NAVASOTA, Texas -- A funeral was scheduled for Monday for soul singer Joe Tex who died Friday, two days after he had a heart attack at his home. He was 49.
Grimes Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Denise Mitchell said Tex entered the hospital Wednesday, the day he suffered the attack.
The singer, whose given name was Joseph Arrington Jr., used the stage name Joe Tex, but in recent years had adopted the Muslim name of Joseph Hazziez. Music sources varied on his birth date, but one authoritative volume said he was born Aug. 8, 1933.
He recorded a number of hits in the 1960s, including 'I Gotcha,' 'You Got What It Takes,' 'Skinny Legs and All,' 'The Love You Save' and 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More with No Big Fat Woman.'
He had a succession of songs on the soul, novelty and general pop charts. 'Skinny Legs and All' placed 10th on the Billboard pop chart in October 1967.
He retired from music for religious reasons in 1972, but resumed his career in 1977.
Tex began his career in the mid-1950s when he won a talent contest in his hometown of Baytown, Texas. First prize was a trip to New York, where he performed at the Apollo Theater and was hired for an extended engagement.
He is survived by his wife, Deliliah Hazziez, his mother, two sons, a daughter, a sister and a grandmother.
A spokesman for the Ashford-Oliver Funeral Home in Navasota said the funeral and burial would be held Monday in Navasota.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested friends send donations for the establishment of a Joe Tex scholarship fund to Rt. 1, Box 84, Navasota, Texas, 77868.
