The Bo-Keys

By electraphonic at 2009-06-11The Bo-Keys don't simply replay the Memphis instrumental tradition – they deliver a hard-hitting and authentic take on the city's original soul-stew sound. A devotee of Stax instrumental groups like the Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MGs, bandleader and bassist Scott Bomar formed the Bo-Keys as an homage to the quintessential Memphis sound – yet he has both feet firmly planted in the 21st Century.
Their story goes back to 1998, when Bomar was asked to put together a band to back Stax sensation Sir Mack Rice. The idea for a soul-jazz combo was born, but it took Bomar a few more years to assemble the perfect line-up for the Bo-Keys.
A chance meeting between Bomar and guitarist Charles 'Skip' Pitts – at Memphis' Stax Music Academy, where both were teaching at-risk youth – led to the current incarnation of the Bo-Keys. Isaac Hayes' right hand man (that's Skip's wah-wah you hear on the intro to "Theme From Shaft"), Pitts also lent his unforgettable grooves to Rufus Thomas' "Do The Funky Chicken", the Soul Children's "I'll Be the Other Woman", The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" and Gene Chandler's "Rainbow '65."
Trumpeter and vocalist Ben Cauley is truly a soul legend. Ben is a founding member of the original Bar-Kays and the only surviving member of the fatal crash in Madison, WI which took the lives of his band mates and Otis Redding. Ben has played on many sessions in Memphis and Muscle Shoals with everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to The Doobie Brothers.
Keyboardist Archie "Hubie" Turner is a member of the highly esteemed Hi Rhythm Section. As a session player at Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio, "Hubie" has played on countless classics by Al Green, Ann Peebles and Syl Johnson. Archie is also a member of many groups whose rare Memphis 45's are sought after by soul/funk DJ such as The Pac-Keys, The Martinis and Black Rock.
Trumpeter Marc Franklin, tenor sax man Derrick Williams and baritone sax player Kirk Smothers are, like Bomar, young players on the Memphis scene. Over the last decade, these men have anchored some mighty horn sections, recording and performing live with such legends as Rufus Thomas, Ike Turner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Al Green. With an energy and raw talent that's reminiscent of the Memphis Horns, Franklin, Smothers and Williams are living proof that Memphis music is alive and well.
Drummer George Sluppick is the newest addition to the group. Originally from Memphis, George has played his funky and distinctive Memphis meets New Orleans with a twist of Boogaloo beat in the studio and on the road with Albert King, Robert Walker's 20th Congress, Melvin Sparks and most recently JJ Grey and MOFRO.
Bomar's concept was for an updated version of the incendiary Memphis sound embodied by players like Skip Pitts and Ben Cauley. Not only did he capture that sound, he recruited the original musicians who inspired him in the beginning. And now Bomar's vision was fulfilled: in spring 2003, the Bo-Keys headed into Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio to record their debut album, The Royal Sessions, which was met with critical acclaim, including praise from NPR who continue to play their tunes on air.
The group also performed the score for the Academy Award winning film, Hustle and Flow, performed the song, "Kick It" for the Paramount/Nickelodeon animated feature, Barnyard and is featured on camera and on the soundtrack of the film, Soul Men, staring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mack and Issac Hayes.
It's the sound of Memphis now– familiar, fresh, and unquestionably fantastic, the Bo-Keys.