Stax Records

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Stax recording studios, since 2003: Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Stax Records is an American independent record label in Memphis (Tennessee) , which in the 1960s and 1970s, trend-setting for the development of soul music was (next to Motown in Detroit ) and consistent studio productions for the development of "Memphis Soul" made Has.

history

founding

The label founders were the white bank employees and Hobby Country - Fiddler Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton , in December 1957, a mortgage set up of US dollars 2500 the record label Satellite Records. The competition in Memphis was comparatively fierce: Sun Records had reached the zenith of success, Hi Records was trying to gain market share, Stan Kesler's small Echo recording studios were already established and Goldwax Records began work in 1964. Memphis had meanwhile developed into a center for many recording studios and record labels. The white owners and producers focused on unknown black performers in largely segregated Memphis. The musicians of the session bands, on the other hand, were, as is common, “racially” mixed.

Catalog

The first record in the catalog with Satellite # 100 was released in January 1958 with local country singer Fred Byler, the single Blue Roses / Give Me Your Love , recorded in a garage , whose A-side was to remain the only title ever composed by Stewart. This was followed by Charles Heinz's Destiny (# 101), composed by Chips Moman , which was released in August 1960 and has also not yet achieved any success. The label initially had only regional significance and therefore only generated low sales in the area until Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records became aware of it in October 1960 .


  • Charles Heinz - Destiny

  • Carla and Rufus - Cause I Love You

  • Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz

  • Mar-Keys - Last Night

The reason was Cause I Love You (Satellite # 102), a duet by Rufus & Carla Thomas (father and daughter) that appeared in August 1960 and made around 15,000 copies regionally; a recording outside of union minimum wages with Booker T. Jones on baritone saxophone, Rufus' son Marvell Thomas (piano) and Wilbur Steinberg (bass) in the new recording studio, the former Capitol movie theater on East McLemore Avenue, a predominantly black neighborhood . Atlantic Records signed a distribution agreement with Satellite that ensured national distribution. The title was published again on the Atlantic subsidiary label ATCO (# 6177), which is responsible for pop music, in September 1960; its national distribution achieved another 35,000 copies; that was not enough for a hit parade note. The follow-up single Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes) by Carla Thomas as a soloist was also created in August 1960 in the new recording studio and launched as Satellite # 104 in November 1960. On January 21, 1961 it was published under Atlantic # 2086 and climbed to number five on the R&B charts and 10 on the pop charts with a record sales of 500,000 copies.

Through the distribution agreement, Stax received the sales income earlier and thus the urgently needed liquidity. Stax had to bear the costs up to the completion of the master tape, after which Atlantic took over the production, advertising and distribution costs. Jerry Wexler usually did not intervene artistically, "they were allowed to do what they wanted". The Mar-Keys with the instrumental title Last Night (recorded in September 1960) appeared on Satellite # 107 in June 1961 . With this 12-bar blues on a twist basis and the characteristic melody of a Farfisa organ, they reached second place on the R&B charts and third place on the pop hit parade. This instrumental million seller from Memphis formed with the cast Wayne Jackson (trumpet / trombone), Charles “Packy” Axton (tenor saxophone, son of label owner Estelle Axton), Don Nix (baritone saxophone), Terry Johnson (piano), Jerry Lee “Smoochie” Smith (Piano / organ), Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald 'Duck' Dunn (bass) and Jerry Johnson (drums) formed the core of the later session band in the Stax studios.

Booker T. & the MG's - Green Onions

Satellite # 111 was the last record to be marketed as Satellite Records in October 1961 before the label was renamed Stax Records. The company name is made up of the first letters of the surnames Stewart and Axton to avoid confusion with a record label of the same name in Los Angeles. Stewart, who had never come into contact with black music, had now found his own musical style. The first session musicians and composers (Booker T. Jones, Chips Moman (guitar) and David Porter) came from the studio's immediate vicinity. The record shop that Estelle Axton opened in the entrance area of ​​the former cinema played a large part in the attraction of Stax to young musicians from the neighborhood, and which on the one hand quickly became a meeting point for local young people, but on the other hand enabled the label to quickly move into to respond to the latest trends.

Another studio band was recruited from the Mar-Keys (Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn) as well as Lewis Steinberg (bass 1962-64) and Al Jackson (drums). She also tried success with an instrumental recording, namely under the name Booker T. & the MG's with the title Green Onions (Stax # 127). This song, with its staccato guitar playing by Cropper and a distinctive organ riff in minor, also became a million seller after its release in July 1961. With their funky sound, the instrumental group made a significant contribution to the image building of the Stax sound and with their many instrumental titles to the label catalog. The band developed into one of the few session bands that could show independent success as an instrumental group.

Otis Redding - (Sittin 'on) The Dock of the Bay

In October 1962, Booker T. Jones and his MG's (abbreviation for Memphis Group ) accompanied Otis Redding on his first recordings of Hey Hey Baby and These Arms of Mine , the latter title reaching number 20 on the Rhythm & Blues chart. Redding had his first appearance in the Apollo on November 16, 1963, without being able to show a big hit in the charts. Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Charles Axton (tenor saxophone), Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Booker T. Jones (organ / piano), Johnny Jenkins (guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass guitar) and Al Jackson (drums) crystallized. The session of December 28, 1964 resulted in Mr. Pitiful / That's How Strong My Love Is , which after publication in February 1965 was the best ranking so far with a 10th place on the Redding R&B charts. The biggest hit for the time being was the soul ballad I've Been Loving You Too Long , written on April 19, 1965.

Redding appeared in "Whiskey A Go Go" in Los Angeles between April 8 and 10, 1966, and a large number of the titles presented here were later released on records after mixing in the Stax studios. His most productive session was on September 13, 1966 when 13 tracks were recorded. In March 1967 she performed in the Paris “ Olympia ” and in the London “ Astoria Theater ”. On June 17, 1967, he performed at the Monterey Pop Festival . His penultimate studio session dates from December 6, 1967, when ten titles were immortalized. On the following December 7th, 1967, Steve Cropper produced (Sittin 'on the) Dock of the Bay , garnished with the sound of waves and the sounds of seagulls. A major loss was the death of Otis Redding and his companion group The Bar-Kays , who were killed in a plane crash on December 10, 1967. The posthumous release of Dock of the Bay on January 8, 1968 brought in a first place in the R&B and pop hit parade a millionaire worldwide. Redding's main focus of his own compositions were soulful ballads, while fast songs like Respect (July 9, 1965) were the exception.

Memphis soul

After Atlantic failed to successfully produce the irascible Wilson Pickett in New York, Wexler went with him to the Stax studios. In the Midnight Hour (recorded May 12, 1965) received a drum rhythm that emphasized the second and fourth notes rather than the usual first and third and sold 300,000 copies. Pickett's three recording sessions for Stax only resulted in an album-filling number of tracks with almost identical line-up, but including hits like Don't Fight It (May 12, 1965), Ninety-Nine And A Half Won't Do or 634-5789 (Soulsville USA ) from December 20, 1965. Midnight Hour reached first position on the R&B charts, 634-5789 stayed at the highest position for seven weeks.

All tracks, produced by Jerry Wexler and accompanied by Booker T. and the MG's plus the Memphis Horns, were also mediocre crossover hits . Pickett then moved to FAME Studios because Jim Stewart no longer allowed any third-party productions for Atlantic Records in December 1965 in order not to overuse the session bands. In June 1965, Don Covay came to the studios, whose compositions became hits by other artists ( See-Saw for Aretha Franklin , Sookie Sookie for Steppenwolf ).


  • Eddie Floyd - Knock on wood

  • Sam & Dave - Hold on I'm comin '

  • Isaac Hayes - Theme from Shaft

  • Staple Singers - I'll take you there

Eddie Floyd - together with Steve Cropper as composer responsible for many Stax titles - came up with the idea of ​​the superstitious title Knock on Wood , which he sang himself. The dispute over the song's potential for success was settled shortly after the recording day July 13, 1966, and after its release that same month, 735,000 copies were made; it was only Stax's third top hit on the R&B charts.

In 1966, blues veteran Albert King joined the label with his Gibson Flying V guitar, and in over a year of production (March 1966 to June 1967), the album Born Under a Bad Sign was released in August 1967 with the blues guitarist and singer . His typical blues style was adapted to the Memphis sound with the brass section, but did not convince on the record market or in the charts.

The duo of Sam Moore and Dave Prater had released several unsuccessful singles for Roulette Records since 1962 before Jerry Wexler brought it to Stax in January 1965. The first single as a duo was A Place Nobody Can Find / Good Night Baby from March 1965, which, however, was not noticed. An honorable initial success came with Hold On, I'm Comin ', recorded on March 8, 1966 . Her biggest hit was one of the hymns of soul music, Soul Man , composed on August 10, 1967 and released in September 1967 . Like almost all Sam & Dave titles, it came from the pen of Isaac Hayes and Dave Porter, who had meanwhile established themselves as house composers of the Stax label. In November 1967 the song became a million seller, received the Grammy Award for best R&B interpretation of the year and was the most successful Stax single to date. The text was about the race riots in Detroit, which resulted in arson. Many African Americans marked their possessions with the word "soul" to protect them from arson. The heavily syncopated title thus describes one of the first racial self-identifications. Contrary to Jim Stewart's assumption, Sam & Dave were always under contract with Atlantic and only loaned to Stax. After the end of the distribution agreement between Atlantic Records and Stax, they had to return to Atlantic, where their careers petered out. The separation from the Stax composers Hayes and Porter and from the Stax session band brought their success to a standstill. In June 1970, the first of many separations between the two artists saw their final farewell.

Johnnie Taylor , who has belonged to the label since January 1966, brought Stax's biggest sales success for the time being when he released Who's Making Love (rank 1 R&B, rank 4 pop) in October 1968, produced by Don Davis . The typical Memphis Soul sold a total of 850,000 copies by the end of 1968 and ultimately had a turnover of two million copies. His even bigger hit Disco Lady was released by Columbia Records due to the bankruptcy of Stax Records .

After separating from Atlantic and selling Stax to Capitol Records, Stewart discovered that under the contract with Wexler, which he had never read properly, all previous recordings and master tapes became the property of Atlantic. Suddenly Stax was without a catalog. In a tremendous effort and with the help of the newly signed black manager Al Bell, it was possible to develop a new repertoire in record time. In the meantime, Isaac Hayes, who worked in the background as a composer for Stax, had risen to become an interpreter. His greatest success was undoubtedly the theme tune he wrote for the black gangster movie Shaft , which was released in US theaters on June 25, 1971. The hit of the same name was released on September 29, 1971. In the USA it sold 1.5 million copies, in Great Britain 250,000 records went over the counter. It won an Oscar for best film song, a Grammy for best instrumental arrangement and a Grammy for best recorded record of 1971. The album of the same name, previously released in August 1971, was the film soundtrack, also composed and produced by Hayes, and became the am fastest-selling album in Stax history, which achieved million seller status by November 1971. The Hayes album Hot Buttered Soul , which was previously made between June and July 1969, also achieved million-seller status and contained long versions of pop songs as a fusion of different musical styles, but was recorded in the Ardent Studios in Memphis.

At that time, The Staple Singers released other hits for Stax. The family choir around Pops Staples has been releasing records since December 1953, their first big hit for Stax was Heavy Makes You Happy , a composition by Jeff Barry and Bobby Bloom, recorded at the competition in Muscle Shoals (Fame Recording Studios) in December 1970 (the Vocal recordings were superimposed at the Ardent Studios in Memphis) and sold over a million copies. It was followed in September 1971 by Respect Yourself , another million seller. Her biggest hit I'll Take You There brought in a record sales of two million after its release in March 1972 and was also made in the Fame studios, together with the LP Bealtitude: Respect Yourself .

Changing fate of the label

After the Stax label had been sold to Gulf & Western in March 1968, the distribution contract with Atlantic Records ended on May 6, 1968. In July 1970 founder Jim Stewart bought back the label together with Al Bell, which then remained on the market again as an independent label, in October 1972 Bell bought the shares of Stewart and had the distribution organized by CBS. CBS granted Stax a $ 6 million loan for further expansion plans.

On August 20, 1972, Stax Records hosted the Wattstax Music Festival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to commemorate the riots in the Watts neighborhood seven years earlier. In addition to the appearances of the stars of Stax Records, political speeches were also given, including by civil rights activist Jesse Jackson . Several albums with the music of the festival as well as a film have been released.

Due to declining sales, reductions in distribution royalties by the partner CBS and a series of lawsuits, the financial crisis arose in January 1975, and on December 19, 1975 Stax filed for bankruptcy ( forced bankruptcy ). The master tapes were auctioned on January 26, 1977 for 1.3 million dollars far below their value, Fantasy Records bought the Stax catalog since 1968 in June 1977 (records released until 1968 were owned by Atlantic).

The studio on McLemore Avenue, demolished in 1989, was rebuilt as a museum in the same location in May 2003.

After Concord Records had again acquired Fantasy Records in November 2004 for 83 million dollars, Stax was reactivated in December 2006 - just in time for the 50th anniversary of the label in 2007. On March 13, 2007, the anniversary CD box was released 50 hits from a bygone Stax era. Nu-soul singer Angie Stone and soul-funk group Soulive are among the new artists of the legendary label .

Subsidiary labels

Stax founded a number of subsidiary labels such as Volt , Enterprise , Chalice , Hip or Safice . Their task was to bring out the repertoire specifically for individual artists. So Otis Redding was only sold on Volt and Isaac Hayes on Enterprise .

Stax sound

In early 1960, the label's own recording studios were set up in the converted cinema of the Capitol Theater on 926 East McLemore Street with a further mortgage loan of 4,000 US dollars. There was still room in this for a record shop, which was selected by the music magazine Billboard as a report shop for weekly record sales for the purpose of compiling the Rhythm & Blues hit parade. Guitarist Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman initially worked here as a sound engineer from 1959, and a year later from Gee Whiz as a producer. Due to disputes over royalties , he left Stax Records with a severance payment of US $ 3,000 in 1962. Cropper replaced him as producer and composer. From 1962 onwards, creative leaders were the author and producer Isaac Hayes with his partner David Porter.

Even if the tracks recorded in the Stax studios were largely heterogeneous, there were quite a few things in common, which are generally summarized as Stax sound. That was a simple, original sound with an organ-like use of the wind sections. The instrumentation thus deviated from the blues. The singing was based on the gospel tradition; Subsequent mixing was usually not done at all. Another component of the so-called Stax sound was the reverberation effect, which was related to the volume of the cinema auditorium. The Memphis Horns were recruited around the Booker T. & The MG's, which also act as a session band, and this formation ensured constant instrumentation. Most of the productions did not come about on the basis of elaborated arrangements, but were spontaneous sessions, so-called "head arrangements".

The relaxed, creative atmosphere of the Stax studios was inspiring for some of the white performers who recorded here. Their variant is called Blue-Eyed Soul . Elvis Presley 's tracks, recorded here in his city of first success, show the breadth of variation in his vocal abilities, even though they have not become hits. Presley came to Stax in 1973 for recordings, a total of twelve titles being immortalized. Take Good Care of Her was created on July 21, 1973, followed by I've Got a Thing About You Baby (July 22, 1973), I Got A Feelin 'in My Body and Promised Land (December 10, 1973), My Boy , Loving Arms and Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues (December 13, 1973), Talk About the Good Times (December 14, 1973), It's Midnight (December 15, 1973) and If that Isn't Love , She Wears My Ring and Spanish Eyes (December 16, 1973). These recordings are on the LPs Raised on Rock (released October 1973) and Good Times (March 1974).

statistics

Between 1959 and 1975 the label released over 800 singles and 300 albums. Its performers have garnered eight Grammy awards. Of the 237 singles that Stax Records hit the charts, 15 reached number one. Even in the year of the great Beatles success and Tamla Motown hits, 1964, Stax released 32 singles, but without much success. Motown had its enormous sales success with black interpreters through mass crossover hits, which could achieve greater sales on the white record market; Stax rarely achieved these crossovers. Also in comparison to the other record labels with predominantly or exclusively Afro-American performers such as Atlantic Records, Chess Records or Vee-Jay Records, Stax achieved less success in airplay and sometimes significantly lower record sales, although in October 1965 Stax hired a sales director with Al Bell would have. The main record sales were achieved in the south, not in the metropolises of New York or Los Angeles. Rob Bowman attributes this in part to the more audible, gospel-oriented and original sound of most of the Stax records.

Movies

  • Wattstax . Concert film, USA, 1973, 99 min., Written and directed by Mel Stuart , release date: February 15, 1973, summary by arte, ( memento from April 18, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ).
  • Only The Strong Survive. Documentary, USA, 2002, 95 min., Written and directed by Chris Hegedus, DA Pennebaker , release date: May 11, 2003 (USA), Only The Strong Survive in the Internet Movie Database (English).
  • Soulsville. Documentary, USA, 2003, 155 min., Director: Bob Sarles, production: Ravin 'Films, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, DVD release: April 28, 2003 (USA), Soulsville in the Internet Movie Database (English).
  • Respect yourself: The Stax Records Story. Documentary, USA, 2007, 114 min., Book: Morgan Neville , Robert Gordon, Mark Crosby, directors: Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville, production: PBS , first broadcast: August 1, 2007 on PBS, summary, 4 pages, ( Memento of April 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). (2 DVDs, Universal Music - 0888072702998.)
  • Memphis youth carry on the legacy of Stax Records soul music. Documentary, USA, 2018, 6:01 min., Script and director: NN , production: PBS , series: NewsHour Weekend , first broadcast: July 7, 2018 on PBS, table of contents and online video by PBS.
  • Stax Records - Where soul is at home. (OT: Stax, le label soul légendaire. ) Documentary, France, 2019, 52:42 min., Book: Lionel Baillon, Taleesa Herman, Clémence de la Robertie, directors: Stéphane Carrel, Lionel Baillon, production: arte France, Flair Production, Universal Music France, first broadcast: July 26, 2019 on arte, table of contents by ARD , online video available until September 24, 2019.

literature

  • Rob Bowman: Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records. Schirmer Books, Prentice-Hall 1997, ISBN 0-8256-7284-8 .
  • Stefan Hoffmann, Karsten Tomnitz: Rare Soul. The who's who of the soul era. Ventil Verlag, Mainz 2005, ISBN 3-931555-98-4 .
  • Peter Guralnick : Sweet Soul Music. (Original edition: 1999) Bosworth Edition, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86543-321-3 .
  • Robert Gordon: Respect Yourself - Stax Records And The Soul Explosion. Bloomsbury, New York 2013, ISBN 978-1-59691-577-0 .

Web links

Commons : Stax Records  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Dickerson, Goin 'Back to Memphis , 1996, p. 141.
  2. ^ Jon Pareles: Estelle Stewart Axton, 85, A Founder of Stax Records. In: New York Times , February 27, 2004.
  3. ↑ James L. Dickerson, Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock & Roll , 2005, p. 141.
  4. ^ Rob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 9.
  5. ^ Rob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 18.
  6. ^ Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 13.
  7. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , p. 160.
  8. ^ Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 62.
  9. ↑ Dorothy Wade / Justin Picardie, Music Man: Ahmet Ertegun , Atlantic Records and the Triumph of Rock 'n' Roll , 1990, p. 134 f.
  10. ^ Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 99.
  11. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , p. 249.
  12. ^ Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 128.
  13. ↑ Pat Browne, The Guide to United States Popular Culture , 2001, p. 705.
  14. ^ Bob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 161.
  15. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , p. 325.
  16. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , p. 335.
  17. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , p. 356.
  18. ^ Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 11.
  19. ↑ Stewart: Memphis Sound Maker. In: Billboard Magazine , Aug. 20, 1966, p. 6.
  20. ↑ Samantha Cook, USA: Der Osten , 2007, p. 452.
  21. ^ Rob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1997, p. 70.