Stax Records
Sam Moore and his singing partner Dave Prater helped put Stax Records on the map with their string of top hits in the 1960s. Their powerful performances inspired their nicknames of Double Dynamite and The Sultans of Sweat. They began recording together in 1965 and helped redefine soul music of the...
Al Bell was in the Stax recording studio in Memphis at the very moment Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed just a few blocks away. Ironically, the recording Al was producing at that time was a song he wrote encouraging Dr. King, whom he had known for years, to be cautious carrying...
William Bell began singing in doo-wop groups before signing for Stax Records in Memphis, which is where his first hit was recorded. In fact that song, "You Don't Miss Your Water" was also the first big hit for the newly formed record label that would go on to redefine soul music. William wrote...
Ben Cauley can be heard on hundreds of Stax Record hits including those with Otis Redding. Ben was a member of Otis's backup band called the Bar-Kays, which originated as the horn section at the Stax studio in Memphis beginning in the 1960s. Ben was the only survivor of the plane crash that took...
Floyd Newman is among the most noted studio musicians from the early days of Stax Records in Memphis. As a saxophonist, Floyd became an integral part of the studio band at Stax Records known as the Mar-Keys. He was also a member of the famed Memphis Horns group, which was formed by Wayne Jackson...
Archie “Hubby” Turner served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and always felt the experience taught him, among other things, to appreciate the opportunity you have to add beauty and music to the world. Archie has done just that as a session player in Memphis, including at Hi Records. His...
James Alexander reformed his band, the Bar-Kays following the plane crash that took the lives of three members, and singer Otis Redding. The new band was created in tribute to those killed with the help of Ben Cauley, the only survivor of the crash (James was on a second plane) and singer Larry...
Bob Wray remembers the day he was sitting in the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama when Clarence Carter outlined the next song he was ready to cut. Bob was to play guitar on the song, which was “Patches.” The song was the biggest in Mr. Carter’s career and Bob knew then and there that...
Steve Cropper became an integral part of the Stax Studio sound in Memphis as guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a member of the studio's house band, the Mar-Keys as well as Booker T. Jones' MGs and recorded hundreds of sides for a wide range of artists. Steve famously played guitar on Otis...
Booker T. Jones grew up in Memphis and began recording as a session player while still in high school at the age of 17. While waiting for a session to begin, Booker and the other musicians in the studio began playing a song Booker wrote, which was later given a name when the engineer encouraged...