features in: Album Chart of 1977 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s |

I’ve been a fan of Joe’s for a long, long time and some of the man’s 60s cuts are indelibly inked into my psyche; “I Believe I’m Gonna Make It”, “Someone To Take Your Place”, “Don’t Give Up” and “Buying A Book” were all fantastic examples of the gritty Southern Soul scene. He was always joking around, but he got away with it coz he was just so damn soulful; the real deal. Every era you care to check in on him, you’ll always find him the same way, even if the fashion has moved on. Some 5 years after his “Joe Tex Spills The Beans” LP, the 42-year-old was back in action with “Bumps and Bruises”; it’s disco Jim, but not as we know it. The big man fused his soul-stirring ways with the dance-floor sound-of-now, and some of the results were excellent.
From this LP, “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)” was THEE killer-cut, delivered superbly on a heavy drum n bass rhythm, with an ace horn section maintaining the classiness. The lyrical cheekiness could only have come from Joe, but he put it in Auntie Bennie Lee McGinty's name for tax purposes. Dude's a hustler! The song gave him his last hit single, reaching #12 in the US and #2 in the UK, although the extended album version is well worth the three extra minutes. “We Held On” is next-best; a gospel-tinged groover, extolling the virtues of the couple who find strength through adversity. Two further LPs followed this one in the late 70s, but tragedy would strike before we could hear how he would have taken to the 80s and beyond. On August 13, 1982, he died at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just five days after his 49th birthday. Didn’t he leave us some nice treasures, though?
The Jukebox Rebel
16–Apr–2016
Tracklist |
A1 | [06:45] ![]() |
A2 | [03:21] ![]() |
A3 | [05:29] ![]() |
A4 | [03:05] ![]() |
B1 | [03:24] ![]() |
B2 | [03:54] ![]() |
B3 | [04:02] ![]() |
B4 | [03:57] ![]() |
B5 | [02:44] ![]() |