Song:Jim Dandy
Album:The Seventies: Heavy Guitar Boogie
This cover of the LaVern Baker classic Jim Dandy was the biggest hit for the Southern Rock group Black Oak Arkansas. The band was named after their home town. When they first formed in 1963, they were called The Knowbody Else. They were going nowhere until Jim "Jim Dandy" Mangrum was made lead singer in 1968. They moved to Memphis and released a 1969 album on Stax's Hip label that went nowhere. Then they moved to Los Angeles, changed their name to Black Oak Arkansas and signed with Atco Records. Along with Mangrum, they had three guitarists in the band; Rickey Lee Reynolds, Harvey Jett and Stanley Knight. Pat Daugherty was on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums. The success of Black Oak Arkansas was mostly because of Mangrum's on stage antics. They didn't really have hit singles but their albums sold well enough for Atco to keep them around. Jim Dandy is from the 1973 album High on the Hog. By this time the band added singer Ruby Starr who is featured on Jim Dandy. Mangrum saw her performing in Evansville, IN and he invited her to join the band. After Jim Dandy was a top 30 hit, she went solo with Capitol Records. Black Oak Arkansas left Atco for MCA in 1975. In 1977, they shortened their name to Black Oak and signed with Capricorn. Unfortunately there aren't any Black Oak Arkansas comps in print. But you can get Jim Dandy on the various artists budget comp from the reissue label American Beat. Beware of off label comps with rerecordings. Manngrum and Reynolds still lead a version of Black Oak Arkansas on the nostalgia circuit. They released a new album in 2019 on Cleopatra Records. Here's Black Oak Arkansas performing Jim Dandy on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert 1973.
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