Joe Tex
Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of funk, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.
Joe Tex | |
|---|---|
Joe Tex in 1965 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Arrington Jr. |
| Also known as | Yusuf Hazziez |
| Born | August 8, 1935 Rogers, Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | Baytown, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | August 13, 1982 (aged 47) Navasota, Texas, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1955–1982 |
| Labels |
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His career started after he was signed to King Records in 1955 following four wins at the Apollo Theater. Between 1955 and 1964, he struggled to find hits, and by the time he finally recorded his first hit, "Hold What You've Got" in 1964, he had recorded 30 previous singles that were deemed failures on the charts. He went on to have four million-selling hits, "Hold What You've Got" (1965), "Skinny Legs and All" (1967), "I Gotcha" (1972), and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)" (1977). Joe Tex was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame six times, most recently in 2017.