When Ichiban Months Collide: Arthur Alexander covers Joe Tex!

Take it easy - you haven't been suddenly transported back to 2011. We'll get back to the Tex-in' tomorrow, but for today I couldn't resist posting this unreleased-until-the-90s 1968 cover of "Taking Care of a Woman (Is a Full Time Job)" by Ichiban's Mr. December, Arthur Alexander. Arthur was one of the few soul artists of the 60s who displayed his country influence as much as Joe. The OG is on the I've Got to Do a Little Bit Better LP, which, believe me, we will get to in good time.

I'm too hung over from DJ'ing last night to do anything better.

R.I.P. LUX INTERIOR...3 YEARS...

MY LUX TRIBUTE SHOW FROM 3 YEARS AGO...ENJOY.

PART 1


PART 2

If Sugar Was As Sweet As You - Joe Tex

JOE TEX month Day 4: Jalynne and the Pickwick Perplex

After Joe left the Ace label, he made a pit stop at the New York based Jalynne Records. As far as I can tell he only released one 45 for this label, featuring the countrified "Wicked Woman" (more domestic drama in the work-a-day world) on the A side and the bluesy "Goodbye My Love" on the flip.

At least it's also available in mono

Once Joe achieved some fame, a number of comps of his early material became available through budget labels. This Pickwick one, unfortunately, is deceptive. Beyond the released Jalynne material there are some songs that sound a lot like Joe Tex, but an awful lot of the material doesn't. Roctober's very useful Joe Tex album guide confirms my long time suspicion that a lot of these cuts aren't really Joe Tex. At least Crown Records or Guest Star had the decency to hip a collecta to the fact that they were only getting a few cuts by the artist Fazzio'd on the front!

One of the songs that I'm pretty sure is Tex, due to the voice and the ridiculousness of the subject matter, is the rockin' "Talkin' Dog", which, beyond the Jalynne single, is the main reason to spring for this should you ever see it in a dolla bin at the flea market.

Joe Tex Show

Thanks to Todd from Our Facebook Page

JOE TEX - Rock and Roll Cowboy: The Ace Years

After Joe moved on from King records he released a half a dozen singles on the New Orleans label ACE. All of them are comped on this early 70s (Post-"I Gotcha") Pride budget label comp "History of Joe Tex".

caveat emptor - rechanneled stereo!!

The Ace recordings continue to see a Tex in development - heavily under the thrall of Little Richard and not penning a whole lot of his own tunes. Nickname king Joe was this time billed as "The Rock 'n' Roll Cowboy" and the persona didn't always suit him. But, like the King recordings, there are hints here of things to come, and some pretty great music in its own right.

On his first single for Ace - the Chuck Willis penned "Cut It Out" - we hear what as far as I can tell is the first appearance of one of his most crucial performance techniques - the mid-song laugh.

On the self-penned Mother's Advice, the B-side of the hot "You Little Baby Face Thing", Joe seeks counsel from his mom, launching a long series of songs about moms, grandmas, dads and granddads and really sticking in the autobiographical details (the bit at the end about his dad dying early shows up in later songs). The song's narrative style of balladry is of course, with a few tweaks, what eventually made him a star.

sorry for the crappy photo above and for no photo for Mother's Advice

I tragically don't actually own these records!

But what's probably the hottest performance Joe released on ACE didn't even come out under his own name! The smokin' hot and DJ-scaringly short "Open the Door" was released by Little Booker as the flip of the instrumental "Teenage Rock". Little Booker was in reality NOLA piano and organ MEGAGENIUS James Booker, but the vocal on the flip was actually sung by an uncredited Tex.

JOE TEX on KING: 1955 - 1957

It took Joe about 10 years and half a dozen labels before he truly found his voice. He doesn't really start preaching (on record, anyway) until a couple of magnificent 45s he cut for Anna in the early 60s. And although his good humor is always present, he doesn't really start incorporating the folksy wisdom that makes him so unique until he gets to Dial and Nashville knob-twiddler Buddy Killen starts producing him.

But even on his earliest hits for his first label, King, you can hear some of his later writing and performing tics loud and clear.

On "Pneumonia" for instance, we get to hear his love for the one-upping "answer record" (in this case to "Fever", obviously), his fondness for writing songs about funny diseases, and his strange and slightly uncomfortable tendency to use comedic domestic violence as a, uhm, punchline.

On "Davey, You Upset My Home" we can hear his skill with funny social commentary, a little bit of his country influence, and . . . his strange and slightly uncomfortable tendency to use comedic domestic violence as a, uhm, punchline.

Do you like the Chipmunks?

If you do (and what right-thinking American doesn't?), then I strongly recommend you go have a look at this swell blog stuffed full of photos of rare Chipmunks items. It looks like she may have given up on it, but perhaps a flood of comments might wake things up again.

Battle Of The Blues

Joe Williams and T-Bone Walker duke it out, with Della Reese serving as ref. It's another incredible photo from the JET archives.

Joe Tex - Chicken Crazy!

Now playing on SOUNDSBOX

Joe Tex On Soul Train

February is JOE TEX month!

The New Boss. The Dapper Rapper. The Soul Preacher. The Clown Prince of Soul. There's lots of stuff to know about Joe Tex - whose career spanned the entirety of the classic soul era and peaked with some of the most consistent, hilarious and wise soul LPs of the 1960s. But the first thing you need to know is that Joe didn't play.

I'm serious! Dude quit school in the very first grade because they had recess every day!

JOE!