Personnel: Joe Tex (vocals); Lee Royal Hadley, Leroy Hadley, Johnny Cristopher, Reggie Young (guitar); Clarence Ford, Sam Miller, Charles Farley, Eddie Williams , Excell Dorsett (tenor saxophone); Glenn Barbeaux, Mack Williams (baritone saxophone); Sammie Coleman, Warren Johns, Johnny Whitrack, Emile Hall (trumpet); Norman "Sly" Sellers (trombone); Bobby Woods (piano); Bobby Emmons (organ); J. Alfred Cook, Tommy Cogbill (bass guitar); Clyde Williams, Gene Chrisman (drums).
Liner Note Author: Clifford White.
Recording information: American Studio, Memphis, TN (1962-1968); Beaumont, TX (1962-1968); Muscle Shoals, AL (1962-1968); Nashville, TN (1962-1968).
Photographer: Roger Armstrong.
Tex, whose style derived from gospel and country music, was one of the best and most versatile of Southern soul singers, as well as one of the few who was able to survive into the disco era without really changing his approach.. This album collects most of his work between 1962 and 1969, beginning with his early efforts as a sort of Fats Domino wannabe ("You Got What It Takes"), and it includes both his breakthrough 1964 hit "Hold What You've Got" (Tex sings only the choruses--on the verses, he's basically delivering a sermon) and the rowdy and funny "Skinny Legs and All," the two songs that most define the outer limits of his style.
