Joe Tex, our man from the gulf coast settings of Baytown, TX, set the bar for rappers to come in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Undeniably funky and soul shattering, Joe Tex falls in that special category of eccentric soul singers who started ‘rapping’ as a unique form of shout-singing and rhyming over a steadfast funky backbeat, all before rap took off as its own movement.
But before all that, Joe Tex started as a ballad-style soul singer, recording a handful of minor hits for releases on Ace, King and Anna before really tapping the mainstream with his recordings on Dial. And as if to be more in line with the competitive nature and themes of rapping, Joe Tex and the Godfather of Soul himself Mr. James Brown had ongoing beef with each other, stemming from accusations from Tex that James was stealing his on stage antics and dance moves. And to add insult to injury, Joe’s ex-wife left to join the James Brown Revue, resulting in Tex’s subsequent recording of “You Keep Her”, you can check it out here. If that doesn’t result in some heavy beefing, I don’t know what else would. And to make matters worse/more awkward, James and Tex frequently shared bills together during their touring heyday, with one evening resulting in James’s firing of his handgun after Joe mimicked his signature cape maneuver during his show. Considering this was a messy and likely frightful night with the gun firing at the end of the night, I still would’ve loved to been there that night. Joe Tex mocking the Godfather of Soul, and him getting so angry as to shoot his gun off. Scary, yet memorable, at the very least. And it’s reported that James paid everyone at the joint a $100 to keep their mouths shut, what a great story for the grandkids.
This week’s post is a highlight of Joe’s funky repertoire, “Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants” features a great driving groove-laden backbeat and bass line on top of some swirly horns and Joe’s signature vocalizing and shouting. Released on Dial Records in 1971, this would be one of the last records before his national hit ” I Gotcha” hit the mainstream, check out some dope soul train footage of that track here. And it would be shortly after that that Joe would retire from his short-lived recording career after converting to Islam and living out his days as a spiritual lecturer. Joe did eventually return to the stage and studio some years later, but never fully engaged his recording career as his days prior, though he did reach the charts again in the disco era, penning the regionally popular dance, The Bump, with the amusing song title of the same name, “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)”. Unfortunately, Joe died at the young age of 49 at his Texas ranch in Navasota, with fellow soulers Ben E. King, Don Covay, Wilson Pickett, and the songwriter Percy Mayfield serving as pallbearers. Alas, Joe Tex cut some mighty fine southern style soul and funk, hope you enjoy today’s selection of his impressive discography.
LISTEN: Joe Tex-Give The Baby Anything The Baby Wants
