Black Oak Arkansas at the Bowery Electric

Rickie Lee Reynolds, Jim "Dandy" Mangrum & Hal McCormack

Black Oak Arkansas, originally named the Knowbody Else, was formed in 1963 by a group of friends who attended high school in Black Oak, Arkansas. Early on, the musicians recruited raspy-throated James "Jim Dandy" Mangrum to sing their raw blend of southern rock, gospel, country and blues. The musicians allegedly stole a public address system from a local high school and converted an old grain bin at the edge of town into a rehearsal space. Members of the group were subsequently charged in absentia with grand larceny and sentenced to 26 years at the Tucker Prison Farm, a sentence that was later suspended. The band's name was changed to Black Oak Arkansas in 1970 and 10 albums charted in that decade; the latest album is 2013's Back Thar N' Over Yonder. Black Oak Arkansas presently consists of Mangrum on vocals and washboard, original member Rickie Lee ("Ricochet" or "Risky") Reynolds on rhythm guitar, Hal McCormack on lead guitar, George Hughen on bass guitar and Johnnie Bolin on drums.

Black Oak Arkansas was always known best for its live shows. Tonight at the Bowery Electric, the band played ragged rock and Mangrum kept the audience smiling with his unusual vocal style, his between-song chatter and his musical instrument of choice, the scrub board. Once the band's crotch-packed blond dynamo, Magnum is now a pot-bellied senior citizen; this made his sexual double-entendres and other on-stage antics even more amusing. Black Oak Arkansas performed "Hot and Nasty", "Lord Have Mercy on My Soul" and "Uncle Lijiah" from the band's 1971 self-titled debut album. Mangrum introduced another staple, "Hot Rod," as a song that was "not about cars." The band performed blues and country flavored songs from its latest album, and closed with its signature remake of LaVern Baker's 1957 hit "Jim Dandy." More than 50 years after the band started hollering, Black Oak Arkansas is still a hoot.

Visit Black Oak Arkansas at www.blackoakarkansas.net.