Podcasts about american soul music

In early 1970, Booker T Jones was on sabbatical in California having grown disillusioned with confines of Stax Records and Memphis, when he heard the Beatles' latest effort, Abbey Road. So moved was he by the Beatles' genius and daring, that he sat down and drafted his own Memphis-style tribute to the group. The album, released later that same year, is titled McLemore Avenue, after the street where Stax's studio and headquarters were located. This week on BSC, we have Memphis' very own Booker T and The MG's tribute band, The Maitre D's, performing McLemore Avenue from start to finish in a performance captured on the cutting room floor of Studio A at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Rockshow episode 211 The Story of Stax RecordsStax Records was a pioneering American record label based in Memphis, Tennessee, that played a crucial role in the development of soul, R&B, and funk music. Founded in 1957 by Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton, the label became synonymous with the gritty, raw, and deeply emotional sound that defined Southern soul.Stax was home to legendary artists such as Otis Redding, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett (through a deal with Atlantic), Isaac Hayes, and The Staple Singers. Unlike Motown, which had a polished and orchestrated style, Stax music was known for its raw energy, tight horn sections, and a heavy gospel influence.One of Stax's most defining characteristics was its integrated roster of musicians, producers, and executives during a time of deep racial segregation in the South. The studio band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, featured both Black and white musicians, which was groundbreaking in the 1960s.The label thrived throughout the 1960s but faced difficulties after the tragic death of Otis Redding in 1967 and the loss of its distribution deal with Atlantic Records in 1968. It experienced a resurgence in the early 1970s, largely due to Isaac Hayes' massive success with Hot Buttered Soul and Shaft. However, financial struggles led to Stax's bankruptcy in 1975.In later years, Stax was revived as a brand, and its legacy continues through reissues and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis. Its impact on music remains profound, influencing countless artists across multiple genres.https://staxrecords.com/https://youtube.com/@staxrecords?si=bPBfHvzs7kxHrb5Dhttps://staxmuseum.org/#StaxRecords #SoulMusic #MemphisSoul #OtisRedding #IsaacHayes #BookerTandTheMGs #SouthernSoul #RNB #ClassicSoul #SamAndDave #TheStapleSingers #SoulLegends #Funk #VintageVinyl #MusicHistory #StaxMuseum #RespectYourRoots

It's a holiday episode of Beale Street Caravan, featuring The Maitre D's bringing Booker T. & The MGs album In The Christmas Spirit to life. This week's episode was recorded live from the cutting floor of Studio A at the STAX Museum of American Soul Music - the same spot it was originally recorded 50 years ago!

Deanie Parker has worn many different hats at Stax Records. From a songwriter, singer, arranger, collaborator, and publicist for the since the beginning of the label existence. Decades later continues to persevere the history of Stax. President and CEO of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and Stax Music Academy and executive director of Soulsville Foundation. The Grammy Award winner joined us to discuss her legacy with the legendary label out of Memphis, Tennessee.

This week on Beale Street Caravan we feature Stax guitar heroes Harold Beane, Bobby Manuel, and Skip Pitts, in a special presentation of the Masters of the Soul Guitar, live from Studio A inside the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Grammy nominated blues man, Guy Davis, will be with us to deliver an installment of the Blues Hall of Fame, an exploration of the lives of the pioneers and innovators enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame, here in Memphis, TN, brought to you by the Blues Foundation.

We have a lot in store for you this week on BSC! First we have The BoKeys performing in Studio A of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. We sit down and talk with Floyd Newman, founding member of The Memphis Horns. Then we head to the Beale Street Music Fest and catch a set from BSC perennial, Reba Russell.      

As Executive Director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, TN, Jeff Kollath oversees the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Stax Records and American soul music. Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooke, Booker T & the MGs and the endless Stax roster of musical icons produced  songs that stirred our souls and shared our collective story, a story born of pain and glory, rags and riches, love and lust. Stax liberated our hearts and freed our hips to move like nobody was watching. Kollath, brandishing a BA and Masters in History, shares the complex STAX story everday, highlighting the granular details of each artist and the revolution they created. And overseeing magnificent installations that capture the moments when musical and cultural magic happened in a beaten up corner of Memphis. Kollath has researched and written extensively about soul music and Black culture during the Civil Rights and Black Power eras. Prior to arriving in Memphis in 2015, Kollath created dynamic public programming and exhibitions for the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities, the Milwaukee County Historical Society, and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Memphis Magazine Interview Photo Max Gersh / The Commercial AppealShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

On this very special episode of Great Minds we welcome Jeff Kollath, Executive Director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

"It was here, on the banks of the Mississippi River, where music changed the world." In Memphis, music has always been more than a melody and lyrics - it's a movement. This is a city that launched some of the world's most beloved musicians, from Otis Redding to Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas, Elvis Presley, and more. And in the midst of segregation and racial tension, the music of Memphis became a powerful tool for bringing people together - and creating the sound of a civil rights movement that would move the world. Join host Aaron Millar and step into some of the world's most famous recording booths all around the city. It's in these rooms where the greats of soul and rock n' roll have shed blood, sweat and tears for decades. You'll hear how Elvis Presley was discovered completely by accident at Sun Studios; learn about Otis Redding and the joyous growth of soul at the Stax Museum; and go behind the scenes of pop music with Bruno Mars at Royal Studios. WANT MORE TENNESSEE MUSIC? Tennessee Music Pathways is a guide that connects visitors to the rich musical heritage of the state. Visitors can curate their own path based on interests using an interactive guide at TNmusicpathways.com. Follow the conversation on social using or searching hashtag #tnmusicpathways. Thank you to our guests and musicians: Hal Lansky, Lansky Brothers Clothing lanskybros.com Crockett Hall, Sun Studio sunstudio.com Jeff Kollath, Stax Museum of American Soul Music staxmuseum.com Boo Mitchell, Royal Studios boomitchellmemphis.com and royalstudios.com Dr. Noelle Trent, National Civil Rights Museum civilrightsmuseum.org Visit Memphis memphistravel.com SOCIAL Share the show with your friends! Subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening, follow @armchairexplorerpodcast on Instagram and Facebook, check out Armchair Explorer's website, armchair-explorer.com, and learn more about APT Podcast Studios on their website at APTpodcaststudios.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUMMARYStax Records legend Deanie Parker talks about writing songs for Otis Redding, Albert King, William Bell, and Carla Thomas, dives deep on what made the Stax environment so special, and shines a light on the recently-released box sets of forgotten Stax songwriter demos. PART ONEScott and Paul discuss the wild story behind the monumental box set Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos.PART TWOOur in-depth interview with Deanie ParkerABOUT DEANIE PARKERWhile still in high school, Deanie Parker won a Memphis talent contest and an audition for Jim Stewart at Stax Records. He signed her and released her debut single, on the Volt label, in 1963. The self-penned “My Imaginary Guy” became a regional hit, but the life of a touring artist was not for Parker. She became the first Black employee at Stax's Satellite Record Shop before joining the label staff as the company's first publicist in 1964. Learning on the job while studying journalism at Memphis State, Parker eventually became the company's Vice President of Public Affairs. One of the first female publicists in the music industry, she worked closely with Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, and others. Wearing many hats at Stax, Deanie continued to write songs with colleagues such as Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, Eddie Floyd, Bettye Crutcher, Mack Rice, Mable John, and Homer Banks, with whom she penned the soul classic “Ain't That a Lot of Love.” The list of Stax artists who recorded her songs includes Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, and more. Her other writing skills were put to use penning liner notes for classic albums such as Sam & Dave's Hold On, I'm Comin', Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign, Otis Redding's Live in Europe, and Shirley Brown's Woman to Woman. From 1987 through 1995, Deanie served as the Assistant Director of the Memphis in May International Festival. A tireless champion of the Stax legacy, she became the first President and CEO of Soulsville, the nonprofit organization established to build and manage the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and the Soulsville Charter School. She was appointed to the Tennessee Arts Commission in 2004 and, in 2009, was awarded two Emmy awards for the I Am a Man documentary short, for which she was an executive producer and the title song composer. The list of artists outside the Stax family who've covered Deanie Parker's songs includes The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Darlene Love, Taj Mahal, Three Dog Night, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Band, New York Dolls, Simply Red, Hall & Oates, and many others. She is a co-producer and co-liner notes writer of the seven-CD collection Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, and was recently announced as a 2023 inductee into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. 

On this Episode, host Tony Fletcher is in conversation with his old London friend Richard Heard about the latter's recent Great American Road Trip from Chicago to New Orleans, setting out to trace the Story of the American Blues. Covering 1300 miles in 10 days, Richard and his American road partner also visited the Stax Museum of American Soul in Memphis, took in revered Country revue show the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, attended Jazz Fest in New Orleans, traveled through the Robert Johnson Crossroads in Clarksdale, and saw the destruction wrought by a recent tornado in Rolling Rock, Mississippi. As Richard says, "Once I lifted the bonnet [translation: the hood] on the road trip, I thought, 'This is not just about music, this is a really really interesting part of American culture and social history which I didn't really know a lot about.'"Subjects include:Planning an American Road Trip around musicChoosing the right travel partnerFocusing on four cities: Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, New OrleansLearning about The Great MigrationThe Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, with Isaac Haye's gold-plated Cadillac, the Soul Train disco ball, the recreated sloping studio - and a history of Black American Music from Gospel on through.The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and the Stax songwriters wrote many of their hits.Seeing Buddy Guy jump on stage to jam at his Buddy Guy's Legends Club in Chicago - on the first night of their road trip.Why doing the Tourist Trail in these cities is no bad thingThe best live music of the whole journeyFrenchman Street in New Orleans, with a live music bar every 20 yardsThe Johnny Cash Museum in NashvilleThe magic of Sun Studio in MemphisDriving Highway 61 from Memphis to New Orleans, via the Blues capital of Clarksdale.Planning a return journey: Detroit, Cleveland and so much moreShort videos from Richard's trip can be seen at: https://www.instagram.com/rh64.2022/Tony Fletcher's books on:Wilson PickettEddie FloydMusic from the Streets of New York, 1927-77One Step Beyond Socials:Instagram is OneStepBeyondPodcastFacebook is One Step Beyond with Tony FletcherE-mail us at onestepbeyond@ijamming.net.Tony's other podcast, the [Jamming!] Fanzine Podcast is available via https://wavve.link/JammingPodcast/episodes (Richard was a guest on the first episode)Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/onestepbeyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Memphis- Tina Turner, Nutbush/Brownsville Music Icon across the World, tribute from Chris Herrington w/Geoff Calkins on 929 FM ESPN (picture) Jeff Kollath, the museum director for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, climbs up a ladder to finish spelling out Tina Turner s name on the museum s marquee in remembrance of her and Floyd Newman in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Turner, a two-time Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famer, a 12-time Grammy winner and one of the most enduring hitmakers in history, and Newman, a baritone saxophonist and key figure in the development of Stax Records, both died earlier this week.

"It was here, on the banks of the Mississippi River, where music changed the world." In Memphis, music has always been more than a melody and lyrics - it's a movement. This is a city that launched some of the world's most beloved musicians, from Otis Redding to Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas, Elvis Presley, and more. And in the midst of segregation and racial tension, the music of Memphis became a powerful tool for bringing people together - and creating the sound of a civil rights movement that would move the world. Join host Aaron Millar and step into some of the world's most famous recording booths all around the city. It's in these rooms where the greats of soul and rock n' roll have shed blood, sweat and tears for decades. You'll hear how Elvis Presley was discovered completely by accident at Sun Studios; learn about Otis Redding and the joyous growth of soul at the Stax Museum; and go behind the scenes of pop music with Bruno Mars at Royal Studios.   ABOUT THE SERIES Produced in a documentary style, the Tennessee Music Pathways series takes listeners on a more than 1,000-mile road trip, from Bristol and the birth of country music to Memphis and the start of rock n' roll. Along the way, listeners will hear bluegrass played fast as lightning and traditional Appalachian music performed live in the Great Smoky Mountains. Follow along as host Aaron Millar shops in Elvis' favorite clothing store, bangs drums in the studio that made Uptown Funk, learns to play the spoons and drinks whiskey in a distillery housed in a more than 100-year-old former prison.   WANT MORE TENNESSEE MUSIC? Tennessee Music Pathways is a guide that connects visitors to the rich musical heritage of our state. Visitors can curate their own path based on interests using an interactive guide at TNmusicpathways.com. Follow the conversation on social using or searching hashtag #tnmusicpathways. TNvacation.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Thank you to our guests and musicians: Hal Lansky, Lansky Brothers Clothing lanskybros.com Crockett Hall, Sun Studio sunstudio.com Jeff Kollath, Stax Museum of American Soul Music staxmuseum.com Boo Mitchell, Royal Studios boomitchellmemphis.com and royalstudios.com Dr. Noelle Trent, National Civil Rights Museum civilrightsmuseum.org Visit Memphis memphistravel.com This series was produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry.

Some of the most memorable experiences on the American Music Bucket List are tours of the very places where the music was born. Aretha Franklin's first big hit was recorded in the FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Bill chats with Rodney Hall, son of legendary FAME founder Rick Hall. Bill also takes a trip to Memphis to visit Sun Studio and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music which sits on the very site of Stax Records - home to greats like Sam & Dave, Al Green, Booker T & The MGs and more. 

Episode Notes Joining me will be Randall Phillips, networking, computing and tech training and robotics instructor. If you are familiar with Code Crew and knowledge Quest, he works with children to teach them what the future of technology will be. The Stax  Museum of American Soul Music, located on the original site of Stax Records studio since 2003 recently received a huge honor. The announcement that the museum is now being added as an iconic location on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Museum Executive Director Jeff Kollath will join me to share how important this honor is.Storyboardmemphis is a publication that fits its title. Mark Fleischer is the publisher and will share with us how they focus on the stories that highlight what you thought you knew. Its an entertaining installment of RTM. Monday, 6-7 pm on air and online. WYXR 91.7 FM, WYXR.org, Facebook Live, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts! Its time to talk…Are you ready?

Episode NotesJoining me will be Randall Phillips, networking, computing and tech training and robotics instructor. If you are familiar with Code Crew and knowledge Quest, he works with children to teach them what the future of technology will be. The Stax  Museum of American Soul Music, located on the original site of Stax Records studio since 2003 recently received a huge honor. The announcement that the museum is now being added as an iconic location on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Museum Executive Director Jeff Kollath will join me to share how important this honor is.Storyboardmemphis is a publication that fits its title. Mark Fleischer is the publisher and will share with us how they focus on the stories that highlight what you thought you knew. Its an entertaining installment of RTM. Monday, 6-7 pm on air and online. WYXR 91.7 FM, WYXR.org, Facebook Live, YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts! Its time to talk…Are you ready?

Join my guest Sarah and I as we revisit the St. Jude's marathon and half marathon, an annual December race series held in Memphis, Tennessee. We also discussed points of interest we visited including the Stax Museum, the Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street, and Elvis's Graceland home. After the break, Sarah and I recall winning the lottery--the New York City Marathon lottery that is!--and how we both loved so many aspects of the big city race. And before wrapping up our time together, Sarah shares her favorite running shoe by Brooks, her favorite tech gear as well as which races are on her bucket list. And we conclude with talking about the Bling Era, when race medals grew to the size of dinner plates! Join us for an entertaining and informative show in which we discuss a wide range of running topics! Support 50 State Finish Lines! Please share the show with friends! National Civil Rights Museum- https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/ Stax: Museum of American Soul Music-https://staxmuseum.com/ St. Jude's Memphis Marathon-https://www.stjude.org/ New York City Marathon - https://www.nyrr.org/tcsnycmarathon Running gloves with lights https://www.mangatalites.com/collections/full-gloves Runner's Alley Running Store https://runnersalley.com/ This podcast series was recorded at The Podcast Lab, WSCA 106.1 Portsmouth, N.H.

This episode of Big Blend Radio's 2nd Tuesday "Food, Wine & Travel" Show with IFWTWA features Milton Howery of Memphis Tourism. Home of The Blues, Soul and Rock'n Roll, hear how Memphis is the ultimate destination for music lovers with famous sites like the Beale Street Historic District, Blues Music Hall of Fame, Graceland, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Memphis Rock ‘n' Soul Museum, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, and the W.C. Handy Home and Museum. Spring is the ideal time of year to visit this musically rich city with a full calendar of events and festivals, black history sites and museums, and all kinds of attractions and outdoor activities to enjoy, along with luxurious lodgings and a fantastic food scene. More at: https://www.memphistravel.com/ Special thank you to the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) - https://www.ifwtwa.org/

This episode of Big Blend Radio's 2nd Tuesday "Food, Wine & Travel" Show with IFWTWA features Milton Howery of Memphis Tourism. Home of The Blues, Soul and Rock'n Roll, hear how Memphis is the ultimate destination for music lovers with famous sites like the Beale Street Historic District, Blues Music Hall of Fame, Graceland, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Memphis Rock ‘n' Soul Museum, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, and the W.C. Handy Home and Museum.Spring is the ideal time of year to visit this musically rich city with a full calendar of events and festivals, black history sites and museums, and all kinds of attractions and outdoor activities to enjoy, along with luxurious lodgings and a fantastic food scene. More at: https://www.memphistravel.com/Special thank you to the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) - https://www.ifwtwa.org/

Kimberly Hooper-Taylor, Director of Education, at the Stax Records Museum of American Soul Music to take Matt and Samer through a mix tape from Stax Music artists that speak to her relationship.  Her playlist can be found on Spotify here. Support the show (https://www.superawesomemix.com/)

Jeff Kollath, Executive Director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, shares how music forms a common thread through history, culture, art and humanity. Jeff shares with Business Class host, Stephen Ekstrom, how an incredible tale of the Stax story, came to life and grew into a powerful exhibit. Plus, Jeff talks about his own career growth and his hopes for the future of Stax. RELATED:  Science Says We Love To TravelRELATED: 6 Reasons Why eLearning Costs Less Than Traditional TrainingBusiness Class is made possible by Group Travel Odyssey.Support the show

It's Mempho Time! ------------------------------The 2021 Mempho Festival is FINALLY here! What a couple of months since the last Panic shows - the Wilmington shows were epic, the Asheville shows serviceable, and then Napa and NYC got canceled, and JB got COVID. But, everyone is healthy and the fans are ready for the Memphis heat! Aside from the Panic, the festival lineup is pretty great, with the Avetts, Nathaniel Rateliff, Black Pumas, Liz Brasher, City Champs, and more gracing the stages at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. We are so excited to have you come to town! Check out this episode for a Mempho preview, some setlist wishcasting, and Jeff's very extensive dining, drinking, doing, and watching recommendations to keep you and yours occupied during a busy SEC Saturday. Go visit that Stax Museum of American Soul Music, too! Even though Harvey only listens to JRAD these days, Jeff has a couple of Panic show recommendations for you from fall 94 and 99 - enjoy! ****Links below go to whole show streams from Relisten powered by Panicstream*27 September 1994 - Jacksonville, FL - Memorial AuditoriumMaggot Brain > Chilly Water26 September 1999 - Clemson, SC - Littlejohn ColiseumPapa Legba > PAYMH > Pleas > Conrad See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join Nancy J. Reid and Lisa D. Smith, the mother-daughter travel team and publishers of Big Blend Radio & TV Magazine and Parks & Travel Magazine, for Big Blend Radio’s 2nd Friday Food, Wine & Travel Show with the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA). This episode features Milton Howery of Memphis Tourism who shares what there is to see and do, year-round, in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is home to over 60 unique attractions like the Memphis Pyramid, and famous musical destinations such as the Beale Street Historic District, Blues Music Hall of Fame, Graceland, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, and the W.C. Handy home and Museum. There are plenty of indoor and outdoor art galleries, museums and cultural districts to explore such as the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis Botanic Garden, and CrossTownArts. It’s also active outdoor community with 166 parks including Shelby Farms Park and Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, plus, the Mississippi, Ghost, and Wolf Rivers. And when it comes to food, the city has over 100 barbecue restaurants, world-famous fine dining, rich soul food, and more. Featured music is "Soul Deep" by memphis legends “The Box Tops”. 

You've already opened your box by now, and now you're probably wondering what you're doing here. Well, Stax closed in 1975, as we established on the last episode, but the road to Stax as it is today: A label and a thriving museum and music academy, has 45 years of history for us to catch up on. As I mentioned in the first episode, the Stax complex at 926 E. McLemore Ave. in Memphis today is not the same Stax that was there in 1975. It took a lot of work--mainly by a Stax writer and office worker named Deanie Parker--to deliver what I think is the best music museum on earth: The Stax Museum of American Soul Music.  In this, our sixth and final episode of the season, I sit down with the museum's executive director Jeff Kollath to talk about the museum's mission, and how Stax went from a studio to a pile of rubble to a museum.   

Week One wraps up with an epic Father's Day in Memphis. While some days are living simply (or simply living), others are as full as they possibly could be. Or maybe that's just Dan and Janice's stomachs as this fathers day featured not just a big breakfast at the Waffle House, but also a huge mid-afternoon dinner of Memphis-style barbecue. But the main attraction was a visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, built on the site of the legendary label Stax Records. Long on Dan's list of places he wanted to visit, he finally got his chance. And it wasn't just Dan that was blown away by it, everyone was--even the three-year-old got down on the dance floor at the museum. An important piece of music history, black history, and Memphis history, the museum managed to cover it all in a way that felt both reverential and celebratory. It was a wonderful day and a great way to wrap up the first week of the trip. There's still so much more to come, so subscribe and tell your friends! Follow along on Instagram @tincanevangeline Follow Dan on Twitter @dansinker Follow Janice on Twitter @janicedillard

We have a lot in store for you this week on BSC! First we have The BoKeys performing in Studio A of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. We sit down and talk with Floyd Newman, founding member of The Memphis Horns. Then we head to the Beale Street Music Fest and catch a set from BSC perennial, Reba Russell.

Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom today with her review of the world premiere of Soul: The Stax Musical, now rattling the boards at Baltimore Center Stage.The production is the directorial swansong of departing artistic director Kwame Kwei Armah, who's stepping down after seven years running the shows at Center Stage. (Check out his May 9 interview here on Midday).With a book by Matthew Benjamin, choreography by Chase Brock, musical direction by Rahn Coleman and a multi-talented 21-member cast, Soul: the Stax Musical tells the story (with renditions of more than 30 songs) of Memphis-based Stax Records and the recording company's role in launching such legendary artists as Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Booker T ---- The MG's, Rufus ---- Carla Thomas, David Porter, Wilson Pickett, Johnnie Taylor, and Eddie Floyd — singers whose iconic work during the 1960s and 70s laid the foundations for American Soul Music. Their story, and the rise and fall of Stax Records, play out against the backdrop of the evolving civil rights struggle and the growing power of R----B music -- still evident today -- to unite a divided nation.

In early 1970, Booker T Jones was on sabbatical in California having grown disillusioned with confines of Stax Records and Memphis, when he heard the Beatles’ latest effort, Abbey Road. So moved was he by the Beatles’ genius and daring, that he sat down and drafted his own Memphis-style tribute to the group. The album, released later that same year, is titled McLemore Avenue, after the street where Stax’s studio and headquarters were located. This week on BSC, we have Memphis’ very own Booker T and The MG’s tribute band, The Maitre D’s, performing McLemore Avenue from start to finish in a performance captured on the cutting room floor of Studio A at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

This week on BSC we feature Scott Sharrard performing with Memphis' own Bo-Keys in Studio A at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Hi Records legend Don Bryant joins in for a couple of songs. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

Tim Sampson is communications director for the Soulsville Foundation which runs the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Stax Music Academy, and the Soulsville Charter School in Memphis. We discuss the history of Stax Records including artists Booker T. Jones, Otis Redding, Jean Knight, the Staple Singers, and Isaac Hayes as well as the establishment and operation of Soulsville which Tim has been involved with since day one.

Blues/soul upstarts Southern Avenue are with us in a inspired performance from the cutting room floor in Studio A at The Stax Museum of American Soul Music. In the interview they share their unique perspective on what Memphis music is all about. BSC contributor John Paul Keith returns for another installment of Something On The Side. This week he talks with Jerry and Halley Phillips about their family's incredible legacy and their ongoing efforts for Memphis music.

With over 50 years in the music business, The Bar-Kays have a career total of 29 albums, including 1 platinum album, 5 gold albums, and 20 top ten singles. The Bar-Kays music has been sampled by everyone, from Coolio to Will Smith, to old schoolers like Cameo. Their career has been documented in music institutions such as The Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. The Bar-Kays recently were asked to donate iconic stage garb and musical equipment to the esteemed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Funk, R&B, and Soul music is their genre. Listen in for some of their old stories and newest hits! Listen and learn today on Brunch in the Basement With JaVonne

Born in Mississippi, Deanie arrived at the Stax studio on McLemore Avenue in 1963 becoming one of Stax Records’ first artists. Deanie went on to perform practically every role, from singer, to composer, to liner notes writer, photographer, editor, publicist, press correspondent, documentalist, and most notably, the Soulsville Foundation’s first President and CEO, a nonprofit organization that helped build the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Born in Mississippi, Deanie arrived at the Stax studio on McLemore Avenue in 1963 becoming one of Stax Records’ first artists. Deanie went on to perform practically every role, from singer, to composer, to liner notes writer, photographer, editor, publicist, press correspondent, documentalist, and most notably, the Soulsville Foundation’s first President and CEO, a nonprofit organization that helped build the Stax Museum of American Soul Music