Black Oak Arkansas/B.O.A.
There's something to be said for a strong work ethic. Between 1972 and 1975, Black Oak Arkansas released one and often two albums a year while constantly touring. All that activity produced several gold records and one bona fide hit, a suggestive remake of LaVern Baker's '50s hit "Jim Dandy To The Rescue."
Starting in '70 as a bunch of long hair troublemakers, disdained by the good people of Black Oak, Arkansas (yes, there is such a place), vocalist "Jim Dandy" Magrum, bassist Pat Daugherty, drummer Wayne Evans and guitarists Ricky "Ricochet" Reynolds, Stanley "Goober" Knight and
Harvey "Burley" Jett, then collectively known as Knowbody Else, relocated to the friendlier environs of New Orleans. While there, they recorded an album that stiffed.
The next stop was L.A. where they honed their Southern Rock/boogie sound and adopted the name Black Oak Arkansas. With a new self-titled album, the group hit the road where they earned a reputation for suggestive and raucous shows. Albums kept coming as the group continued to improve. Tommy Aldridge replaced Evans as B.O.A. turned the corner. "Raunch 'N' Roll Live" (the title says it all) was the group's commercial break. It was followed by "High On The Hog" which had "Jim Dandy To The Rescue," with vocalist Ruby Starr ramping up the innuendoes.
Jett left in '75 and Aldridge followed him. After that, wholesale changes were made as the group released a string of lackluster albums. Finally, in '80, B.O.A. called it quits. Magrum continued as a solo and B.O.A. made a couple attempts at re-forming.
For a group known for wild concert performances, "Black Oak Arkansas' "Raunch 'N' Roll Live" is a good place to start. While their early albums are spotty and their later albums boring, "High On The Hog" catches them mid-career and arguably at their peak. "Hot & Nasty: Best
of Black Oak Arkansas" is a good career retrospective.