The Bar-Kays is an American group formed in 1966 in Memphis and originally composed of Jimmie King, Ronnie Cladwell, Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham, James Alexander and Ben Cauley. Group which in its beginnings will occur as a studio group for artists such as Otis Redding in particular.
This does not prevent them from producing a first solo single in 1967 called "Soul finger", a single which will be a real hit and propel them to the forefront of the international scene in a shattering way.
Unfortunately, this famous year 1967 will be as much a year of good luck as of deep bad luck because 4 members of the group will be killed along with Otis Redding in the plane crash which brought them to Truax Field.
The group will take several years to rebuild despite the release of several albums and they will have to wait for the year 1975 and the signing with the Mercury Records label to finally see their efforts rewarded. Label with which they released a first album called "Too hot to stop", album which will propel them back to the front of the stage thanks to the single "Shake your rump to the funk".
Success confirmed and amplified a year later in 1977 with the release of the album "Flying high on your love", album which remains to this day one of their flagship albums but which, paradoxically, will struggle to produce any hit of planetary class ...
They will have to wait for the year 1979 and the release of the album "Injoy" to finally achieve a semblance of consecration, notably thanks to the title "Move your boogie body".
Other albums will be released later, but none will be able to achieve planetary consecration. This will not prevent the group from experiencing several notorious successes on the singles side with titles such as "Hit and run" in 1981, "Freak show on the dance floor" in 1984, "Certified true" in 1987 and "Struck by you" in 1989 ...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Soul finger 1967
Knucklehead 1967
Give everybody some 1967
Son of Shaft 1972
Shake your rump to the funk 1976
Too hot to stop 1977
Spellbound 1977
Let’s have some fun 1978
Attitudes 1978
Holy ghost 1979
I’ll dance 1979
Are you being real 1979
Shine 1979
Move your boogie body 1979
Today is the day 1979
Boogie body land 1980
Body fever 1980
Hit and run 1981
Freaky behavior 1982
Do it (Let me see you shake) 1982
She talks to me with her body 1983
Freak show on the dance floor 1984
Sexomatic 1984
Dirty dancer 1984
Your place or mine 1985
Banging the walls 1985
Certified true 1987
Don’t hang up 1987
Struck by you 1989
Animal 1989
The slide 1995
What goes N da club 2007
Grown folks 2012
Return of the mack 2012
Perfect gentleman 2021
Clips :
1967 ... first title and direct planetary jackpot ! The group will get here quite simply the biggest success of his entire career and sign one of the biggest dance hits of the 60s, just that. MAS-TER-FUL !
1967 ... difficult for this title, if not impossible, to compete with the previous steamroller as the bar has been raised. As the group reached the top of the mountain from the first title, he can now only go down ...
1967 ... three titles just for this year 1967, one of which will remain as one of the most significant of the decade. This is called an ideal start to say the least !
1972 ... we will lose sight of them for 5 years and here they are back in this year 1972 in a form that we will qualify as average. Can and must do better ...
1976 ... new 4 years air gap and here they arrived in 1976 with a title that will put them back in the saddle. It was time...
1977 ... after a startling career to say the least, the group cannot capitalize on the enormous suction effect generated after his first title. Frankly shame ...
1978 ... the group is only classified in the R&B Charts and again. He will have to reinvent himself quickly, otherwise the rest may really pose a problem for them ...
1978 ... they do not demerit, far from it. But they started off so strong that everyone saw them go on and smash everything for years. Disappointed hopes ...
1979 ... a bloated year 1979 in terms of titles. On the other hand, in this case it will be rather quantity to the detriment of quality. Except at the end of the year ...
1979 ... the level remains very correct but they lost the little extra which had made all the difference on their first title. Why, how, good question as they say ...
1979 ... no noticeable change in sight for the moment. We will therefore have to be a little more patient before seeing the group return to the front of the stage ...
1979 ... they will produce no less than 6 titles that year, a record. Why so many titles in a single year, good question ...
1979 ... the comeback. Certainly short-lived but it's always better than nothing. They sign their second biggest success here and return to the limelight when all hope seemed lost ...
1979 ... this title will be a step below but does confirm the fact that the group is back in the race. For how long will it be the future that will tell us ...
1980 ... here they are entering their 3rd decade with the will to believe in it again and again. And given what they still manage to produce, they would be wrong to be embarrassed ...
1980 ... they were able to adapt to the latest musical trends of the moment and this at least allows them to avoid losing too much ground on the competition. It's already that...
1981 ... 1979 will have been a year with 6 titles. 1981, it, will be a single title year ! We go from one extreme to another in the space of a snap of the fingers ...
1982 ... the group continues to unroll quietly without asking too many questions. Afterwards, rightly or wrongly, that's something else ...
1982 ... we can not blame them, that's for sure. It is just their level of inspiration which is not of a sufficient level to be able to hope to compete with the best ...
1983 ... new single-title year, which is not meant to be reassuring at first glance. Afterwards, if the minimum quality is there, we will largely be satisfied ...
1984 ... with them, nothing is ever finished, the proof with this new big hit. That's the good news. For the bad, it will be the last unfortunately ...
1984 ... one of their rare titles to have met with any semblance of success across the Channel. The last time was in 1976, that's to say ...
1984 ... with each new title we say to ourselves that it may be the last but it is very bad to know them. They don't let go ...
1985 ... as long as they continue to meet a minimum of success in the Charts, it is out of the question for them to put an end to the adventure. And given what they continue to offer, we tend to agree with them ...
1985 ... admittedly, they do more some figuration than anything else in front of the big names of the moment but they do not have to be ashamed of their current production, far from it ...
1987 ... still there little guys ! For how long, that's a good question. At least until the end of the decade, that's for sure ...
1987 ... already 20 years on the career clock and still the same desire to believe in it over and over again. A longevity that can only be found with the best as always ...
1989 ... there is still a good chance that the 80s will be their last in activity. No matter how hard they try, they will never be able to catch up with the leading pack again...
1989 ... a discography in the end all the same impressive with a significant number of titles classified mainly in the R&B Charts. A good job as they say !
1995 ... they will attempt the transition to the 90s but it will be more of a last-ditch than anything else. Mass is said for them ...
2007 ... who would have believed it, here they are again 12 years later ! They are trying to rise from their ashes in 2007 in a spectacular way, to say the least. A rebirth on the Charts side which unfortunately will not take place ...
2012 ... impossible to stop them the little guys : an up to the endism which has something to surprise, it is clear. What are they looking for, what are they still hoping to get, good question ...
2012 ... they in any case do not want to ask the right questions. The main thing is to participate, playing the easy way by taking up this title by Mark Morrison dating from 1996. A revisited version which will not add much more compared to the original ...
2021 ... more than 50 years after their debut, they are trying to resist by all means and come back once again by the back door. Unfortunately once again, the effort was lost ...
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