stax records and craft recordings celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic wattstax benefit concert with a full suite of new releases available for pre-order today. Stax Museum | Soulsville Foundation It launched the careers of such legendary artists as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Booker T, & the MGs, and numerous others. Organized by Memphis Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles, Wattstax was seen by some as the Afro-American answer to Woodstock. The company was renamed Stax, a combination of the first two letters of Stewart and Axtons last names. The bands were well received, but none of the Stax crew knew about the racial tension brewing Watts, or the meaning burn, baby burn would take the next day when the Watts Rebellion began. sony pictures to re-release 1973 music documentary wattstax at participating alamo drafthouse locations across the u.s. new releases include During the 1960s,Stax recorded a string of hits includingOtis Redding's "Dock of the Bay," Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" and "Hold On I'm Comin,'" Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood," and "Green Onion" by house band Booker T. and the M.G.s. It is a 17,000-square-foot (1,600m2) museum with permanent and changing interactive exhibits, videos, films, photographs, original instruments used to record Stax hits, stage costumes, vintage recording gear, and more than 3,000 other items of memorabilia including personal items that belonged to Stax Records stars. The museum organizes tours for groups of 15 people or more. The deal marked a successful eight year In another exhibit you will stand in the exact replica of a studio where legendary performers worked their magic. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of his dream for racial equality from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. STAY SAFE, EVERYONE! Along with Packy was Steve Cropper on guitar, Charlie Freeman on guitar, Copyright Stax Museum of America Soul Music 2023. Booker T and the guys playing host to many greats in a studio in Memphis that was formerly a movie theater, slanted floor still intact. It has rotating exhibits that keep locals coming back for more. Ampex recorder rented a vacant grocery building in New Brunswick, Tennessee in an old Powell's Country Cowboys. Although the renovations only cost $200 - $250, they again found Since 2008, all seniors enrolled in the Stax Music Academy have been accepted to college and since 2021 all seniors have received music scholarships to college. Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Wikipedia Redding died in a plane crash just four days after he recorded the song that would go on to be his biggest hit - Sitting on the Dock of a Bay. Although Stax had some major successes in the 1970s while operating as an independent labelmost notably with Isaac Hayes and their Wattstax Festival (which also featured Richard Pryor)it never recovered from the loss of the Atlantic deal. In 15 years, Stax placed more than 167 hit songs in the Top 100 on the pop charts, and a staggering 243 hits in the Top . Phone: (901) 261-6338 Address: 926 E McLemore Ave . Jim Stewart initially founded a record label called Satellite Records in 1957 - his sister Estelle Axton came on board the following year. Stewart's intentions were to become a banker, but His parents day. Specialties: The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located on the original site of Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, offers a fun and interactive experience that includes an award-winning documentary film, video displays of interviews and classic performances, and exhibits of musical instruments, costumes, records, and photographs--items of memorabilia that tell the story of a great . Backed by the Mar-Keys, Redding delivered an incredible, energetic set that was adored by the thousands of flower children in attendance. Known as The Philosopher of Soul, Johnnie Taylor offered male listeners a shocking new perspective in this cheating song with a twist, which was a smash in the summer of 1968. Stax Records: Five of the best songs from the historic label - USA TODAY Stax Records (1957- ) - Blackpast The Stax Museum is a replica of the Stax recording studio, the former Capitol Theatre, down to the sloping floor of studio A. The contract stipulated that Atlantic - not Stax - owned the masters to the albums they distributed. As time went by, it was allowed to deteriorate and, despite many attempts to save the original structure, it was demolished in 1989. A service of the SOULSVILLE Foundation, a catalyst for the development of SOULSVILLE USA. 'Soul Explosion': A Dynamite Compilation From Stax Records - uDiscoverMusic minoing in music. The label also released songs by Sam and Dave, who were on loan to the studio as part of the deal with Atlantic Records. It's second only to Motown in sales and influence, but first in gritty, raw, stripped-down soul music. When neither offer was to Stewarts liking, Stax asked Warner for their master tapes back. By 1968, Stax had enjoyed several successes and attracted the attention of Gulf and Western (a major conglomeration group at the time), who bought the label that year. The most important things to keep in mind is the museum is closed every Monday as well as Thanksgiving Day, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day. Stax had a number of these labels, including: All of the music on these labels was owned by Stax. Memphis State University she met her husband to be Everett Axton. The start of Stax Records's 1968 was overshadowed by the loss of its greatest star on . The shop paid the rent, but it also helped her develop an ear for which records would sell and why. Some groups, like Steve Croppers band The Royal Spades, got their foot in the door by knowing Stewart and Axton, while others just walked in, hoping to record. Soul Explosion. He went into the Army in 1953 and was in the Special Services where he storehouse.They called their new label Satellite (probably because Sputnik, the Russians' The song becameReddings first single and hit and helped establish The Big O as Staxs main man until his tragic passing in a plane crash in 1967. One of the most recognizable hits of Stax's later years, Jean Knight's danceable diatribe brought the singer acclaim as the first single off her debut album . ( L to R: Otis Redding, Jim Stewart and Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, He blew away guitarist Steve Cropper and label head Jim Stewart with this aching ballad and earned a recording contract. European fans went crazy for Stax in the same way that American teenagers had when the Beatles first came to America. 1962: L-R: Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr., Lewis Steinberg, 1965 (L - R: Donald Dunn, Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson Short on money, Estelle Stewart was born in 1930 on a farm in Middleton, Tennessee, and moved to Memphis to attend Memphis State University. With the exception of Free Field Trips for Title 1 Schools Throughout 2023, Seniors 62+, Active Military, and Students with ID. She organized the labels first promotional trip, sending some of the labels brightest stars - Carla Thomas, the Astors, Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus Thomas, William Bell, Wilson Pickett, the Mad-Lads and the Mar-Keys - to Los Angeles for two weeks of radio and TV appearances. He joined up with Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn Atlantic. With its iconic wah-wah guitar and Hes a bad mother refrain, Isaac Hayes theme to the Gordon Parks-directed Blaxploitation film Shaft wasone of the eras biggest hits and earned Hayes an Oscar for Best Original Song. Organized by Memphis' Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles, Wattstax was seen by some as the "Afro-American answer to Woodstock". Records for an advance of $400 - $500. Though racial tension was brewing in Memphis and around the country, the studio had always been integrated, a group of like-minded people creating music and growing a business through community, collaboration and skill, regardless of skin color. Twelve years older than Jim, Estelle was brought up in the county of Middleton, Tennessee. In 2019 for example, the museum displayed the photo collection of Don Nix, an American songwriter, musician, and author who was influential in creating the "Memphis soul" sound. FEATURES. Like everything Stax, the theatres conversion into a recording studio was a do-it-yourself project. Warner also took control of Sam and Dave, who had been on loan to Stax as part of their original deal with Atlantic. Stax Records proudly supports the Soulsville Foundation; however, Stax Records may not necessarily share the views and opinions expressed in this program. Stax Records proudly supports the Soulsville Foundation, however, the views and opinions expressed in this program may not necessarily be shared by Stax Records. These two companies were big for their times. The Stax Museum is a proud part of the Soulsville Foundation. He died "peacefully, surrounded by his family," according to a statement released by Stax Museum of. Site Information. Al Bell, a stylish former DJ with a gift for sales, was hired as Staxs promotions man. Experience the story Museum Exhibits In 1961, they changed the label's name to Stax, combining the first two letters of their last names. While Stax was busy recording, the country had started changing. Stax Museum of American Soul Music: The Complete Guide - TripSavvy Influenced by the Western Swing of Bob Willis ant Texas Playboys, Pee August 13, 2014 Estelle Axton: A Woman, A Place, and the Memphis Sound By: Sophia Dembling Siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton defied cultural norms in the Jim Crow era to found Stax Records, one of the most influential soul and R&B labels of the 1960s and '70s. He was 92. The new studio had cut records by Carla Thomas, the Mar-Keys, Booker T. and The MGs, Rufus Thomas, William Bell and Otis Redding. drummer Terry Johnson baritone sax player Don Nix and bassist Donald "Duck" Children ages 9 to 12 are $10 and children under 8 are free. Black and white musicians and singers worked together in relaxed conditions, where nobody looked at a clock or worried about union session rates, at the recording studio in a converted movie theatre at 926 East McLemore. STAX RECORDS ARTISTS (not a complete list) Albert King Big Star Booker T & the M.G.'s Carla Thomas David Porter Eddie Floyd Frederick Knight Isaac Hayes Jean Knight John Gary Williams Johnnie Taylor Little Milton Mable John Mel And Tim Melvin Van Peebles Nathaniel Rateliff Ollie & The Nightingales Otis Redding Rufus Thomas Stax Museum of American Soul Music - Wikipedia while working in a bank, he still played fiddle in Western swing bands around Memphis. In need of immediate cash flow, Axton turned the theaters concession stand into the Satellite Record Shop. The distribution deal with Atlantic was terminated at this time as well. Wexler immediately claimed it for Atlantic, and it was released nationally on Atlantic. Wexler made a deal that allowed Atlantic to distribute Stax both nationally and internationally; he also was the catalyst for several milestone records made by singers from out of town: Respect (1965) by Otis Redding (from Georgia), whose records were released on the subsidiary label Volt; In the Midnight Hour (1965) by Wilson Pickett (from Alabama by way of Detroit), released on Atlantic; and Soul Man (1962) by Sam and Dave (from Florida). Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Steve Cropper became an Play on Spotify:Click here to listen to these songs and more. Neighborhood residents would come in, chat with Axton, play records and eventually find their way into the studio. Wanting to buy a state of the art Ampex 350 monaural tape That would be the Stax Records Museum. Though Staxs songs had become popular in Europe, many of the artists who recorded them had never been outside of Memphis, Tenn. At one point it was the home of Aretha Franklin, Memphis Slim, Memphis Minnie, and Booker T. Jones. The church had plans to use the building as a community center and soup kitchen, which never materialized. Stewart and Bell tried frantically to save their label, without help from Gulf and Western and gambled their homes and personal financial future. Stax Museum (Memphis) - Visitor Information & Reviews With Stewart behind the boards in the control room and Axton managing the store, Stax needed someone to promote the studios output to the masses full time. In order to get a better sound, Stewart needed better equipment, and, in order to get better equipment, he needed money. hit in Memphis. Jim Stewart began fooling around recording music in his wife's uncle's Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Stax Records | Britannica COPY Anacker, C. (2010, March 16). children of her own. Free Field Trips for Title 1 Schools Throughout 2023, Seniors 62+, Active Military, and Students with ID. The floors slant helped deaden the sound, a way of trying to control the rooms acoustics on the cheap that would ultimately become a signature part of the Stax sound. There was one point in which it looked like the label might be saved by a distribution deal with CBS, thanks to Clive Davis, but CBS got rid of Davis shortly after he signed the Stax deal, and they never followed through after Davis was gone. Here's a collection of five key tunes. When citizens rioted in the streets after Kings murder, Staxs building was left untouched, but the studios atmosphere as a creative respite with no regards for race was forever altered. A true soul anthem given an electric reading by the dynamic duo of Sam Moore and Dave Prater, Soul Man wasthe crowning achievement of Staxs prolific songwriting/production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. He claimed it was to his mother, but she had been dead for years. Estelle Axton. No part of this website may be reproduced without Stax Museum's express consent. It's a tuition-free public charter school that was founded in 2005 and provides music training and education to its students. As luck would have it, their next It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records . themselves cash strapped. A service of the SOULSVILLE Foundation, a catalyst for the development of SOULSVILLE USA. Many of the songs of this era, along with members of the original rhythm section, resurfaced in the movie The Blues Brothers (1980). After signing the lease,they set about renovating the theatre. Home - Stax Museum Located at the original site of Stax Records in the South Memphis neighborhood known as Soulsville USA, the nonprofit Stax Museum of American Soul Music is the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Stax Records, the Memphis Sound, and other American soul music labels. Jim Stewart was born July 29, 1930 in Middleton, Tennessee. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The foundation also run the Soulsville Charter School in Memphis. Events include concerts, listening parties, book and author events, film screenings, exhibit opening receptions, panel discussions, lectures, and free-admission Family Days designed for children. Erwin Ellis, his barber who owned the small Erwin Records, no one would give him the time Warner refused, citing a clause in Staxs original contract that gave Atlantic all right, title and interest, including any rights of reproduction, in all Stax's Atlantic-distributed recordings between 1960 and 1967. association between the two companies. garage around 1957 and he put out his first record in 1958, a country and western song in the summer of 1959. But the permanent exhibits are fun, interactive, and well laid out so the museum flows naturally and feels manageable. There was a clause in the Stax/Atlantic deal that terminated the agreement if Atlantic was bought by another company. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stax-Records-1688490. See Staxs impact in our hall of records and hear the classics or find new favorites at our listening station. time Stewart was equal partners in the new label with Bylar and a rhythm guitarist named Heather McDonald wrote about music careers for The Balance Careers. In 1958, Estelle became involved when Jim Stewart asked her to invest in Axton sold her share, Stewart retained his share but stepped out of the day to day running of the business, and Al Bell, label PR director, took the reins. Equally an international tourist destination and community-focused museum, the Stax Museum not only receives visitors from every corner of the world, but also offers year-round, free programming thats open to neighborhood residents and the general public including concerts, lectures, book signings, films, exhibit openings, panel discussions, celebrity appearances, listening parties, and free-admission family days designed for children. FREE FIELD TRIPS TO THE STAX MUSEUM FOR ALL TITLE I SCHOOLS. Stewart and Bell bought it back in 1970 and Bell bought out Stewart in 1972. Although the neighborhood is pretty run down today, it's important to note its history. Booker T. & the M.G.'s formed as the house band of Stax Records, providing backing music for numerous singers, including Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. listen to the Grand Ole Opry and try to ply along with it. New additions include Stax Records founder Jim Stewart's original violin he played in various bands around town before starting Stax Records, Skip Pitts' guitar and the wah-wah pedal used while recording Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft," Floyd Newman's saxophone that turned 100 years old in 2017, and the Academy Award statue Hayes won for Best Musical Score for "Theme From Shaft" in 1972. Author of. Rufus and his 17 year old The first track from the band's debut album. These students also put on regular performances open to the public. History. The two giants were big and had a lot of artists of great music play for them. With the deal, Atlantic took over Staxs distribution, making it easier to for the label to get their records into stores. Founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1960 by country music fiddle player Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton, following a previous false start with Satellite Records, Stax maintained a down-home, family atmosphere during its early years. Location: USA. Our Work | Soulsville Foundation returned to Middleton to become her brother's first grade teacher. The 60's were a rockin' time. Now an official site on the United States Civil Rights Trail, the Stax Museum interprets a uniquely Memphis story about music, hope, opportunity, inclusion, empowerment, Civil Rights, and African American achievement. Only a few hundred Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. All Rights Reserved. Alyson Krueger is a freelance journalist based in New York City. He played fiddle in a country band, the Canyon Cowboys, and continued workingat a bank until 1965. Stax Records - Wikipedia The latter pairs string of irresistible hits included Hold On, Im Comin,I Thank You, and Wrap It Up, among many others. Gulf and Western knew little about running a label and severely mismanaged the business. For example, during Black History Month and Valentine's Day it holds a series of family-friendly activities and crafts that spotlighted Black musicians and leaders. This group became the Mar-Keys and recorded an instrumental named "Last The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is a museum located in Memphis, Tennessee, at 926 East McLemore Avenue, the original location of Stax Records. Remarkably, Otis Redding came to Stax as a driver/roadie for another artist but managed to score an audition during a session break. Stax had a second high period with soul hits by Issac Hayes and other artists, but financial troubles led to the label's closure in 1976. first earth satellite, was launched in October, 1957, and dominated the news). Still under its original management but represented publicly by Al Bell, the black promotion man who became vice-president and co-owner, Stax achieved its greatest commercial success during the early 1970s with hits recorded in Detroit, Chicago, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as well as in its own studios, by Johnnie Taylor, Hayes, the Staple Singers, the Dramatics, and others. About Stax Museum - Stax Museum The Stax Museum is operated by the nonprofit Soulsville Foundation, which also operates the adjacent Stax Music Academy[1] and The Soulsville Charter School; the three distinct but related entities are all located on one campus in the heart of the neighborhood known as Soulsville U.S.A.
