Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to “Soul Finger” by the Bar-Kays
I live near the lake where Otis Redding — and nearly all of the Bar-Kays — met their end on a cold wintry night. It goes without saying that they were all gone too soon.
Redding is frozen in time. The 2 surviving members of the Bar-Kays rebuilt the band and went on to have a solid career, with funk anthems like “Holy Ghost.” But before that fateful flight, they recorded tracks like this.
…And if you’re of (ahem) a certain age, this will also immediately remind you of a certain movie…
Best comment from YouTube:
Doctor: you have two minutes to live
Me: I wanna listen to Soul Finger
Doctor: that’s two minutes and twenty seconds.
God: it’s ok.
More:
That spring, the Bar-Kays cut their first single, "Soul Finger," a playful, party-hearty instrumental punctuated by a group of neighborhood children shouting the title. "Soul Finger" reached the pop Top 20 and went all the way to number three on the R&B chart, establishing the Bar-Kays in the public eye…
Read the full biography here.
Sound Up & Sound Off:
“Soul Finger” by Bar-Kays | Soul Finger, 1967
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this record!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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The cover art alone makes it worthwhile
It's just stopped raining here for a little bit and this was a glorious push back against the clouds.