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The Memphis Horns

The Memphis Horns are the quintessential Memphis music combination, Andrew Love, tall, black and as mellow as one of his tenor solos; Wayne Jackson, short, white and as intense as one of his trumpet blasts. Together they were reared in all that Memphis music had to offer. Wayne got his start across the River in his hometown of West Memphis, Arkansas, strumming the guitar and singing in childhood talent shows. Andrew began his career playing “Amazing Grace” in Memphis’ Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, where his father, Roy, was the preacher. Wayne took up trumpet after his mother gave him one at age 11 and began playing in the junior and senior high school bands. From there, the two future partners’ lives moved along parallel lines.

By the beginning of the 60s, Wayne was playing with a group called, The Mar-Keys. A hit instrumental, “Last Night,” landed The Mar-Keys at the top of the charts, and Wayne toured the country in a group that included Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Packy Axton, Terry Johnson, Ronnie Angel and Don Nix.

Meanwhile, Andrew was doing sessions at Willie Mitchell’s Hi Records. But one day at Al Jackson’s (drummer for Booker T. & The MGs) suggestion, he brought his sax to Stax. “I remember the first time we played together,” says Andrew. “I loved how our tones blended and so did Wayne. We had a unique sound.”

They appeared on virtually ever Stax recording, backing Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Carla & Rufus Thomas and a host of others.

When not in a Stax session, they could be found recording at Hi Records and American Studio or burning up the highway from Memphis to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where they recorded with a Who’s Who of Southern Soul including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett.

In 1967, they toured Europe with the Stax/Volt Revue and helped Otis Redding steal the show at the Monterey Pop Festival. For Wayne and Andrew, it was a turning point. “On the drive back to San Francisco to catch the plane home to Memphis, Andrew and I decided that maybe we really could make a living at this,” says Wayne. “It was a revelation. Up until then, we wondered each year what we would do when this was over. And now it seemed like it was going to stretch on forever.”

In 1969, after being told by Stax that they could no longer work at other studios, only exclusively at Stax, they declined to do so. They left the house band payroll and incorporated as The Memphis Horns, offering their services to anyone whose music needed a shot of Memphis soul, and lines began forming. Elvis, Al Green, Stephen Stills, Rod Stewart, The Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Gabriel, U2, Jimmy Buffett, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Robert Cray and hundreds of other have since worked with the men who made up the R&B horn section that provided the model for all others to follow.

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Album Review

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (SACD)

Read "Born Under A Bad Sign (SACD)" reviewed by Doug Collette


Originally released in the psychedelicized year of 1967, the altogether earthy blues recording that is Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign may have gone over the heads of those succumbing to flower power during the Summer of Love. Nevertheless, it made an impression on those who were learning to dote on the genre, many of whom were musicians who not only acted upon the inspiration they found in the music, but also tendered dutiful homage to the artist. Cream ...

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Album Review

Stephen Stills: Live At Berkeley 1971

Read "Live At Berkeley 1971" reviewed by Doug Collette


Given the length and breadth of Stephen Stills' discography--as a solo artist, leader of the Manassas band, and in various collaborations--it's altogether surprising he hasn't done more archival work. But Live At Berkeley 1971 rectifies the neglect, at least to some degree, and might augur well for future releases. This sixty-six minutes (on CD or two LPs), recorded over two nights, may not be the definitive recording of its time anymore than the contractual obligation that was/is Stephen ...

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Recording

The Lost Nashville Sessions Of Wayne Jackson & The Memphis Horns Band Released After More Than Three Decades April 19th

The Lost Nashville Sessions Of Wayne Jackson & The Memphis Horns Band Released  After More Than Three Decades April 19th

Source: The Last Music Company

In the preamble to the 50th Anniversary of Grammy Lifetime Award winners The Memphis Horns in June, Skytone Entertainment releases The Lost Nashville Sessions by Wayne Jackson and The Memphis Horns Band in all digital formats today. The recording unearths tapes that were found lying dormant in a Nashville attic for over 34 years. Recorded in the mid-80s, The Lost Nashville Sessions is an eclectic collection of rock, soul, blues, pop and the eccentric—and heralds the one of the only ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live At Berkeley 1971

Omnivore Recordings
2023

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Memphis Horns

DBK Works Records
2005

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Robert Cray
guitar, electric

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