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The Mar-Keys

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29: 275:, the Mar-Keys were back in the studio, and were explicitly identified in the album credits as the sextet of Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, Andrew Love, and Wayne Jackson (no relation to Al). The album was not a chart success, and the Mar-Keys name was essentially retired once again. 263:
Although the Mar-Keys were no longer routinely issuing singles, the name still had a certain amount of marketability, and in the late 1960s the Mar-Keys name was used whenever horn players Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson (later known as the Memphis Horns) teamed with Booker T. & the M.G.'s in live
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Singles and albums continued to appear under the Mar-Keys name throughout the 1960s, though none anywhere near as successful as "Last Night". The original all-white band continued to play live dates for a time, but fairly quickly, were largely replaced for studio recordings by session players. This
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in 1962. Consequently, from then through 1966 instrumental music recorded by the Stax house band was issued under the name of either the Mar-Keys or Booker T. & the M.G.'s, depending on the type of recording: in general, tracks featuring a horn section were credited to the Mar-Keys, and those
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The demise of the group as a singles act occurred due to the success of several of its members. By the time of the 1965 recording "Boot-Leg", singles credited to Booker T. & the M.G.'s were far outselling recordings credited to the Mar-Keys, who had failed to chart in years. Therefore, the
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decision was made to issue the horn-driven "Boot-Leg" (co-written with Packy Axton and Isaac Hayes) as a track by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, even though it had been conceived of as a Mar-Keys track, and Booker T. Jones himself did not actually play on it.
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while its members were in high school. They tried to get a record made for the local Satellite Records (the forerunner of Stax), unsuccessfully, even though the label was owned by the mother and uncle of the group's tenor sax player,
137:(baritone sax), Gilbert Caple (tenor sax) and others. The authorship of the song, credited simply to "Mar-Keys" on the label, is registered with BMI to Axton, Caple, Newman, Smith, and producer Moman. 150:
name for the racially integrated Stax Records house band, which had a floating membership. The most frequent Mar-Keys studio players during this era, subject to change from session to session, were:
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Stax simply assembled a number of instrumental cuts from various sources, without regard for group continuity. Three of the album's seven cuts were outtakes from sessions by the
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In 2012, the Mar-Keys regrouped with a lineup consisting of original members Wayne Jackson, Floyd Newman, Don Nix, Smoochy Smith, Terry Johnson, plus former M.G.
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Terry Johnson (born James Terry Johnson on April 3, 1943, in Memphis, Tennessee) died on March 19, 2016, after a short illness, at age 72.
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Dunn replaced Steinberg in the M.G.'s in 1964, having already played with the Mar-Keys both live and in the studio for several years.
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While still involved with the Mar-Keys and Stax studio work, Cropper, Steinberg, Jones and Al Jackson Jr. also began recording as
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These musicians, in addition to being the studio Mar-Keys, served as the backing band on singles and albums by dozens of
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Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records - Rob Bowman, Bowman, Robert M. J. (Robert Maxwell James) - Google Books
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With the top 40 chart success of "Boot-Leg", by the end of 1966 the Mar-Keys name was no longer appearing on singles.
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Drums: Howard Grimes (1961–62) or Terry Johnson (occasionally, 1961–62); supplanted by
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Steve Cropper of The Blues Brothers band at Hamar Music Festival 2007, in Hamar, Hedmark, Norway
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for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound.
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Ronnie "Angel" Stoots was the band's lead vocalist when they had gigs on the road.
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The legacy of the Mar-Keys is that they were key players in the development of
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nationally in the US in 1961. It sold over one million copies, earning
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performances. The two groups shared billing on a live album in 1967,
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did not want a guitar part on the song), Packy Axton (tenor sax),
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Keyboards: Smoochy Smith (occasionally through 1963) and/or
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without horns were credited to Booker T. & the M.G.'s.
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For the final album credited to the Mar-Keys, 1971's
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artists who recorded at the Stax studios, including
1009: 258: 1303: 146:meant that in practice, "The Mar-Keys" became a 314:, and original member Packy Axton's son Chuck. 129:(trumpet), and Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith (main 141:Follow-ups and fragmentation (1961–1966) 93:Their first and most famous recording was the 1162: 294: 179:(with increasing frequency from 1962) and/or 895: 1040: 1169: 1155: 278: 1007: 902:The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music 891: 889: 887: 885: 883: 881: 879: 27: 923: 454:Billy Purser (aka Gary Burbank) – drums 1304: 1068:"Obituary for Dr. James Terry Johnson" 989: 955: 73:Early success with "Last Night" (1961) 1176: 1150: 876: 259:The six-man line-up (1967–1969) 1090: 1088: 1060: 13: 1327:Musical groups established in 1958 1258:Stax Museum of American Soul Music 929: 14: 1353: 1117: 1085: 479:(Atlantic SD-8055) August release 1342:1958 establishments in Tennessee 484:Do the Pop-Eye with the Mar-Keys 387:Gilbert Caple – tenor saxophone 359:James "Terry" Johnson – drums, 193:Horns: varying combinations of 1034: 949: 464: 1: 869: 412:Gene Parker – tenor saxophone 279:Final years (1970–1971) 133:), augmented by horn players 60:, in the 1960s. As the first 1312:American soul musical groups 852: 849: 830: 825: 803: 798: 784: 779: 762: 759: 739: 736: 714: 711: 694: 691: 672: 667: 647: 644: 630: 627: 613: 608: 587: 582: 421:Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith – 115:certification as a gold disc 19:Not to be confused with the 16:American studio session band 7: 335:Charlie "Redman" Freeman – 268:, from a concert in Paris. 10: 1358: 1337:Booker T. & the M.G.'s 1317:American session musicians 1072:canalefuneraldirectors.com 523: 504:Booker T. & the M.G.'s 320: 295:Legacy and recent activity 242:Booker T. & the M.G.'s 39:, formed in 1958, were an 18: 1245: 1184: 1008:Murrells, Joseph (1978). 862: 806: 793:"Grab This Thing, Pt. 2" 790:"Grab This Thing, Pt. 1" 767: 742: 655: 592: 564: 545: 542: 539: 536: 533: 530: 469: 457:Rick Keefer – bass guitar 67: 1322:Atlantic Records artists 1012:The Book of Golden Discs 397:, vocals on "Last Night" 1276:Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. 992:NME Rock 'N' Roll Years 808:The Great Memphis Sound 491:The Great Memphis Sound 33: 990:Tobler, John (1992). 543:Peak chart positions 379:Charles "Packy" Axton 84:Charles "Packy" Axton 31: 1332:Stax Records artists 956:Bowman, Rob (1997). 905:(Concise ed.). 841:"Double or Nothing" 683:"Whot's Happenin'!" 403:– baritone saxophone 1263:Walt Disney Records 1124:History-of-rock.com 1047:Staxrecords.free.fr 703:"Sailor Man Waltz" 639:"One Degree North" 271:For the 1969 album 237:, and many others. 77:The group began as 23:, a soul/funk band. 1217:Donald "Duck" Dunn 962:. Schirmer Books. 932:"Artist Biography" 909:. pp. 795/6. 743:Non-album singles 517:Memphis Experience 502:(Stax S-720) with 486:(Atlantic SD-8062) 395:baritone saxophone 342:Donald "Duck" Dunn 285:Memphis Experience 164:, or occasionally 109:", a number three 58:Memphis, Tennessee 34: 1299: 1298: 1269:Pebble to a Pearl 1178:Stax/Volt Records 1041:Patrick Montier. 867: 866: 698:Non-album single 651:Non-album single 409:- tenor saxophone 183:(after mid-1964). 1349: 1246:Related articles 1171: 1164: 1157: 1148: 1147: 1111: 1110: 1108: 1106: 1092: 1083: 1082: 1080: 1078: 1064: 1058: 1057: 1055: 1053: 1038: 1032: 1031: 1015: 1005: 996: 995: 987: 981: 980: 978: 976: 953: 947: 946: 944: 942: 927: 921: 920: 893: 844:"Knock On Wood" 833: 828: 801: 782: 670: 659:"Popeye Stroll" 611: 600:"Morning After" 590: 585: 528: 527: 190:(from mid-1962). 79:The Royal Spades 1357: 1356: 1352: 1351: 1350: 1348: 1347: 1346: 1302: 1301: 1300: 1295: 1241: 1207:Booker T. Jones 1180: 1175: 1140:discography at 1120: 1115: 1114: 1104: 1102: 1094: 1093: 1086: 1076: 1074: 1066: 1065: 1061: 1051: 1049: 1043:"STAX TODAY 18" 1039: 1035: 1028: 1006: 999: 988: 984: 974: 972: 970: 954: 950: 940: 938: 930:Ankeny, Jason. 928: 924: 917: 894: 877: 872: 771:"Banana Juice" 579: 575:"Night Before" 560: 554: 526: 519:(Stax STS-2036) 512:(Stax STS-2025) 472: 467: 434:Booker T. Jones 383:tenor saxophone 323: 312:Lewie Steinberg 297: 281: 261: 177:Booker T. Jones 166:Lewie Steinberg 143: 75: 70: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1355: 1345: 1344: 1339: 1334: 1329: 1324: 1319: 1314: 1297: 1296: 1294: 1293: 1286: 1279: 1272: 1265: 1260: 1255: 1249: 1247: 1243: 1242: 1240: 1239: 1234: 1229: 1224: 1222:Al Jackson Jr. 1219: 1214: 1209: 1204: 1199: 1194: 1188: 1186: 1182: 1181: 1174: 1173: 1166: 1159: 1151: 1145: 1144: 1135: 1126: 1119: 1118:External links 1116: 1113: 1112: 1084: 1059: 1033: 1026: 997: 982: 968: 948: 922: 915: 899:, ed. 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Retrieved 935: 925: 907:Virgin Books 900: 897:Colin Larkin 856: 820:"Honey Pot" 807: 751:"Bush Bash" 718: 676: 593: 516: 509: 499:Back to Back 497: 493:(Stax S-707) 490: 483: 476: 391:Floyd Newman 316: 309: 305:Memphis soul 298: 284: 282: 272: 270: 266:Back to Back 265: 262: 254: 250: 247: 239: 231:Carla Thomas 227:Otis Redding 212: 209:(from 1964). 199:Floyd Newman 147: 144: 135:Floyd Newman 92: 78: 76: 54:Stax Records 37:The Mar-Keys 36: 35: 25: 1237:Jim Stewart 1227:Isaac Hayes 1212:Nikka Costa 1105:January 28, 941:January 28, 857:Damifiknow! 510:Damifiknow! 477:Last Night! 465:Discography 440:Isaac Hayes 436:– keyboards 430:– keyboards 407:Andrew Love 346:bass guitar 273:Damifiknow! 207:Andrew Love 181:Isaac Hayes 123:Chips Moman 1306:Categories 1283:Soulsville 870:References 847:Stax 0029 728:"Bo-Time" 662:"Po-Dunk" 594:Last Night 570:Last Night 558:US R&B 223:soul music 107:Last Night 62:house band 1077:April 27, 823:Stax 185 796:Stax 181 777:Stax 166 757:Stax 156 734:Stax 133 709:Stax 129 689:Stax 124 665:Stax 121 642:Stax 115 625:Stax 114 606:Stax 112 580:Stax 107 423:keyboards 162:Duck Dunn 131:keyboards 99:saxophone 1290:Wattstax 1100:Music VF 936:AllMusic 603:"Diana" 374:trombone 289:Bar-Kays 154:Guitar: 148:de facto 101:-driven 41:American 21:Bar-Kays 1197:Al Bell 1142:Discogs 636:"Foxy" 537:B-side 534:A-side 524:Singles 451:– drums 401:Don Nix 370:trumpet 321:Members 219:R&B 203:Don Nix 47:session 1024:  966:  913:  546:Album 540:Label 515:1971: 508:1969: 496:1967: 489:1966: 482:1962: 475:1961: 470:Albums 337:guitar 331:guitar 221:, and 160:Bass: 103:single 97:- and 68:Career 44:studio 838:1969 814:1966 768:1965 748:1964 725:1963 656:1962 565:1961 531:Year 444:organ 361:piano 355:drums 95:organ 56:, in 1133:IMDb 1107:2022 1079:2021 1054:2012 1022:ISBN 977:2012 964:ISBN 943:2022 911:ISBN 303:and 215:rock 52:for 50:band 1131:at 1018:137 800:111 781:121 111:hit 1308:: 1098:. 1087:^ 1070:. 1045:. 1020:. 1000:^ 934:. 878:^ 853:— 850:— 832:19 827:89 804:— 785:— 763:— 760:— 740:— 737:— 715:— 712:— 695:— 692:— 673:— 669:94 648:— 645:— 631:— 628:— 614:— 610:60 572:" 552:US 442:– 393:– 381:– 372:, 368:– 353:– 344:- 329:– 307:. 233:, 229:, 217:, 201:, 197:, 1170:e 1163:t 1156:v 1109:. 1081:. 1056:. 1030:. 979:. 945:. 919:. 589:2 584:3 568:" 105:"

Index

Bar-Kays

American
studio
session
band
Stax Records
Memphis, Tennessee
house band
Charles "Packy" Axton
Estelle Axton
organ
saxophone
single
Last Night
hit
certification as a gold disc
Steve Cropper
Chips Moman
Wayne Jackson
keyboards
Floyd Newman
Steve Cropper
Duck Dunn
Lewie Steinberg
Marvell Thomas
Booker T. Jones
Isaac Hayes
Al Jackson Jr.
Wayne Jackson

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