This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Memphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax^[1] and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving beat on the drums. Many of the songs in this style were performed by vocalists backed by the house bands for Stax and Hi Records. The Memphis soul sound was different from the Motown Sound from Detroit Michigan. After the rise of disco in the late 1970s, Memphis soul declined somewhat in popularity. Stax Museum of American Soul Music is dedicated to preserving the Memphis sound.

History [edit]

Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton converted an old movie theater into a recording studio at the corner of McLemore Avenue and College Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Shortly after, former WDIA disc jockey Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla recorded the label's first hit, "Cause I Love You." Soon after, the Mar-Keys, a local R&B group that included Estelle's son, recorded "Last Night."

For the next 14 years, Stax Records launched the careers and recorded hits for the likes of Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, Booker T. and the MGs, Sam & Dave and Isaac Hayes. Of the approximately 800 singles and 300 LPs recorded at Stax, there were 166 Top 100 songs in the pop charts, and 265 Top 100 hits in the R&B charts, nine of them Grammy winners.

Under the leadership of Al Bell, the label became one of the first to evolve into a multimedia company, producing spoken-word recordings as well as the acclaimed WattStax documentary. Known to many as the "Black Woodstock," WattStax also featured Richard Pryor. The documentary featured performances by Isaac Hayes, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays and the Staple Singers, as well as interviews on the 1965 Watts Revolt.

Stax was one of the most successfully integrated companies in the country—from top management and administration to its artists. Though founded by Jim Stewart and co-owned by Estelle Axton, Al Bell eventually joined the team, becoming co-owner of Stax Records in 1968. With 200-plus employees, Stax was one of the largest African-American-owned businesses in the United States during its time.

Stax' rhythm section was the epitome of the label's integration. Composed of Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr., Booker T. and the MGs provided the instrumental backing for Rufus and Carla Thomas and Sam & Dave, as well as penning their own instrumental hit, "Green Onions." Over the next seven years, the group recorded independently, backed various Stax acts and pursued their own individual careers. Jones worked with artist-producer William Bell and co-wrote the blues classic "Born Under a Bad Sign," while Cropper supervised the recordings of Otis Redding and co-wrote hits with Wilson Pickett and Eddie Floyd.

Stax gave back to its African-American, music-buying public utilizing its marketing budget to help keep publications like Jet and Black Enterprise operating. Stax financed free benefit concerts with its artists, helped raise money for the needy during the holidays, and participated in and helped publicize the federal governmentís "Stay in School" program.

Hi Records [edit]

Started by a trio of Sun Studio musicians--Ray Harris, Bill Cantrell and Quentin Claunch—as well as Joe Cuoghi, one of the owners of Poplar ("Pop") Tunes, a local record store, Hi Records' early releases were primarily rockabilly. While the label had success with this sound, rockabilly as a trend was declining, as was Hi Records. Then the label had its first hit, courtesy of Harris' friend, Bill Black.

Just as the Mar-Keys "Last Night" helped Stax, the success of Bill Black's Combo changed Hi from a rockabilly label to an instrumental powerhouse during the early 60s. But as the decade wore on, Hi Records once again recognized a shift in the musical landscape, and, with the leadership of producer/bandleader/songwriter Willie Mitchell, evolved into a successful soul music label.

The label first emerged on the national scene with Ann Peebles. Approached by Mitchell after an impromptu performance at the Rosewood Club, Peebles hit the charts in 1969 with "Walk Away" followed by "Part Time Love." She would later record "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" and "I Can't Stand the Rain", a song championed by John Lennon and sampled by Missy Elliott.

After a chance encounter on tour in Texas, Al Green joined Willie Mitchell and Hi Records, and together, they became the preeminent source for soul music in the 1970s. With hits such as "Tired of Being Alone," "Let's Stay Together" and "Take Me To The River," Al Green established a permanent identity and a sound for Hi Records, based around a house band who became known as the Hi Rhythm Section. The Mitchell recruited unit consisted of the Hodges brothers, Charles (organ), Leroy (bass), and "Teenie" (guitar), along with drummer Howard Grimes. Drummer Al Jackson, Jr. also played on and co-wrote many hits for the label. Mitchell also recruited The Memphis Horns of Stax.

One aspect of the label's success came from the fact that while Hi Records was inseparable from Willie Mitchell, Willie Mitchell and Royal Studio often operated separately from Hi. Mitchell often produced and arranged records for a number of artists, including Ike and Tina Turner, who were not members of the Hi roster.

Notable artists [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Backroads of American Music project
• Stax Museum of American Soul Music
• Hi Records
• Ardent Studios
• Beale Street
• National Civil Rights Museum
• Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
• The Memphis Soul Blog
• 49th Grammy Awards
• West Memphis Blues and Rhythm Society
• "Memphis 50 Years of Soul