Journey Through The Past 24 : The Box Tops : White Memphis Soul Boys

I have both this greatest hits set on CD and their debut on vinyl.  When ever I listen to either I am always impressed by the quality and soulfulness of the band and left wondering about lost opportunities and why the band has not been rediscovered on the golden oldies radio stations.

A Memphis band of young precocious teenagers lead by 16 year old Alex Chilton they hit it big straight away with The Letter and then Cry Like a Baby, Neon Rainbow, Soul Deep and I Met Her in a Church. For a little over a year in from 1967 to 1968 they were seldom not on the charts.

Of course this was before I became infatuated with music and I really was not aware of them until I started to investigate originals of Joe Cockers' hits in the early 70s.

While they were a fully fledged band they did not play all the instruments on some of the tracks with seasoned Memphis Studio Musicians Tommy Cogbill and Reggie Young supplementing and giving muscle to the team.   They are particularly noticeable on their cover of

Dan Penn was the producer for the first album and Cogbill and Chips Moman from American Studios took over for the follow ups.

A few years after Alex Chilton left the band he went on to form masterful Big Star.