This is Memphis Soul living legend Ben Cauley. Ben is one of the last two surviving members of the original Bar-Kays, a Memphis Soul group formed in the mid 1960's. "Soulfinger" was their first national hit. They made such a name for themselves and had such a funky sweet Memphis soul sound that Otis Redding, a major rising star also from Memphis, chose them to be his road band. They gratefully accepted. But on December 10, 1967, just as Otis was reaching major international recognition (his song "Dock of the Bay" had been recorded just 3 days earlier), his plane went down in a lake in route to Madison, Wisconsin. The Bar-Kays were on board with Otis that tragic afternoon, and all but Ben perished in the cold waters of Lake Monona. When the plane went down, Ben was asleep with his arms wrapped around his seat cushion. The impact of the plane on the water busted open the plane fuselage and somehow Ben was thrown clear from the point of impact, still clutching his seat cushion. As he struggled to maneuver in the cold icy waters, he could hear his fellow travelers calling out for help. But one by one their calls silenced, and by the time Ben got back to where the plane went down, all was gone. Ben then restarted the Bar-Kays with James Alexander, the other only surviving member who luckily missed the ill-fated plane flight for taking too long at the car rental return. But by the mid-70's the Bar-Kays had moved from the original Memphis Soul sound opting instead for a more mainstream 70's hard-edged funk style. So Ben left his group and joined Isaac Hayes' Band, also from Memphis. James remains with the Bar-Kays to this day. Since then Ben has been more of a floater musician, always in high demand although known mostly only in musician's circles. Currently he is front man for a group called the Bo-Keys, and that's where these pictures were taken last July. The Bo-Keys CD is available on itunes. Although it was recorded before Ben joined the group, it is an excellent example of today's pure Memphis Soul. And oh yes, before someone freaks out again that this may be from a "no cameras" concert, it wasn't. The event was a fundraiser for WEVL, a commercial free radio station here which specializes in Memphis music. Cameras were encouraged, and we were all allowed right up to the stage as much as we wanted. You can hear WEVL on line at www.wevl.org. Worth your effort! Many thanks to those who read all this! marshall