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History of the Mar-Keys Courtesy of http://www.history-of-rock.com/markeys.htm
The history of this group is closely related to the history of Stax/Volt. The Mar-Keys constituted truly the base on which rested the productions of the label, since almost all its artists worked at one time or another with the group or one of its emanations. It is in the Mar-Keys as Booker T and the MGs and Memphis Horns find their origin, that Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn played before becoming the official sidemen of Stax, and that groups such as the Bar-Kays drew their inspiration.
The group was composed of white teenagers, whose musical culture was a fertile mixture of traditional music- rock and roll (white), blues, gospel and R&B (black). It is partly this co-mingling of culture which will make the magic of the productions of Stax or FAME, where the black artists were often accompanied by mainly white musicians. A beautiful lesson for the South segregationist of the time.
Formed in 1958 at Messick High School, under the name of Royal Spades, the group started in the 60s to record songs of Rufus and Carla Thomas, and other artists of Satellite Records, the small company founded in 1959 by Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart (respectively the mother and the uncle of the saxophonist Packy Axton) and started in Memphis, in a movie theatre at 926 McLemore. The Royal Spades change their name to Mar-Keys and made their first record, "Last Night," in 1961.
The single, pushed by the local deejays, entered the charts in July. It rose to #2 on the R&B charts and #3 on the Pop charts. Because there was another Satellite Records in Californian, the company had to change name. The new name was Stax (STewart - AXton). The Mar-Keys continued as the house band, while continuing their own career with "Pop-Eye Stroll," Morning After," and "Philly Dog." In the the 60' S, the group began a slow change. It generally included Booker T & The MG's, Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love, and Joe Arnold (or Floyd Newman), and often Isaac Hayes on the keyboards.
After having accompanied in studio or tour William Bell, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding and all the great names of Southern Soul, the group separates in 1971. The majority of the members went on to have brilliant careers. Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn continue to work with an incalculable number singers, before making a return with the Blues Brothers Band into 1978.
Packy Axton, who left Mar-Keys early on, formed his own group, The Packers. The Packers had a hit in 1965 with "Hole In The Wall." Axton died of cancer in 1976. As the 60s came to an end, Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love recorded under the name of Memphis Horns. Gift Nix become a writer and producer working with Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Delaney & Bonnie, Albert King, Freddie King, and many others.
The Mar-Keys by Tom Simon at http://www.tsimon.com
The Mar-Keys were a group of excellent studio session musicians from Memphis who had one giant instrumental hit [and several smaller ones] of their own in the early 60's.
The group was formed in Memphis in 1958 as the Royal Spades. The members were Steve Cropper on guitar, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith on keyboards, Don Nix on baritone sax, Charles "Packy" Axton on tenor sax, trumpet player Wayne Jackson, and drummer Terry Johnson. They were white kids who really enjoyed black music.
Packy Axton's mother Estelle Axton and her brother Jim Stewart formed the Satellite label in Memphis in 1960 to record local talent. They began to record songs by Rufus Thomas and his daughter, Carla Thomas. The erstwhile Royal Spades, now known as the Mar-Keys, were thrilled to serve as the musicians for the recording sessions. They came up with their own hit song, an instrumental that was written and arranged by Chips Moman and Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith. The song was called Last Night and it entered the charts in July, 1961 and rose to the number three position. Some of the members of the Mar-Keys were not yet out of their teens. It was one of the biggest hits ever on Satellite.
It was discovered that there was another record label on the West Coast known as "Satellite," so the label's name was changed to Stax, and later to Stax/Volt. The Mar-Keys, the house band for Stax/Volt, continued to record such songs as Pop-Eye Stroll, Morning After, and Philly Dog, but they would never again put a song in the top forty. In 1962 Steve Cropper went on to found another group, and Donald Dunn went with him. Together with drummer Al Jackson, Jr. and keyboard player Booker T. Jones, they became Booker T. & the MG's [MG meaning Memphis Group], another great act in the Stax/Volt stable of stars.
Stax/Volt came up with a star performer in Otis Redding. The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG's would perform together on stage. They were the musicians in what came to be known as the now legendary Stax soul revues, backing artists such as Stax stars William Bell, the Thomases, Otis Redding, and Sam & Dave. Small studios such as Stax in Memphis and Fame Music in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, operated by amateur white management and using white musicians as house bands for some of the top black singers emerging in the early 60's, combined to produce an explosion on the music scene known as soul music. The Mar-Keys played their role in helping this phenomenon to evolve in the 60's.
Eventually the Mar-Keys name was dropped. Trumpeter Wayne Jackson joined with saxist Andrew Love and baritone Floyd Newman to form the Memphis Horns, and together they comprised an outstanding session group. Packy Axton formed the Packers, and they had a hit on the R&B charts in 1965 which sounded very much like something that might have been recorded by the Mar-Keys, Hole In The Wall. Don Nix went on to a solo career as a performer and songwriter before becoming a record producer for such acts as Jeff Beck, John Mayall and Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett.
Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn were recruited to work with the Blues Brothers, who were played by Stax/Volt fans John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the late 70's and early 80's. Cropper and Dunn appear in the film The Blues Brothers and on the soundtrack for the film, once again in their role as backup musicians.
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Biography of the Mar-Keys from All Music Guide
Despite scoring only one national hit, the 1961 instrumental smash "Last Night," the Mar-Keys remain one of the most important groups ever to emerge from the Memphis music scene. As the first house band for the legendary Stax label, they appeared on some of the greatest records in soul history, with their ranks also producing such renowned musicians as guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn.
The Mar-Keys formed in 1958 and included drummer Terry Johnson, pianist Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith, saxophonists Don Nix and Charles Axton, and trumpeter Wayne Jackson in addition to Cropper and Dunn. Originally dubbed the Royal Spades, in 1960 the group joined the staff at Axton's mother Estelle's Satellite label, backing artists that included Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla. A year later, the Mar-Keys headlined "Last Night," which reached the number three spot in the summer of 1961.
When Satellite changed its name to Stax, the Mar-Keys remained on board, laying the foundation for the classic Memphis soul sound through with their funky, sophisticated grooves; concurrently they recorded a series of singles including "Pop-Eye Stroll," "The Morning After," and "Philly Dog," although none repeated the commercial success of "Last Night."
In 1962 Cropper and Dunn left the lineup to co-found the famed Booker T. and the MG's. Other personnel changes followed, although the Mar-Keys continued on for several more years before the name was eventually dropped. Jackson then formed another top-notch session group, the Memphis Horns, while Axton led the Packers, scoring a 1965 hit with "Hole in the Wall." Nix, meanwhile, mounted a solo career, also producing records for artists including Freddie King, Jeff Beck, and Furry Lewis.
— Jason Ankeny
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Jerry Lee's Web Site: www.smoochysmith.com
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