When a band tragically loses a member, there are three possibilities in the aftermath: they break up and go their separate ways (like Led Zeppelin), they stay together but rename the group (as Joy Division became New Order), or they soldier on, in tribute to the departed (like the Allman Brothers Band, who lost two members in less than a year, including one of the namesakes).

The Bar-Kays soldiered on, but they had to start from square one.

The first incarnation of The Bar-Kays formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1964 as an instrumental R&B combo, patterned after the popular sound of local group Booker T. & The MGs, the house band for Stax Records. Little did they know Stax would one day come calling for them.

Signed in early 1967 as a backup house band for when Booker T. et al were unavailable, The Bar-Kays also received the chance to record their own single. They cooked up a rousing, trumpet-led soul number and, in a similar fashion to The Premiers’ “Farmer John,” created a party in the studio by inviting a bunch of neighborhood kids playing outside to come into the studio and repeatedly shout the name of the song: “Soul Finger.”

Released as a single in the spring of 1967, “Soul Finger” hit the Top 20 on the US Hot 100 (#3 on the R&B chart) and The Bar-Kays were on their way. That summer, Otis Redding chose them as his touring band and together they criss-crossed the country until tragedy struck in December. Otis and four members of the band (plus the band’s valet) were killed when their small airplane crashed in Wisconsin. One of The Bar-Kays survived the crash and another was lucky enough to have taken alternate transportation.

The two surviving members decided to carry on and recruited five new musicians to become the second incarnation of The Bar-Kays. This group continued backing Stax artists, most notably Isaac Hayes on some of his biggest hits, but failed to find the kind of success which came with their first single.

In the early 70s, the group added a vocalist for the first time and slowly started to transform themselves into a funk and disco band, finally scoring another big hit with 1976’s “Shake Your Rump To The Funk.” They never reached the Top 40 again, but the band remained popular with many bestsellers on the R&B chart over the next decade.

So overcome adversity and keep the faith… with soul, funk, and The Bar-Kays.

My own introduction to The Bar-Kays came in 1984 with their biggest ever hit on the R&B chart (peaking at #2), “Freakshow On The Dance Floor.” The song featured in the movie Breakin’ (and on the accompanying soundtrack), and yes, I did spend most of that year attempting to breakdance to this album.