Joe Tex

Biography

Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of funk, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.
His career started after he was signed to King Records in 1955 following four wins at the Apollo Theater. Between 1955 and 1964, he struggled to find hits, and by the time he finally recorded his first hit, "Hold What You've Got×Hold What You've Got1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1You Got What It Takes2:12A2Tell Me Right Now2:44A3One Monkey Don't Stop the Show2:59A4Hold What You've Got3:07A5I'm Not Going to Work Today2:06A6Are We Ready2:28B1You Better Get It3:21B2Heep See Few Know2:34B3Fresh Out of Tears2:15B4You Can Stay2:25B5There Is a Girl2:26B6Together We Stand2:01" in 1964, he had recorded 30 previous singles that were deemed failures on the charts. He went on to have four million-selling hits: "Hold What You've Got" (1965), "Skinny Legs and All" (1967), "I Gotcha×I Gotcha1972 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1I Gotcha2:18A2Give the Baby Anything the Baby Wants3:20A3Takin’ a Chance3:32A4Baby Let Me Steal You2:06A5It Ain’t Gonna Work Baby3:06A6God of Love2:40B1You Said a Bad Word2:33B2Bad Feet3:25B3The Woman Cares3:08B4Love Me Right Girl3:06B5For My Woman3:32B6You’re in Too Deep2:03" (1972), and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)×Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAAin't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)3:28BI Mess Up Everything I Get My Hands On3:05" (1977).
Tex was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame six times, most recently in 2017.

Early life

Joe Tex was born Joseph Arrington, Jr. in Rogers, Texas, in Bell County to Joseph Arrington and Cherie Sue (Jackson) Arrington. He and his sister Mary Sue were initially raised by their grandmother, Mary Richardson. After their parents divorced, Cheri Arrington moved to Baytown. Tex played baritone saxophone in the high-school band and sang in a local Pentecostal church choir. He entered several talent shows, and after an important win in Houston, he won $300 and a trip to New York City. Joe Tex took part in the amateur portion of the Apollo Theater, winning first place four times, which led to his discovery by Henry Glover, who offered him a contract with King Records. His mother's wish was that he graduate from high school first, and Glover agreed to wait a year before signing him at age 19.

Early recordings

Tex recorded for King Records between 1955 and 1957 with little success. He later claimed he sold musical rights to the composition "Fever" to King Records staff to get money to pay his rent. The song's credited songwriters, Otis Blackwell (who used the pseudonym John Davenport) and Joe Cooley, disputed Tex's claims. Labelmate Little Willie John had a hit with "Fever", which inspired Tex to write the first of his answer songs, "Pneumonia".
In 1958, he signed with Ace and continued to have relative failures, but he was starting to build a unique stage reputation, opening for artists such as Jackie Wilson, James Brown, and Little Richard. He perfected the microphone tricks and dance moves that defined the rest of his career. Many, including Little Richard, claim that Tex's future nemesis James Brown stole Tex's dance moves and microphone tricks. In 1960, he left Ace and briefly recorded for Detroit's Anna Records label, scoring a Bubbling Under Billboard hit with his cover version of Etta James' "All I Could Do Was Cry". By then, Tex's use of rapping over his music was starting to become commonplace.
In 1961, he recorded his composition "Baby You're Right" for Anna. Later that year, James Brown recorded a cover version, though with different lyrics and a different musical composition, gaining songwriting credit, making it a hit in 1962, and reaching number two on the R&B chart. During this time, Tex first began working with Buddy Killen, who formed the Dial Records label behind Tex. After a number of songs failed to chart, Killen decided to have Atlantic Records distribute his recordings with Dial in 1964. By the time he signed with Atlantic, Tex had recorded 30 songs, all of which had failed to make an impact on the charts.

Success

Tex recorded and finally scored his first hit, "Hold What You've Got×Hold What You've Got1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1You Got What It Takes2:12A2Tell Me Right Now2:44A3One Monkey Don't Stop the Show2:59A4Hold What You've Got3:07A5I'm Not Going to Work Today2:06A6Are We Ready2:28B1You Better Get It3:21B2Heep See Few Know2:34B3Fresh Out of Tears2:15B4You Can Stay2:25B5There Is a Girl2:26B6Together We Stand2:01", in November 1964 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He was unconvinced the song would be a hit and advised Killen not to release it. However, Killen felt otherwise and released the song in early 1965. By the time Tex got wind of its release, the song had already sold 200,000 copies. The song eventually peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Tex's first number-one hit on the R&B charts, staying on the charts for 11 weeks and selling more than a million copies by 1966.
Tex placed six top-40 charted singles on the R&B charts in 1965 alone, including two more number-one hits, "I Want To (Do Everything For You)" and "A Sweet Woman Like You". He followed that with two successive albums, Hold On To What You've Got and The New Boss×The New Boss1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1C.C. Rider2:27A2Stop Look and Listen1:55A3For Your Love3:07A4A Woman (Can Change a Man)2:35A5What in the World2:18A6You've Got What It Takes2:12B1Don't Make Your Children Pay2:57B2King of the Road2:12B3Detroit City2:47B4Any Little Bit2:09B5Hold What You've Got3:07B6I Want To (Do Everything for You)2:07. He placed more R&B hits than any artist, including his rival James Brown. In 1966, five more singles entered the top 40 on the R&B charts, including "The Love You Save×The Love You Save1966 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1The Love You Save2:57A2Live for Yourself2:19A3Build Your Love2:15A4I Don't Trust Myself Around You2:44A5Funny Bone2:08A6A Sweet Woman Like You2:36B1I'm a Man2:27B2You Better Believe It2:57B3Close the Door3:02B4If Sugar Was as Sweet as You2:54B5Heartbreak Hotel1:59B6Don't Let Your Left Hand Know (What Your Right Hand Is Doing)2:19" and "S.Y.S.L.J.F.M." or "The Letter Song", which was an answer song to Wilson Pickett's "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)".
His 1967 hits included "Show Me×Show Me1992 · Other · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks1Show Me2:552Skinny Legs and All3:073Hold What You've Got3:124I Gotcha2:325Papa Was Too3:006SYSLJFM2:517I've Got to Do a Little Better3:058Buying a Book3:289You're Right3:4310You Got What It Takes (aka: take What I've Got)2:1711Don't Make Your Children Pay3:0312Have You Ever3:0813Don't Play With Me2:2714All a Man Needs (Is a Woman Love)3:0615I Can See Everybodiy's Baby4:1516She Said Yeah3:3117It's Ridiculous2:5818We're Killing Ourselves3:1619Back Off2:4120I've Seen Enough2:5021Ain't Gonna Bump No More (with No Big Fat Woman)6:4922Loose Caboose7:02", which became an often-covered tune for British rock artists and later some country and pop artists, and his second million-selling hit, "Skinny Legs and All". The latter song, released off Tex's pseudo-live album, Live and Lively×Live and Lively1968 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Show Me3:07A2Do Right Woman - Do Right Man2:54A3Get Out of My Life, Woman2:57A4Wooden Spoon2:58A5That's Life3:50B1Love Is a Hurtin' Thing2:22B2Don't Give Up3:07B3A Woman's Hands3:28B4You're Gonna Thank Me, Woman2:00B5Papa Was, Too2:54B6Skinny Legs and All3:10, stayed on the charts for 15 weeks and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 1968. After leaving Atlantic for Mercury, Tex had several more R&B hits including "Buying a Book×Buying a Book1969 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1We Can’t Sit Down Now2:59A2Sure Is Good3:15A3That’s the Way3:45A4Anything You Wanna Know3:46A5It Ain’t Sanitary3:05B1The Only Way3:18B2Grandma Mary3:35B3Get Your Lies Together2:47B4The Same Things You Did to Get Me2:40B5Buying a Book3:25" in 1970 and "Give the Baby Anything the Baby Wants" in 1971. The intro saxophone riffs in his 1969 song, "You're Right, Ray Charles" later influenced Funkadelic's "Standing on the Verge of Gettin' It On".

Tex recorded his next big hit, "I Gotcha×I Gotcha1972 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1I Gotcha2:18A2Give the Baby Anything the Baby Wants3:20A3Takin’ a Chance3:32A4Baby Let Me Steal You2:06A5It Ain’t Gonna Work Baby3:06A6God of Love2:40B1You Said a Bad Word2:33B2Bad Feet3:25B3The Woman Cares3:08B4Love Me Right Girl3:06B5For My Woman3:32B6You’re in Too Deep2:03", in December 1971. The song was released in January 1972 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks, staying at number two on the Hot 100 for two weeks and sold more than 2 million copies, becoming his biggest-selling hit to date. Tex was offered a gold disc of the song on March 22, 1972. The parent album reached number 17 on the pop albums chart. The song would later be included in director Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film debut Reservoir Dogs. Following this and another album, Tex announced his retirement from show business in September 1972 to pursue life as a minister for Islam. Tex returned to his music career following the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975, releasing the top-40 R&B hit, "Under Your Powerful Love". His last hit, "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)×Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAAin't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)3:28BI Mess Up Everything I Get My Hands On3:05", was released in 1977 and peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100 and number 2 in the UK.
His last public appearances were as part of a revised 1980s version of the Soul Clan in 1981. After that, Tex withdrew from public life, settling at his ranch in Navasota, Texas, and watching football games by his favorite team, the Houston Oilers.

Rivalry with James Brown

The feud between Tex and fellow label mate James Brown allegedly originated sometime in the mid-1950s, when both artists were signed to associated imprints of King Records, when Brown reportedly called out on Tex for a "battle" during a dance at a local juke joint. In 1960, Tex left King and recorded a few songs for Detroit-based Anna Records; one of the songs he recorded was the ballad "Baby, You're Right". A year later, Brown recorded the song and released it in 1961, changing the lyrics and the musical composition, earning Brown co-songwriting credits along with Tex. By then, Brown had recruited singer Bea Ford, who had been married to Tex but had divorced him in 1959. In 1960, Brown and Ford recorded the song, "You've Got the Power". Shortly afterward, Tex got a personal letter from Brown telling him that he was through with Ford and if Tex wanted her back, he could have her. Tex responded by recording the diss record "You Keep Her" in 1962.
In 1963, their feud escalated when Tex and Brown performed a concert in Macon, Georgia. Tex, who opened the show, imitated Brown by appearing in a torn, tattered cape and rolling around on the floor screaming, "Please—somebody help get me out of this cape!" Brown, already angry with Tex over the song "You Keep Her", left the club and returned with guns. Tex had left the club before the shooting commenced. The incident led to multiple people being shot and stabbed. Since Brown was still on parole at the time, he relied on his agent Clint Brantley "and a few thousand dollars to make the situation disappear". According to fellow performer Johnny Jenkins, "seven people got shot", and after the shootout ended, a man appeared and gave "each one of the injured a hundred dollars apiece not to carry it no further and not to talk to the press". Brown was never charged for the incident. Tex later claimed that Brown stole his dance moves and his microphone stand tricks.
In a few interviews he gave in the 1960s, Tex dismissed the notion of Brown being called "Soul Brother No. 1", insisting that Little Willie John was the original "Soul Brother No. 1". Tex even claimed Brown stopped some radio disc jockeys from playing his hit "Skinny Legs and All", which Tex claimed prevented Tex from taking down one of Brown's number-one songs at the time. During a 1968 tour, Tex had the words "The New Soul Brother No. 1" on his tour bus, but eventually took the name off the bus and had it repainted. Tex challenged Brown to contest who "the real soul brother" was. Brown reportedly refused the challenge, telling the Afro-American, "I will not fight a black man. You need too much help." While Tex moved on from his initial feud with Brown, Brown reportedly joked, "Who?" in his Bobby Byrd and Hank Ballard duet "Funky Side of Town" from his Get on the Good Foot album when Ballard mentioned Tex's name as one of the stars of soul music.

Personal life and death

A convert to the Nation of Islam in 1966, he changed his name to Yusuf Hazziez, and toured as a spiritual lecturer. He had two daughters, Eartha Doucet and Leslie Arrington, and four sons, Joseph Arrington III, Ramadan Hazziez, Jwaade Hazziez, and Joseph Hazziez.
Though he lived most of his life free of drugs and alcohol, according to his longtime producer Buddy Killen, Tex suffered from addiction during the last four years of his life. In his final performances as part of the Soul Clan, he appeared gaunt and unwell, and Killen claimed that Tex had "lost his will to live".
In early August 1982, Tex was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at his home in Navasota, after which he was revived in hospital and sent home. Just a few days later, on August 13, five days after his 47th birthday, he died at Grimes Memorial Hospital in Navasota, following a heart attack.

Cover versions

Several other artists have covered Tex's work. Jimmy Barnes had a top ten Australian hit with "I Gotcha×I Gotcha1972 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1I Gotcha2:18A2Give the Baby Anything the Baby Wants3:20A3Takin’ a Chance3:32A4Baby Let Me Steal You2:06A5It Ain’t Gonna Work Baby3:06A6God of Love2:40B1You Said a Bad Word2:33B2Bad Feet3:25B3The Woman Cares3:08B4Love Me Right Girl3:06B5For My Woman3:32B6You’re in Too Deep2:03" from his 1991 album Soul Deep, which also featured a version of "Show Me×Show Me1992 · Other · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 22 tracks1Show Me2:552Skinny Legs and All3:073Hold What You've Got3:124I Gotcha2:325Papa Was Too3:006SYSLJFM2:517I've Got to Do a Little Better3:058Buying a Book3:289You're Right3:4310You Got What It Takes (aka: take What I've Got)2:1711Don't Make Your Children Pay3:0312Have You Ever3:0813Don't Play With Me2:2714All a Man Needs (Is a Woman Love)3:0615I Can See Everybodiy's Baby4:1516She Said Yeah3:3117It's Ridiculous2:5818We're Killing Ourselves3:1619Back Off2:4120I've Seen Enough2:5021Ain't Gonna Bump No More (with No Big Fat Woman)6:4922Loose Caboose7:02". The Foundations also covered "Show Me". US R&B group the Raelettes and UK hard rock band Nazareth covered "I Want To (Do Everything for You)", and Phish performed "You Better Believe It Baby".