You don’t have to be an expert on classic soul and R&b to recognize the American music monuments that emerged from Stax Records in the Sixties and Seventies. Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” Otis Redding’s “Respect” and “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft,” and the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” — just a few of Stax’s greatest hits — made the case that the Memphis-based record company was the Southern version of Motown.
Whether anyone fully realizes that is another matter.
Whether anyone fully realizes that is another matter.
- 5/20/2024
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
A new docuseries, Stax: Soulsville U.S.A., will look at the radical history of the groundbreaking Memphis label, which has been home to Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, and the Staple Singers, among others. A trailer for the four-part series, which debuts with two episodes on HBO and the whole thing on Max on May 20, explains how label founders Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton, who were white, fell in love with Black music and made the label a haven for artists...
- 5/2/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
"We were on top of the world." HBO Docs has unveiled the trailer for a documentary series titled Stax: Soulsville U.S.A., arriving for streaming later this month. This docu series from HBO "captures how an underdog record label launched a movement and superstar musicians like Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding." The Memphis soul sound that electrified the world... In 1960s Memphis, an audacious set of interracial collaborators dared to make their own music on their own terms, forming Stax Records, one of America's most influential creators of Black music. At the peak of its success, Stax artists commemorated the Watts Rebellion by playing to over 100,000 African Americans at the 1972 benefit concert Wattstax. During an era of major social turbulence, systemic inequity, racial tensions, Stax saw stunning artistic & cultural success, and managed to rebound from repeated business setbacks & losses before the studio ultimately dissolved after 15 pioneering years. With appearances by Otis Redding,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Even during their early 2010s commercial peak, when outside producers, pop-funk influences, and expanded instrumentation transformed them into a genuine mainstream act, the Black Keys’s songs were still full of empty space. Listening to “Tighten Up” or “Lonely Boy” today, it’s striking how spare they sound. They’re slick but not overproduced. There’s not a single extraneous element, enabling the hooks to hammer home with maximum efficiency and giving the songs’ indelible grooves plenty of room to breathe.
The same can’t be said for the band’s 12th studio album, Ohio Players, which is so overstuffed with guest musicians that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are often swallowed whole. For the most part, this isn’t an issue of principle so much as practical listenability. While a large ensemble approach is certainly compatible with the album’s funk, hip-hop, and R&b-inflected stylings, the mixing and...
The same can’t be said for the band’s 12th studio album, Ohio Players, which is so overstuffed with guest musicians that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are often swallowed whole. For the most part, this isn’t an issue of principle so much as practical listenability. While a large ensemble approach is certainly compatible with the album’s funk, hip-hop, and R&b-inflected stylings, the mixing and...
- 4/1/2024
- by Jeremy Winograd
- Slant Magazine
The Grammy Hall of Fame has its 2024 class of treasured songs and albums.
The Recording Academy today enshrined classic albums by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill and De La Soul and Buena Vista Social Club and tracks from Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Charley Pride, William Bell and Kid Ory’s Creole Orchestra. See the full list below.
“We’re proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the Grammy Hall of Fame in its 50th year,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it’s a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond.”
The Grammy Hall salutes recordings that “that exhibit qualitative of historical significance” are are at least 25 years old. This year’s class...
The Recording Academy today enshrined classic albums by Guns N’ Roses, Lauryn Hill and De La Soul and Buena Vista Social Club and tracks from Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Charley Pride, William Bell and Kid Ory’s Creole Orchestra. See the full list below.
“We’re proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the Grammy Hall of Fame in its 50th year,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it’s a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond.”
The Grammy Hall salutes recordings that “that exhibit qualitative of historical significance” are are at least 25 years old. This year’s class...
- 3/20/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Jean Knight, the voice behind “Mr. Big Stuff,” one of the most recognizable songs of the 1970s funk era, has died of natural causes. She was 80.
Knight’s longtime publicist confirmed her death with multiple media outlets. Bernie Cyrus, executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission and Knight’s longtime friend, also confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.
Born in New Orleans, Knight cut her first demo track in 1965, a cover of Jackie Wilson’s “Stop Doggin’ Me Around.” After a series of regionally successful singles, Knight found mainstream acclaim in 1971 with “Mr. Big Stuff,” her first recording for Stax Records. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on R&b chart. The record stayed on both charts for 16 weeks.
“Mr. Big Stuff” went double platinum, selling over two million records. Knight was nominated for a Grammy for the single. Over the years, the single featured...
Knight’s longtime publicist confirmed her death with multiple media outlets. Bernie Cyrus, executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission and Knight’s longtime friend, also confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.
Born in New Orleans, Knight cut her first demo track in 1965, a cover of Jackie Wilson’s “Stop Doggin’ Me Around.” After a series of regionally successful singles, Knight found mainstream acclaim in 1971 with “Mr. Big Stuff,” her first recording for Stax Records. The song reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on R&b chart. The record stayed on both charts for 16 weeks.
“Mr. Big Stuff” went double platinum, selling over two million records. Knight was nominated for a Grammy for the single. Over the years, the single featured...
- 11/27/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Jean Knight, whose 1971 smash hit “Mr. Big Stuff” spent five weeks at Number One on the R&b charts and hit Number Two on the Pop charts, has died at the age of 80, her longtime friend Bernie Cyrus confirmed to Rolling Stone. Knight died on Nov. 22, her family said in a statement.
“She was the first person we appointed on the board when we took took it over and we had a long relationship with her and she was just fabulous,” Bernie Cyrus, who served as the executive director of...
“She was the first person we appointed on the board when we took took it over and we had a long relationship with her and she was just fabulous,” Bernie Cyrus, who served as the executive director of...
- 11/27/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Dave Grohl honored Kent Stax, the late drummer of Grohl’s former band Scream, during Foo Fighters’ set at Louder Than Life Festival by dedicating “Everlong” to the artist. Watch the performance below.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Scream, and the man whose place I took in that band, Mr. Kent Stax,” Grohl said. “One of the best punk rock drummers of all time. He passed the other day. So this one’s for Kent.”
Scream announced Stax’s passing on September 20th, just one day after the DC hardcore legends announced DC Special, their first full-length album since 1993. According to the band, Stax died after “a bout with metastatic cancer.”
“Kent is the original heartbeat of Scream,” the band shared in a statement. “Though we have had to continue on without him before, we have always known Kent is irreplaceable. He was one of a kind.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Scream, and the man whose place I took in that band, Mr. Kent Stax,” Grohl said. “One of the best punk rock drummers of all time. He passed the other day. So this one’s for Kent.”
Scream announced Stax’s passing on September 20th, just one day after the DC hardcore legends announced DC Special, their first full-length album since 1993. According to the band, Stax died after “a bout with metastatic cancer.”
“Kent is the original heartbeat of Scream,” the band shared in a statement. “Though we have had to continue on without him before, we have always known Kent is irreplaceable. He was one of a kind.
- 9/23/2023
- by Carys Anderson
- Consequence - Music
Kent Stax, original drummer for legendary hardcore punks Scream, has died. The news arrives just a day after the band announced their upcoming album DC Special, their first new music since 2011 and first full-length since 1993.
Bandmates Pete and Franz Stahl commemorated Stax in a social media post Wednesday, September 20th: “We are heartbroken to share that our drummer Bennett Kent Stacks passed away this morning after a bout with metastatic cancer. Kent is the original heartbeat of Scream. Though we have had to continue on without him before, we have always known Kent is irreplaceable. He was one of a kind. In addition to being a truly unique drummer, Kent was also an accomplished fisherman, skilled carpenter, and avid train enthusiast.”
The post goes on: “Kent also played in prominent punk and harDCore bands including The Suspects, Spitfires United, Alleged Bricks and more throughout his life. He also branched out to other genres,...
Bandmates Pete and Franz Stahl commemorated Stax in a social media post Wednesday, September 20th: “We are heartbroken to share that our drummer Bennett Kent Stacks passed away this morning after a bout with metastatic cancer. Kent is the original heartbeat of Scream. Though we have had to continue on without him before, we have always known Kent is irreplaceable. He was one of a kind. In addition to being a truly unique drummer, Kent was also an accomplished fisherman, skilled carpenter, and avid train enthusiast.”
The post goes on: “Kent also played in prominent punk and harDCore bands including The Suspects, Spitfires United, Alleged Bricks and more throughout his life. He also branched out to other genres,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Abby Jones
- Consequence - Music
DC hardcore legends Scream have announced DC Special, their first new music since 2011 and first full-length since 1993. The record, which features contributions from Ian MacKaye, former drummer Dave Grohl, and more, is out November 10th via the storied Dischord Records. Along with the news, Scream have announced a run of 2023 tour dates, and shared the new song “DC Special Sha La La.” Listen below.
Scream’s original lineup — singer Pete Stahl, guitarist Franz Stahl, bassist Skeeter Thompson, and drummer Kent Stax — recorded DC Special at Washington, DC’s go-to punk studio, Inner Ear, with founder Don Zientara, while Minor Threat/Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye provided additional production. The band’s first LP since 1993’s Fumble, and first overall release since the 2011 EP Complete Control Recording Sessions, has been a long time coming: In 2021, Scream launched a Kickstarter to fund the project, which ended up being one of the last things...
Scream’s original lineup — singer Pete Stahl, guitarist Franz Stahl, bassist Skeeter Thompson, and drummer Kent Stax — recorded DC Special at Washington, DC’s go-to punk studio, Inner Ear, with founder Don Zientara, while Minor Threat/Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye provided additional production. The band’s first LP since 1993’s Fumble, and first overall release since the 2011 EP Complete Control Recording Sessions, has been a long time coming: In 2021, Scream launched a Kickstarter to fund the project, which ended up being one of the last things...
- 9/19/2023
- by Carys Anderson
- Consequence - Music
Clarence Avant, the beloved recording industry insider whose work as an executive, label owner, dealmaker and mentor earned him the nickname the “Godfather of Black Music,” has died. He was 92.
Avant died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced in a statement. His death came 20 months after his wife of 54 years, philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, was shot and killed by an intruder in their Beverly Hills home in the early morning hours of Dec. 1, 2021.
Survivors include their daughter, Nicole Avant, a producer, former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas and the wife of Netflix co-ceo and chief content officer Ted Sarandos, and their son, Alexander, a producer (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!) and talent rep.
“Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come,” the Avant/Sarandos family said.
Avant died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced in a statement. His death came 20 months after his wife of 54 years, philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, was shot and killed by an intruder in their Beverly Hills home in the early morning hours of Dec. 1, 2021.
Survivors include their daughter, Nicole Avant, a producer, former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas and the wife of Netflix co-ceo and chief content officer Ted Sarandos, and their son, Alexander, a producer (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!) and talent rep.
“Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come,” the Avant/Sarandos family said.
- 8/14/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The story of Stax records has long been smoothed over and sculpted into a neat bundle of Southern aphorism and marketing copy: The Memphis home of “Soul Man” and Shaft and the Staple Singers was the more authentic (insert adjective like “gritty” or “greasy” or “Southern-fried” here), counterpart to the pop-oriented Motown; a rare space of multiracial utopia in a segregated Sixties South; a locus, for Blacks in Memphis at the time, for the expressions and dreams of a better American future that lost its way in 1968 when those dreams...
- 6/22/2023
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Company enters into partnership with longtime collaborator Ben Murphy of Whiskey Bear.
White Horse Pictures founder Nigel Sinclair is transitioning to non-executive chairman and will maintain an active role in the business and focus on content creation as Nicholas Ferrall assumes the reins as chairman and CEO. Partners Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann are named co-presidents.
Ferrall, who served as president since 2019 after an earlier stint as head of production, came over with Sinclair from Exclusive Media and is currently producing Stax Records show Stax, Gene Wilder documentary feature Wilder, and horror mystery feature The Queen Mary.
The strategic...
White Horse Pictures founder Nigel Sinclair is transitioning to non-executive chairman and will maintain an active role in the business and focus on content creation as Nicholas Ferrall assumes the reins as chairman and CEO. Partners Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann are named co-presidents.
Ferrall, who served as president since 2019 after an earlier stint as head of production, came over with Sinclair from Exclusive Media and is currently producing Stax Records show Stax, Gene Wilder documentary feature Wilder, and horror mystery feature The Queen Mary.
The strategic...
- 12/13/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Film and documentary production company White Horse Pictures said Tuesday it is moving forward with a strategic reorganization to service growth at the company whose recent titles include Lucy and Desi and the Ron Howard pics The Beatles: Eight Days a Week and Pavarotti.
As part of the changes, Nicholas Ferrall, the company’s current president, takes on the role of chairman and CEO, previously held by founder Nigel Sinclair, overseeing all aspects of the company’s business, growth, and development. Sinclair will transition to become the company’s non-executive chairman, maintaining a role in the business while focusing on content creation.
Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann, two partners at the firm, take the role of co presidents, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s creative content, production, and development.
White Horse also has entered into a partnership with longtime collaborator Ben Murphy, of Whiskey Bear, to...
As part of the changes, Nicholas Ferrall, the company’s current president, takes on the role of chairman and CEO, previously held by founder Nigel Sinclair, overseeing all aspects of the company’s business, growth, and development. Sinclair will transition to become the company’s non-executive chairman, maintaining a role in the business while focusing on content creation.
Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann, two partners at the firm, take the role of co presidents, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s creative content, production, and development.
White Horse also has entered into a partnership with longtime collaborator Ben Murphy, of Whiskey Bear, to...
- 12/13/2022
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
White Horse Pictures is overhauling its corporate structure as its top executive, Nigel Sinclair, shifts to a more creative role.
Chairman and CEO Sinclair, who founded the indie film and documentary producer in 2014 along with fellow Executive Media alum Guy East, will focus on content as non-executive chairman. And Nicholas Ferrall, the company’s president since 2019 after serving as head of production, will become the new chairman and CEO, replacing Sinclair in the top job.
“This new management plan positions White Horse Pictures to expand upon nearly a decade of consistent growth. I look forward to being a part of this company’s next chapter, as a new generation of leaders creates first-rate content,” Sinclair said in a statement.
As part of the shake-up at White Horse, Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann are promoted from partners to co-presidents of the company. To bolster its corporate structure,...
White Horse Pictures is overhauling its corporate structure as its top executive, Nigel Sinclair, shifts to a more creative role.
Chairman and CEO Sinclair, who founded the indie film and documentary producer in 2014 along with fellow Executive Media alum Guy East, will focus on content as non-executive chairman. And Nicholas Ferrall, the company’s president since 2019 after serving as head of production, will become the new chairman and CEO, replacing Sinclair in the top job.
“This new management plan positions White Horse Pictures to expand upon nearly a decade of consistent growth. I look forward to being a part of this company’s next chapter, as a new generation of leaders creates first-rate content,” Sinclair said in a statement.
As part of the shake-up at White Horse, Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann are promoted from partners to co-presidents of the company. To bolster its corporate structure,...
- 12/13/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mable John, who recorded for Motown and Stax and later worked with Ray Charles, died Aug. 25 at her home in Los Angeles. Her nephew, Kevin John, confirmed the death, but did not give a cause. She was 91.
“We loved her and she was a kind person,” Kevin John said of his aunt, the older sister of R&b star Little Willie John.
John had a rich career in music. She was the first solo female artist signed to Motown (then Tamla Records) by Berry Gordy Jr. and recorded the songs “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That,” “Actions Speak Louder Than Words,” “No Love,” “Looking for a Man,” and “Take Me,” the latter with background harmonies by The Temptations.
John left Motown in the mid-1960s to join Memphis label Stax Records. There she teamed with the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter for her 1966 hit “Your...
“We loved her and she was a kind person,” Kevin John said of his aunt, the older sister of R&b star Little Willie John.
John had a rich career in music. She was the first solo female artist signed to Motown (then Tamla Records) by Berry Gordy Jr. and recorded the songs “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That,” “Actions Speak Louder Than Words,” “No Love,” “Looking for a Man,” and “Take Me,” the latter with background harmonies by The Temptations.
John left Motown in the mid-1960s to join Memphis label Stax Records. There she teamed with the songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter for her 1966 hit “Your...
- 8/28/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Mable John, the first female solo artist signed to Motown (then Tamla) Records, a Stax singer and longtime Ray Charles collaborator, has died at the age of 91.
John died Thursday at her home in Los Angeles; no cause of death was revealed. “We loved her and she was a kind person,” her nephew Kevin John told the Detroit News.
Related Lamont Dozier, Motown Songwriter Behind Countless Classics, Dead at 81 Former Jeffrey Epstein Associate Steven Hoffenberg Found Dead at 77 Jerry Allison, Drummer and Songwriter for Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Dead...
John died Thursday at her home in Los Angeles; no cause of death was revealed. “We loved her and she was a kind person,” her nephew Kevin John told the Detroit News.
Related Lamont Dozier, Motown Songwriter Behind Countless Classics, Dead at 81 Former Jeffrey Epstein Associate Steven Hoffenberg Found Dead at 77 Jerry Allison, Drummer and Songwriter for Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Dead...
- 8/27/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.