The Mar-Keys
Formed in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and originally known as the Royal Spades, their line-up comprised: Steve Cropper (b. 21 October 1941, Willow Spring, Missouri, USA; guitar), Donald Duck Dunn (b. 24 November 1941, Memphis, Tennessee, USA; bass), Charles Packy Axton (tenor saxophone), Don Nix (b. 27 September 1941, Memphis, Tennessee, USA; baritone saxophone), Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Charlie Freeman (b. Memphis, Tennessee, USA; guitar), Jerry Lee Smoochy Smith (organ) and Terry Johnson (drums). Although their rhythmic instrumental style was not unique in Memphis, ( Willie Mitchell followed a parallel path at Hi Records), the Mar-Keys were undoubted masters. Their debut hit, Last Night, reached number 3 in the US Billboard pop chart during the summer of 1961, establishing Satellite, its outlet, in the process. Within months, Satellite had altered its name to Stax and the Mar-Keys became the label's houseband. Initially all-white, two black musicians, Booker T. Jones (organ) and Al Jackson (drums), had replaced Smith and Johnson by 1962. The newcomers, along with Cropper and Dunn, also worked as Booker T. And The MGs. A turbulent group, the Mar-Keys underwent several changes. Freeman left prior to the recording of Last Night (but would later return for live work), Nix and Axton also quit, while Joe Arnold and Bob Snyder joined on tenor and baritone saxophone. They in turn were replaced by Andrew Love and Floyd Newman, respectively. Although commercial success under their own name was limited, the group provided the backbone to sessions by Otis Redding, Sam And Dave, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas and many others, and were the pulsebeat to countless classic records. Axton, the son of Stax co-founder Estelle, later fronted the Packers, who hit with Hole In The Wall (1965). The single, released on Pure Soul, featured a not-inconspicuous MGs. Line-ups bearing the Mar-Keys’ name continued to record despite the desertion of most of the original members. Nix later became part of the Delaney And Bonnie/ Leon Russell axis while Charlie Freeman was later part of the Dixie Flyers, one of the last traditional housebands. Both he and Axton died in the early '70s, victims, respectively, of heroin and alcohol. Jackson, Love and Newman, meanwhile, continued the Mar-Keys legacy with releases on Stax and elsewhere, while simultaneously forging a parallel career as the Memphis Horns.