Farewell to Inez Foxx

Yes, another sixties soul icon has reportedly died, this time Inez Foxx (79) whose exciting records alongside her brother Charlie (who died in 1998) really put the UK Sue label on the map and helped make it one of the most sought after soul record labels. Inez and Charlie Foxx were born in North Carolina but came to fame when they met Juggy Murray, owner of the New York based Sue label, and recorded their first big hit 'Mockingbird' for the Symbol subsidiary. When London DJ Guy Stevens was asked by Chris Blackwell to set up a UK Sue label he chose that record as its first release. All the early Sue releases were originally recorded by US Sue although other releases soon joined the UK Sue fold. Foxx 45s followed 'Mockingbird in quick succession on Sue including 'Hurt By Love', 'Jaybirds', 'Le-De-Da I Love You', 'Ask Me' and 'Competition'. Often these were attributed to Inez alone, although Charlie also participated. A further Sue single, 'My Momma Told me'. appeared on London. I loved the Inez and Charlie Foxx sound and no fewer than four of their Sue 45s entered by personal top ten between May and July 1964. In many ways their sound was similar to what Ike and Tina Turner were doing at the time and I occasionally went to Guy Stevens' The Scene club to pick up on the latest Sue releases. Inez and Charlie signed to the Musicor subsidiary Dynamo in 1966 and continued their run of great R and B records with tracks such as 'Come By Here', 'Tightrope' (a big hit on the Northern soul scene), 'I Ain't Going For That' '(1,2,3,4,5,6,7) Count The Days' and 'Baby Give It To Me'. Inez married songwriter and producer Luther Dixon who produced their 1968 album 'Come By Here' and the couple wrote 'I Love You 1000 Times', a hit for the Platters. Inez continued as a solo act into the seventies and recorded several fine southern soul singles for Volt in Memphis, including 'I Had A Talk With My Man' and 'You Hurt Me For The Last Time' and an album, 'Inez Foxx at Memphis'. Apparently she was offered 'Woman To Woman', a huge hit for Shirley Brown, but turned it down, and that seems to have marked the end of her music career. During their sixties heyday Inez and Charlie toured the UK with the Rolling Stones and made a big impression, as did their fine records, but Inez left the music business after her spell in Memphis and did not record or tour again. RIP Inez.