Joe Tex

HOLD WHAT YOU’VE GOT – 1965

A Sweet Woman Like You

I Wanna Be Free

WOMAN LIKE THAT YEAH

Close The Door

SHOW ME

You Better Believe It Baby

S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (The Letter Song)

‘B’ Side That’s The Way The Girls Are From Texas…?

If Sugar Was As Sweet As You

(Huge at the ‘Wheel’ All-nighter)

SEE SEE RIDER

(Huge at The Blue Note)

Skinny Legs (and All)

Joe Tex, an all time soul favourite. The Blue Note club in Manchester kept pace with its contemporary, the Twisted Wheel but it was the Blue Note that in the latter part of the 1960’s had a wider range of Music due to the ‘Wheel’ choosing to play many similar dance numbers which exhibited the thumping Motown beat relentlessly. This may have been due to the fact that at this stage the Wheel had become the heart of the amphetamine culture and the greatest of all All-nighters.

See See Rider was  a much copied blues standard sung with a different beat by Joe Tex. I never heard at the Wheel, probably as imported 45’s were still fairly rare. The DJ’s at the Blue Note had a copy of  and it filled the dance floor every time it was played.

However it was Roger Eagle at the Brazennose Street ‘Wheel’ that really kicked off our appreciation then love of Joe Tex inculcating us with “Hold What You’ve Got” and “A Sweet Woman Like You”. Joe was a Soul song story teller, telling us in all his songs, items from his life.

Joe changed his name from Joe Arrington Junior to Tex to denote his Texas origin. In 1955 he signed there for and recorded at King records. Later he went to ACE  and then he joined Buddy Killen of DIAL Records releasing in 1965 ‘Hold What You’ve Got’ which became a considerable hit. The list above are notable tracks played at Manchester Soul clubs –  Joe Tex was a firm favourite.

Joes music was filled with great storyline lyrics e.g. The Rib

1972 I Gotcha/Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)

Joe became a Muslim and took the name Joseph X.

Under Your Powerful Love (1975) was the track from Joe’s repertoire that made it big on the Northern Soul scene; and that’s amazing, yes its good but several from his sixties work, almost any are much more in the Soul dance groove…. well that’s just me. Kev Roberts puts this at 224 on his Top 500 and “Show Me” at 471.

Joe Tex – Wikipedia

I Gotcha – Joe Tex