Stax

I'll Take You There: Using Music To Revitalize Soulsville

Eleanor Boudreau — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:49:09 +0000

More than 50 years after a small recording company moved into a rundown movie theater on East McLemore Avenue and took the name Stax Records, a partnership with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra is attempting to revitalize the neighborhood around Stax using what the area is best known for—music.

After Plane Crash, Stroke, Bar Kays’ Ben Cauley Still Fingering Soul

Eleanor Boudreau and Sara Hoover — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Bar-Kays’ trumpet player Ben Cauley celebrated his 65th birthday this year, and he has much to celebrate. Cauley was the sole survivor of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Otis Redding and four band members of the Bar-Kays outside of Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967. With resilience and an undeniable exuberance for music, Cauley continued his career, in spite of a number of hurdles, including a massive stroke.

Giving Otis His Propers

Rob Grayson — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:46:45 +0000

Coming off of the biggest chart success of his career to date, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,“ Otis Redding reeled off two 1965 singles which included songs destined to become iconic tunes, not for Otis, but for the acts which covered them later.

The Chronicle Of Isaac, Samuel, And The Two Davids

Rob Grayson — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:35:30 +0000

Isaac, David and Samuel are familiar names to biblical scholars, and not at all unfamiliar to faithful fans of the funky sound that emanated from the Stax studio on McLemore.

Sam and Dave came to Stax in an arrangement with Atlantic Records. The duo viewed it as punishment, but it would be the best thing that ever happened to their careers.

Wilson Walks After Midnight In Memphis

Rob Grayson — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:35:30 +0000

When Atlantic Records took an interest in what was happening in Memphis at Stax, an intriguing comparison of the greenness of grasses took place. When it came to making records, there was a New York way, and there was a Memphis way.