Inez and Charlie Foxx

Inez Foxx (September 9, 1937 – August 25, 2022) and her elder brother Charlie Foxx (October 23, 1933 – September 18, 1998) were an American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charlie sang backing vocals and played guitar. Casey Kasem, and doubtless many others, mistakenly thought that the two were husband and wife.

Biography

Both children were born in Greensboro to John and Peggy Fox. According to published information in the North Carolina Birth Index, and the U.S. census, Charlie James Fox was born in 1933 and Inez Rebecca Fox in 1937, though subsequent publicity indicated later birth years for both siblings. They changed their professional names to Foxx with a double 'x'.

Charlie Foxx began singing with a gospel choir as a child in the early 1950s, and was later joined by his sister Inez. In 1960, Inez traveled to New York City and recorded for Brunswick Records using her then-married name Inez Johnston, but with little success. In early 1963, the pair introduced themselves to Henry 'Juggy' Murray, the owner of Sue Records, and sang him their arrangement of the traditional lullaby "Hush, Little Baby". The song, re-titled "Mockingbird," was released on Sue's subsidiary label Symbol Records in June 1963. The single reached the top 10 on both the US rhythm and blues and pop charts. It was their most successful record, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. It was later covered by artists including Aretha Franklin, James Taylor and Carly Simon, Dusty Springfield, Etta James with Taj Mahal and Toby Keith.

The record company, keen to promote Inez Foxx as a solo singer, issued later recordings under her name alone, despite the presence of two voices on the records. Perhaps because "Mockingbird" was seen as a novelty record, the pair had difficulty following it up, although "Ask Me" and "Hurt by Love" made the lower reaches of the US charts, and "Hurt by Love" also reached the UK singles chart. Luther Dixon produced Inez and Charlie's 1967 Dynamo album Come By Here, but the couple later divorced. and was buried in Mobile, Alabama. Inez Foxx died in Los Angeles on August 25, 2022, at the age of 84 (though some sources incorrectly stated her age as 79).

Discography

Chart singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="3"| Chart Positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:40px;"| US Pop

! style="width:40px;"| US R&B

! style="width:40px;"| UK

| rowspan="2"| 1963

| style="text-align:left;"| "Mockingbird"

| 7

| 2

| -

| style="text-align:left;"| "Hi Diddle Diddle" Inez Foxx

| 98

| -

| rowspan="2"| 1964

| style="text-align:left;"| "Ask Me" Inez Foxx

| 91

| -