Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 "I Gotcha" (1972), and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" (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.

Success

Tex recorded and finally scored his first hit, "Hold What You've Got", in November 1964 at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

His 1967 hits included "Show Me", 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, stayed on the charts for 15 weeks and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 1968.

Tex recorded his next big hit, "I Gotcha", 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.

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". 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. 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.

Cover versions

Several other artists have covered Tex's work. Jimmy Barnes had a top ten Australian hit with "I Gotcha" from his 1991 album Soul Deep, which also featured a version of "Show Me". 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".

Selected discography

Chart albums

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

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album

! colspan="2"| Chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Label

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

! width="40"|US Pop<br>

! width="40"|US R&B<br>

! width="40"| US<br />R&B<br>

! width="40"| AUS<br>

! width="40"| UK<br>

|-

| rowspan="1"| 1960

| align="left"| "All I Could Do Was Cry"

| 102

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1964

| align="left"| "I'd Rather Have You"

| —

| 44

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Hold What You've Got"

| 5

| 1

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="6"| 1965

| align="left"| "You Got What It Takes" /<br />"You Better Get It"

| 51<br />46

| 10<br />15

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "A Woman Can Change a Man"

| 56

| 12

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Don't Let Your Left Hand Know"

| 95

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show"

| 65

| 20

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "I Want To (Do Everything for You)"

| 23

| 1

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "A Sweet Woman Like You"

| 29

| 1

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="5"| 1966

| align="left"| "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)"

| 56

| 2

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (The Letter Song)"

| 39

| 9

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It"

| 67

| 8

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "I've Got to Do a Little Bit Better"

| 64

| 20

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Papa Was Too"

| 44

| 15

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1967

| align="left"| "Show Me"

| 35

| 24

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Woman Like That, Yeah"

| 54

| 24

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "A Woman's Hands"

| 63

| 24

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Skinny Legs and All"

| 10

| 2

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1968

| align="left"| "Men Are Gettin' Scarce"

| 33

| 7

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "I'll Never Do You Wrong"

| 59

| 26

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Keep the One You Got"

| 52

| 13

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "You Need Me, Baby"

| 81

| 29

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="5"| 1969

| align="left"| "That's Your Baby"

| 88

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Buying a Book"

| 47

| 10

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "That's the Way"

| 94

| 46

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "It Ain't Sanitary"

| 117

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "I Can't See You No More"

| 105

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| 1971

| align="left"| "Give the Baby Anything the Baby Wants"

| 102

| 20

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1972

| align="left"| "I Gotcha" /<br />"A Mother's Prayer"

| 2<br />—

| 1<br />41

| —

| —<br />—

|

|-

| align="left"| "You Said a Bad Word"

| 41

| 12

| —

| —

|

|-

| 1973

| align="left"| "Woman Stealer"

| 103

| 41

| —

| —

|

|-

| 1975

| align="left"| "Under Your Powerful Love"

| —

| 27

| —

| —

|

|-

| 1976

| align="left"| "Have You Ever"

| —

| 74

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1977

| align="left"| "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)"

| 12

| 7

| 2

| 2

|

  • BPI: Silver

|-

| align="left"| "Hungry for Your Love"

| —

| 84

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1978

| align="left"| "Rub Down"

| —

| 70

| —

| —

|

|-

| align="left"| "Loose Caboose"

| —

| 48

| —

| —

|

|-

| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

|}

See also

  • Blues
  • Southern soul
  • Atlantic Records

Notes

References

  • The New Musical Express Book of Rock, 1975, Star Books,
  • Joe Tex – I Gotcha at superseventies.com
  • Joe Tex – The New Boss: Dial Sessions And Dates at keepkey.yochanan.net
  • Joe Tex becomes Muslim at Raresoul.com