Reissued for the First Time On Vinyl In 40 Years; 180g Vinyl LP All-Analog Mastered by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl and Pressed at Memphis Record Pressing

In the fall of 2019 Craft Recordings will reissue five albums from the Stax vault on 180-gram vinyl including The Bar-Kays’ Gotta Groove, Booker T. & The M.G.’s Melting Pot, Delaney & Bonnie’s Home, David Porter’s Victim of the Joke?…An Opera, and Johnnie Taylor’s Who’s Making Love. All LPs have been cut from their original analog tapes by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl and manufactured at Memphis Record Pressing. These reissues are part of a yearlong celebration of Stax, and of the 50th anniversary of the legendary label’s “Soul Explosion” – an era of rebuilding following its separation from Atlantic Records. During this period, the newly independent label not only signed fresh, emerging talent but also released an impressive collection of 27 albums and 30 singles in just a handful of months.

Released in 1969, The Bar-Kays’ Gotta Groove marked a triumphant return by a band reeling from tragedy. Formed in 1966, The Bar-Kays enjoyed success as session musicians at Stax, and soon became the backing group for Otis Redding. In 1967, they released an instrumental debut, Soul Finger, and scored a hit with the title track. Just months later, however, the group’s momentum was cut short, when four members of the band were killed in a plane crash, along with Redding. Channeling their heartbreak, surviving members Ben Cauley and James Alexander rebuilt The Bar-Kays with new musicians, and by 1969 they were back in the studio working with artists like Isaac Hayes.

Gotta Groove was their first release with the new members and it stands as a testament to their resilience and talent. AllMusic calls Gotta Groove, “A celebration of life and music that ranks among the funkiest, hardest-driving LPs ever released under the Stax aegis.” Highlights of the album, which makes its return to vinyl after 40 years, include the psychedelic grooves of two-part song “Don’t Stop Dancing (To the Music),” the jazz-tinged soul of Marvin Gaye cover, “If This World Were Mine,” and instrumental renditions of The Beatles’ “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude.”