THE MAR-KEYS

The Mar-Keys, the first house band at Stax Records in Memphis, had a million-selling instrumental hit in 1961.

They began in high school as the Royal Spades and tried to make a record for the locally owned Satellite Records, but the label turned them down—even though its co-owner, Estelle Axton, was mother of the group’s tenor sax player. When she finally did let them record, Ms. Axton convinced the band to change their name. They rebranded themselves the Mar-Keys after the marquee above the entrance to Satellite, which was housed in an old movie theater.

Their debut release was the organ- and saxophone-driven instrumental, “Last Night.” A certified million-seller, it shot to #2 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and #3 in the pop market. The line-up on this recording was Steve Cropper (second keyboard, though he normally played guitar), Charles “Packy” Axton (tenor sax), Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Jerry Lee “Smoochy” Smith (main keyboards), Floyd Newman (baritone sax), and Gilbert Caple (tenor sax). Chips Moman, who produced the session, put Cropper on keyboards as he did not think “Last Night” needed a guitar part.

Singles and albums continued to come out under the Mar-Keys’ name, but “Last Night” was far and away the pinnacle of their success. The original all-white band continued to play live gigs, but were often replaced by session players on the studio recordings. Basically, “the Mar-Keys” became the de facto name for the racially mixed house band at Stax (the new name for Satellite). Though it had a floating line-up, the main session players were Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass), Smoochy Smith (keyboards), Howard Grimes (drums), and a varying combination of horn players that included Wayne Jackson, Floyd Newman, Don Nix, Gilbert Caple, Packy Axton, and Andrew Love.

The membership was subject to change from session to session. Other on-again, off-again members included Lewis Steinberg (bass), Marvell Thomas, Booker T. Jones or Isaac Hayes (keyboards), and Terry Johnson or Al Jackson, Jr. (drums). While still involved with studio work under the Mar-Keys’ name, Jones, Cropper, Steinberg and Jackson began playing together as Booker T. & The MG’s (Memphis Group). Under that name, they recorded the 1962 instrumental smash, “Green Onions.” (Duck Dunn replaced Steinberg in the MG’s in 1964.)

In addition to being the studio version of the Mar-Keys, the above musicians also played on recordings by dozens of acts who recorded at Stax—including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, and Wilson Pickett.

Beginning with “Green Onions,” records by Booker T. & The MG’s consistently outsold the Mar-Keys. The 1965 single, “Boot-Leg,” though really a Mar-Keys recording, was credited to Booker’s group, even though Jones himself did not play on it. “Boot-Leg” became a top forty hit, prompting Stax by late 1966 to no longer issue singles under the Mar-Keys’ name. Ironically, that same year gave the band their second-biggest hit, “Philly Dog.”

In the late ‘60s, the Mar-Keys’ name was used whenever horn players Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson played live with Booker T. & The MG’s. The two bands shared the label credit on Back to Back, a 1967 live album recorded in Paris.

The Mar-Keys returned to the studio for the 1969 album, Damifiknow! The six-man line-up comprised Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, Andrew Love, and Wayne Jackson. The album was commercially unsuccessful, and just one more LP came out under the Mar-Keys’ name. Memphis Experience (1971) was merely a collection of instrumental recordings culled from various sources, while others cuts were played by anonymous studio musicians with no ties to the band.

The Mar-Keys were instrumental (no pun intended) in the development of Southern soul, and Memphis soul in particular. Their total output was 13 singles and six albums. In all, the band went through 21 members.

Charted singles:

“Last Night” (1961) R&B #2, Pop #3
“Morning After” (1961) Pop #60
“Popeye Stroll” (1962) Pop #94
“Banana Juice” (1965) Pop #121
“Grab This Thing, Part 1” (1965) Pop #111
“Philly Dog” (1966) R&B #19, Pop #89