But the music released in this period is some of the best funk and R&B released in the late-’70s, as worthy of rediscovery as much as earlier LPs by label stalwarts. This period was short, and it hardly ranks in any Stax history: Robert Gordon’s veritable Stax bible Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion devotes only two sentences to this period in its 350+ pages, and Rob Bowman’s earlier Soulsville, U.S.A. Its legacy as the most important soul label ever is undebatable, and assured for history, despite it lasting for roughly 15 glory years.īut there’s a forgotten period in Stax history that brings us here today: the roughly 18 months in 19, when one of the label’s ace songwriters ran a newly relaunched Stax, pulled old songs out of the vault and made new albums, signed new acts and had charting singles. Stax was mostly a reissue concern until 2005, when Concord Records bought it, and signed some of the label’s original artists and new artists like Nathaniel Rateliff. By the end, Stax Records couldn’t get into stores or off pressing plant floors, and the label was purchased out of bankruptcy in the late-’70s. They had shining towers of success, followed by devastating lows that included the label being forced to close up shop in 1975, when a variety of banking concerns cut them off. But as a refresher: Stax Records started life as a small regional soul label, got distributed by Atlantic for a few glory years, realized their contract with Atlantic left them not owning their masters, left Atlantic, and struggled for years to regain their foothold, ultimately culminating in some of the most iconic R&B of the ’60s and ’70s. 'Holy Ghost' is a genuine funk classic and has been sampled by several prominent music acts, including Beastie Boys ('Hey Ladies'), Public Enemy ('Fear of a Black Planet'), Cee-Lo Green ('Glockappella') and M/A/R/R/S ('Pump Up the Volume').For the purposes of these liner notes, I’m going to assume that you are familiar with the broad contours of the Stax Records story, thanks to our eight previous Stax Classics selections (I’m including The Immortal Otis Redding here) and likely our The Story Of Stax Records Anthology box set from earlier this year. The line-up for the Bar-Kays when they released 'Holy Ghost' was the following: Larry Dodson (lead vocals), Lloyd Smith (Guitar), James Alexander (bass, vocals), Michael Beard (drums), Charles Allen (trumpet, vocals), Harvey Henderson (tenor sax), Winston Stewart (keyboards), and Frank Thompson (trombone). Multi-instrumentalist, composer and engineer Paul Smith played the synth bass part on 'Holy Ghost' but wasn't a member of the band. It was produced by the late Allen A. Jones, who helmed all of Money Talks. The track was written by Eddie Marion, Henderson Thigpen and James Banks. The album also saw some chart action, climbing to #21 on the U.S. Billboard Soul Album chart. The track performed extremely well on the U.S.

'Holy Ghost' is a single from the Bar-Kays' 1978 album Money Talks. This long version was played at clubs, parties and discos back in the day and had folks burning up the dance floor. The 12' extended version of the track is nearly nine minutes of glorious uncut funk, which includes a great percussion-filled breakdown.

Lead singer Larry Dodson delivers a powerful and gritty vocal performance. And the tight horn arrangement puts an exclamation point on the funk. The lyrics describe a woman whose love is so potent that it's akin to a religious experience for the song's narrator when the two hit the sheets, giving him sort of a spiritual/sexual rebirth.

In 1978, the Bar-Kays scorched the airwaves with their explosive funk hit 'Holy Ghost.' Funk doesn't get much better than this-ballsy, unapologetic and in-your-face. The groove is propelled by James Alexander's ferocious slap bass line, which is shadowed by a synthesized bass part to give it a thick, mechanized funk sound.

Holy ghost song bar kays