The Bo-Keys
Encyclopedia
The Bo-Keys are a soul/jazz band from Memphis, Tennessee
, formed as an homage to the city's rich musical tradition.
was asked to assemble a backing band for former Stax artist and songwriter Sir Mack Rice. His concept was to form an updated version of the quintessential Memphis sound embodied by players like Charles "Skip" Pitts and Ben Cauley, a formidable task he confronted by recruiting the very musicians who served as his inspiration.
The Bo-Keys have performed live at various festivals, including The Ponderosa Stomp, London’s Barbican Performing Arts Centre, and Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Nights Swing Series.
In the Spring of 2003, The Bo-Keys recorded their debut album, critically acclaimed The Royal Sessions, at Willie Mitchell
's Royal Studio. The group would go on to perform the score for the Academy Award winning film, Hustle and Flow, as well as the song "Kick It" for the Paramount/Nickelodeon animated feature, Barnyard.
In 2008, The Bo-Keys appeared in the film Soul Men, including an on-screen performance with stars Samuel L. Jackson
and Bernie Mack. Bomar produced three songs for the film's soundtrack, most notably Anthony Hamilton
's "Soul Music," which was nominated for a Grammy.
In 2010, The Bo-Keys were featured on Cyndi Lauper
's Memphis Blues, on which Bomar served as producer. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Blues Album.
The band's second album, Got to Get Back!, is set to be released on June 21, 2011.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, formed as an homage to the city's rich musical tradition.
History
In 1998, Scott BomarScott Bomar
Scott Bomar is a Memphis-based musician, Emmy Award winning film composer, Grammy nominated music producer, and recording engineer.-Early years:...
was asked to assemble a backing band for former Stax artist and songwriter Sir Mack Rice. His concept was to form an updated version of the quintessential Memphis sound embodied by players like Charles "Skip" Pitts and Ben Cauley, a formidable task he confronted by recruiting the very musicians who served as his inspiration.
The Bo-Keys have performed live at various festivals, including The Ponderosa Stomp, London’s Barbican Performing Arts Centre, and Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Nights Swing Series.
In the Spring of 2003, The Bo-Keys recorded their debut album, critically acclaimed The Royal Sessions, at Willie Mitchell
Willie Mitchell
Willie Mitchell is the name of:*Willie Mitchell , , musician and record producer*Willie Mitchell , MLB player*Willie Mitchell , NHL player...
's Royal Studio. The group would go on to perform the score for the Academy Award winning film, Hustle and Flow, as well as the song "Kick It" for the Paramount/Nickelodeon animated feature, Barnyard.
In 2008, The Bo-Keys appeared in the film Soul Men, including an on-screen performance with stars Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
and Bernie Mack. Bomar produced three songs for the film's soundtrack, most notably Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton or Antony Hamilton may refer to:*Anthony Hamilton , Irish classical author, of aristocratic Scottish ancestry, who lived in France where he was known as Antoine Hamilton; intimate of French aristocracy, he wrote, in French, Mémoires du comte de Gramont *Anthony Hamilton , English...
's "Soul Music," which was nominated for a Grammy.
In 2010, The Bo-Keys were featured on Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's Memphis Blues, on which Bomar served as producer. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Blues Album.
The band's second album, Got to Get Back!, is set to be released on June 21, 2011.
Band members
- A chance meeting between Bomar and guitarist Skip PittsCharles PittsCharles "Skip" Pitts is an American soul / blues guitarist whose distinctive "wah-wah" style can be heard on Isaac Hayes' title track from the 1971 movie Shaft....
at Memphis' Stax Music Academy (where both taught at-risk youth) led to the current incarnation of The Bo-Keys. Pitts, long time bandleader for Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, appears on Hayes' iconic title track from the 1971 movie ShaftShaft (1971 film)Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
as well as "Do The Funky Chicken" by Rufus ThomasRufus ThomasRufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
, "I'll Be the Other Woman" by the Soul ChildrenThe Soul ChildrenThe Soul Children was an American vocal group who recorded soul music for Stax Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They had three top ten hits on the Billboard R&B chart – "The Sweeter He Is" , "Hearsay" , and "I'll Be The Other Woman" – all of which crossed over to the Hot...
, "It's Your Thing" by the Isley BrothersThe Isley BrothersThe Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
, and "Rainbow'65" by Gene ChandlerGene ChandlerGene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...
.
- Trumpeter and vocalist Ben CauleyBen CauleyBen Cauley is an American trumpet player, vocalist, and founding member of the Stax recording group, The Bar-Kays. He is the sole survivor of the 1967 plane crash that claimed the lives of soul singer Otis Redding and four members of the Bar-Kays.-The Bar-Kays:The Bar-Kays were formed in the...
is a founding member of the original Bar-KaysBar-KaysThe Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group who began performing in 1966 and continue to perform today, although with only one original member. The group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" The Bar-Kays are a popular soul, R&B, and funk group...
and the only surviving member of the fatal crash in Madison, Wisconsin, which took the lives of his band mates and Otis Redding. Ben has played numerous sessions in Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to The Doobie Brothers.
- Drummer Howard GrimesHoward GrimesHoward Lee Grimes is an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s....
is a best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section that appeared through the 1970s on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles, and Syl Johnson. Grimes first performed in public at the age of 12 with Rufus Thomas. By his late teens, he regularly recorded on sessions for Satellite Records, the pre-cursor to Stax. He also began working with bandleader and record producer Willie Mitchell at Hi Records. As a key member of the house band at Mitchell's Royal Recording Studios in Memphis, Grimes was instrumental in creating some of the most memorable songs and soul grooves of the 1970s.
- Keyboardist Archie "Hubie" Turner is also a member of the Hi Rhythm Section and former session player at Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio. Further, Archie was a member of The Pac-Keys, The MartinisThe MartinisThe Martinis are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. The band consists of Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and his wife Linda Mallari. They have released one album under the label Cooking Vinyl, Artist Direct, and Distracted/BMG...
and Black RockBlack Rock-Organizations and firms:* BlackRock, a global investment management firm based in New York City* Black Rock Arts Foundation supports arts programs in San Francisco, California* Black Rock City, LLC, the organization behind the annual Burning Man festival...
.
- Trumpeter Marc Franklin, tenor sax men Jim Spake and Derrick Williams, and baritone sax player Kirk Smothers have recorded and performed live with Rufus Thomas, Ike Turner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Al Green.