Founded in 1957 as satellite records, the label changed its name to stax records in 1961 and shared its operations with volt records, a sister label created to avoid the impression of favoritism among radio stations playing their records stax was influential in the creation of southern soul and memphis soul music. In a stax records studio in memphis, where music and races mixed as. Founded in 1957 as satellite records, the label changed its name to stax records in 1961 and shared its operations with volt records, a sister label created to avoid the impression of favoritism among radio stations playing their records. This book is the definitive history of stax, the memphis recording studio that made. Today im going to walk you through the best method i know to use your humble home studio. Discover whats missing in your discography and shop for stax recording studios releases.
They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. Its a fair drive from the lorraine motel maybe a mile, but lots of musicians who were recording at stax used to stay at the lorraine, familiar from the days of the old jazz and blues circuits when it was a blacksonly motel. For the month of june use the code soulsizzle to save 15%. The title elvis at stax is slightly misleading, suggesting elvis presley decided to set up shop at the famed memphis recording studio so he could use their house band, or perhaps coopt some of the southern soul groove. Always strongly interested in music, as a teenager, she had been a fan of pop music, played the organ and sung soprano in the family gospel quartet. Session musicians are usually not permanent members of a musical ensemble or band. Sep, 2018 for this second edition of studio sampled sounds series, we are taking a trip down to the magical music mecca of memphis, tennessee. William bell, a stax records team player, upholds and. Cliff was hired to play bass in the house bands for sun records and later for stax records. The label name was formed from the first two letters of the founders surnames. Learn about many of the influential stax recording artists. In 1970, stewart repurchased the label with al bell as his partner. These drum sounds featured in this second volume can be heard on famous recordings from g.
Later associated with the atlantic group of soul labels, stax records was founded in 1957 by siblings jim stewart and estelle axton. Twenty greatest hits various artists on allmusic 1988 the opening gun in this series collects 20 of the. Stax in black above the center hole, above the logo is a stack of records. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry.
The atlantic years by david edwards and mike callahan last update. Didnt happen for a lot of different reasons share this. Transforming americas concept of a rhythm section up until his untimely death in 1975, al jackson jr. Stax records also boasted a heavily integrated sound which would take the nation by storm see the city of memphis, memphis heritage, cultural resource survey cover form for the stax production and recording studios august 1989.
Today, the original site of stax records is a multimilliondollar campus that includes the stax museum of american soul music, stax music academy and the soulsville charter school. The story of stax by noted soul music historian rob bowman. The memphis masters is a limited video series celebrating various albums from the iconic stax records label, showcasing its enduring musical legacy, as well as its influence on memphis, tn. Jun 02, 2016 the pioneering label stax records is best known for gritty, downanddirty soul classics by such giants as otis redding, rufus thomas, and sam and dave. Twelve years older than jim, estelle was brought up in the county of middleton, tennessee. The result was these arms of mine, released in 1962. Around this time, stewart was introduced to rhythm and blues music by staff. Stax records tshirts and stax records apparel official. Stax 50th a 50th anniversary celebration 2 cd box set.
The pioneering label stax records is best known for gritty, downanddirty soul classics by such giants as otis redding, rufus thomas, and sam and dave. This label was used on all monaural records in the 700 series. Recording a band in a home studio is challenging for two main reasons. Running through gospel heritage month in september, the campaign includes the digital release of 25 albums, plus special playlists, videos and a forthcoming compilation on vinyl and cd. October 20, 1999 the first stax label was light blue with black printing. The distinctive sound of stax recordings, heard in records such as in the midnight hour, was characterized by all of the following except strings after producing her first records for columbia, aretha franklin was signed by what label in 1966. Music retail, studio musicians, basses, tennessee, amro music. It was recorded after stax annual holiday party, and while everyone was a bit tipsy. For this second edition of studio sampled sounds series, we are taking a trip. Get the drums sounds of stax records reverbs reverb news. Later associated with the atlantic group of soul labels, stax records was founded in.
At the end of the session, stax coowner jim stewart allowed otis to cut a couple of songs with the remaining studio time. Be mindful that some releases may credit stax records, inc. One day in the early 1960s, a young man who worked as driver and. Stax museum a nominee in the new usa today 10best contest for best music museum. Chapter 6 whats that sound quiz questions for study. Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. Celebrate the record label that broke down cultural barriers. Second only to motown in sales, stax records was an influential force in american soul music, snagging. Explore releases from the stax recording studios label. Hi all, in may, my band went to an allanalog studio to track down a few tunes. United by a passion for soul music, they became the core of a shifting alignment of musicians including the markeys, the barkays, and the memphis horns that acted as the house band for stax records, assisting in the creation of. Release coincides with the 50th anniversary of stax. This week we bring you a new lyric video by the howard lemon singers for their song to the other man from the album message for today. For the label please use stax to be used when records specifically credit stax records for company roles such as distribution and manufacturing.
Otis redding was one of the most powerful and influential artists to emerge from the southern soul music community in the 60s. Now the recording studio is a museum, and the music. Stax records was the creation of brother and sister, jim stewart and estelle axton. Atlantic records brought in two of their recording acts, the duo sam and dave and wilson pickett, to memphis to record at the stax studio. Herb abramson and ahmet ertegun, record company and label. Features a multipage booklet with notes from soulsville usa.
Every major stax and stax atlantic hit from the labels 1960s and 70s heyday on one specially priced package. Vinylstudio has all the features you need to convert your records and tapes to cd, mp3, flac, ogg, wma, aiff and wav format. Stax was originally named satellite records, and was founded by jim stewart. Steve cropper on the beatles legendary flirtation with stax. Royal studios 20 lauderdale sun records was not the only studio to benefit from these influences. Jones, 20yearold guitarist steve cropper, and two seasoned players, bassist lewie steinberg and drummer al jackson jr. Probably in five parts, it tells the story of two white folk, jim stewart and estelle axton, who mortgage their house in order to open a recording studio for country and. Stax records itself had added william bell, eddie floyd, the madlads and a top notch producing and song writing duo named isaac hayes and david porter. Probably in five parts, it tells the story of two white folk, jim stewart and estelle axton, who mortgage their house in order to open a. Stax records was founded in 1957 and originally based in memphis, tennessee. May 19, 2015 steve cropper on the beatles flirtation with stax. Get the drums sounds of stax records reverbs studio.
The studio bands were as famous as the stars like isaac hayes, eddie floyd and otis redding they backed up. William bell, a stax records team player, upholds and extends. Isaac persuaded duck dunn and al jackson to go into the studio with him after the party, and they cut an albums worth of offthecuff arrangements of mostly ballads and blues material. Stax records tore out the seats and converted it to a recording studio. Stax records is an american record label, originally based in memphis, tennessee. Stax records is an american record company known for its talented.
1125 214 522 525 914 988 252 1389 102 1535 1280 16 1470 664 1161 815 306 1430 1258 144 722 1386 1491 166 382 197 490 56 362 1455