcus+price+bar-kays&pg=PA13|date=15 October 1984|page=13|volume=67|issue=6|issn=0021-5996|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> The crime has never been solved by the Memphis police.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Band Tragedy Could Not Silence|url=https://vocal.media/beat/the-band-tragedy-could-not-silence|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>
The band took an extended break in the late 1980s but regrouped in 1991, with Alexander once again being the only original member. Since 1991, Larry Dodson, Archie Love, Bryan Smith, and Tony Gentry have been added to the group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Barkays.html|title=The Bar-Kays|website=soulwalking.co.uk|accessdate=15 June 2024}}</ref>
Alexander's son is the award-winning rapper and record producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, named after Phalon Jones, who died in the 1967 plane crash. In 2013, the group was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bacle|first=Ariana |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/23/trumpeter-ben-cauley-dies-stax-records|title=Stax Records trumpeter Ben Cauley dies|publisher=EW.com|date=2015-09-23|access-date=2015-10-14}}</ref> On June 6, 2015, the Bar-Kays were inducted into the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in Clarksdale, Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://staxrecords.com/spotlight/the-bar-kays/|title=The Bar-Kays|publisher=Stax HP|accessdate=13 June 2024}}</ref>
Trumpeter Ben Cauley died in Memphis on September 21, 2015, at the age of 67. Drummer Michael Beard died in Memphis on August 25, 2025 at the age of 69.<ref name="thenyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/arts/music/ben-cauley-sole-survivor-of-otis-redding-crash-dies-at-67.html|title=Ben Cauley, Sole Survivor of the Otis Redding Plane Crash, Dies at 67|date=September 24, 2015|accessdate=April 29, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
==In popular culture== The Bar-Kays appeared in the 1973 film documentary, ''Wattstax''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bar-Kays |url=https://memphismusichalloffame.com/inductee/barkays/|website=Memphis Music Hall of Fame|date=January 13, 2015 |access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>
"Freakshow on the Dance Floor" was featured in the first breakdance scene in the 1984 movie, ''Breakin'''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Breakin' - Original Soundtrack|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/breakin-mw0000649921|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref>
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''.
The Sugar Hill Gang's 1979 single "Rapper's Delight" (long version, 14:40) contains lyrics about the Bar-Kays, Farrah Fawcett, DJ Frankie Crocker and Johnny Carson.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genius.com/Sugarhill-gang-rappers-delight-long-version-lyrics|title=Rapper's Delight|website=Genius.com|accessdate=24 June 2024}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Albums=== {| class="wikitable" ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Year ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Title ! align="center" valign="middle" colspan="2"| Peak chart positions ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Certifications ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Record label |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Pop<br><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/the-bar-kays/chart-history/TLP|title=The Bar Kays: Billboard 200|publisher=Billboard|website=billboard.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219022202/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-bar-kays/chart-history/TLP|archive-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US R&B<br><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/the-bar-kays/chart-history/BLP|title=The Bar Kays: Billboard Top Soul Albums|publisher=Billboard|website=billboard.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219022212/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-bar-kays/chart-history/BLP|archive-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> |- | 1967 | ''Soul Finger'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="5"|Volt |- | 1969 | ''Gotta Groove'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| 40 | |- | 1971 | ''Black Rock'' | align="center"| 90 | align="center"| 12 | |- | 1972 | ''Do You See What I See?'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| 45 | |- | 1974 | ''Coldblooded'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | 1976 | ''Too Hot to Stop'' | align="center"| 69 | align="center"| 8 | | rowspan="2"|Mercury |- | 1977 | ''Flying High on Your Love'' | align="center"| 47 | align="center"| 7 | * US: Gold<ref name="RIAA">{{cite certification|region=United States|artist=Bar-Kays|access-date=July 10, 2023}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2"|1978 | ''Money Talks'' | align="center"| 72 | align="center"| 21 | | Stax |- | ''Light of Life'' | align="center"| 86 | align="center"| 15 | | rowspan="9|Mercury |- | 1979 | ''Injoy'' | align="center"| 35 | align="center"| 2 | * US: Gold<ref name="RIAA"/> |- | 1980 | ''As One'' | align="center"| 67 | align="center"| 6 | |- | 1981 | ''Nightcruising'' | align="center"| 55 | align="center"| 6 | * US: Gold<ref name="RIAA"/> |- | 1982 | ''Propositions'' | align="center"| 51 | align="center"| 9 | |- | 1984 | ''Dangerous'' | align="center"| 52 | align="center"| 7 | |- | 1985 | ''Banging the Wall'' | align="center"| 115 | align="center"| 11 | |- | 1987 | ''Contagious'' | align="center"| 110 | align="center"| 25 | |- | 1989 | ''Animal'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| 36 | |- | 1994 | ''48 Hours'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | Basix Music |- | 2003 | ''The Real Thing'' | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | JEA Music |- | 2012 | ''Grown Folks'' (EP) | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | Right Now Records |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |}
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Year ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Title ! align="center" valign="middle" colspan="5"| Peak chart positions ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Certifications ! align="center" valign="middle" rowspan="2"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Pop<br><ref name="VF">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/The+Bar-Kays.art|title=The Bar-Kays Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US R&B<br><ref name="VF"/> ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US Dance<br><ref name="VF"/> ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| CAN<br><ref>{{cite book|author=Lwin, Nanda|year=1999|title=Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide|publisher=Music Data Canada|isbn=9781896594132}}</ref> ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UK<br><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13078/bar-kays/|title=BAR-KAYS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|publisher=Official Charts|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> |- | rowspan="3" | 1967 | "Soul Finger" | align="center"| 17 | align="center"| 3 | align="center"| — | align="center"| 13 | align="center"| 33 | * US: Gold<ref name="RIAA"/> | rowspan="2"| ''Soul Finger'' |- | "Knucklehead" | align="center"| 76 | align="center"| 28 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Give Everybody Some" | align="center"| 91 | align="center"| 36 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2" {{Non-album singles}} |- | 1972 | "Son of Shaft" | align="center"| 53 | align="center"| 10 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | 1976 | "Shake Your Rump to the Funk" | align="center"| 23 | align="center"| 5 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| 41 | | rowspan="3"| ''Too Hot to Stop'' |- | rowspan="2" | 1977 | "Too Hot to Stop" | align="center"| 74 | align="center"| 8 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Spellbound" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 29 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="4" | 1978 | "Let's Have Some Fun" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 11 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Flying High on Your Love'' |- | "Attitudes" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 22 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Holy Ghost" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 9 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | ''Money Talks'' |- | "I'll Dance" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 26 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="3"| ''Light of Life'' |- | rowspan="4" | 1979 | "Are You Being Real" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 61 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Shine" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 14 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Move Your Boogie Body" | align="center"| 57 | align="center"| 3 | align="center"| 90 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Injoy'' |- | "Today Is the Day" | align="center"| 60 | align="center"| 25 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="2" | 1980 | "Boogie Body Land" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 7 | align="center"| 73 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''As One'' |- | "Body Fever" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 42 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | 1981 | "Hit & Run" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 5 | align="center"| 49 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Nightcruising'' |- | rowspan="2" | 1982 | "Freaky Behavior" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 27 | align="center"| 60 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | "Do It (Let Me See You Shake)" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 9 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Propositions'' |- | 1983 | "She Talks to Me with Her Body" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 13 | align="center"| 62 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="3" | 1984 | "Freak Show on the Dance Floor" | align="center"| 73 | align="center"| 2 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="3"| ''Dangerous'' |- | "Sexomatic" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 12 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| 51 | |- | "Dirty Dancer" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 17 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="2" | 1985 | "Your Place or Mine" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 12 | align="center"| 44 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Banging the Wall'' |- | "Banging the Walls" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 67 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="2" | 1987 | "Certified True" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 9 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Contagious'' |- | "Don't Hang Up" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 56 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | rowspan="2" | 1989 | "Struck by You" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 11 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2"| ''Animal'' |- | "Animal" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 66 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | 1994 | "Mega Mix" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 96 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | {{Non-album single}} |- | 1995 | "The Slide" | align="center"| — | align="center"| 82 | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | ''48 Hours'' |- | 2021 | "Perfect Gentleman" | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | | rowspan="2" {{Non-album singles}} |- | 2022 | "Choosey Lover" <small>(featuring Jazze Pha)</small> | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | align="center"| — | |- | colspan="10" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Bar-Kays}} *{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p54079|label=The Bar-Kays}} *{{discogs artist|artist=Bar-Kays|name=The Bar-Kays}} * {{IMDb name|nm1931209}} *[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/james-alexander James Alexander Interview] at NAMM Oral History Collection (2015) {{The Bar-Kays}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-Kays}} Category:Accidental deaths in Wisconsin Category:American disco groups Category:American funk musical groups Category:American soul musical groups Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Psychedelic soul music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1966 Category:Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Category:1966 establishments in Tennessee Category:P-Vine Records artists Category:Stax Records artists Category:Rhino Entertainment artists