Review: HBO Documentary ‘Stax: Soulsville USA’ – Spectacular Viewing, “Getting It All Together”

This past weekend I finally got around to watching the superb HBO Documentary, Stax: Soulsville USA. It’s been out since – I think – late May but with travel and work I just now got around to watching all four episodes. And admittedly, I’m on a strange binge watch odyssey of every season of Bravo’s Top Chef for reasons even I am not sure of…it may have something to do with Padma Lakshmi…but I digress. While I will readily admit that I am too young to remember Stax Records – they started before I was born and closed when I was in early, early grade school – their impact is such that even I’ve heard about Stax.

The Stax label always carried a certain cool cache for me. Stax wasn’t only a record label, they were a sound. While the Stax label specialized in soul and R&B they are still, for me, a cornerstone of rock n roll. The roster of artists on that label are some of the greatest of all time. Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Isaac Hayes (before he was the Chef on South Park) are just a few of the artists who recorded on Stax. The house band in the early days were the incomparable Booker T & the MG’s: Booker Jones (keyboards), Al Jackson (drums), Steve Cropper (guitar) and Duck Dunn (bass). The Stax horn section was second to none. They were the standard for Southern soul music. While they remained a small, Memphis-based label their impact and influence on music was way more far reaching.

The first episode follows James Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton who formed Stax (the combination of their last names) in the late 50s. They found a cheap, old theater to rent but it was on the Black side of Memphis. They began trying to cut country songs but soon, influenced by the local neighborhood and Estelle’s relationships with the kids in her record store, pivoted to gospel and soul. This was in an era of heavy segregation in the South and yet Stax was this oasis of racial harmony, Black and white people who’d come together to make spectacular music. Memphis was rife with racial disharmony, MLK was a big presence in town organizing and that backdrop is covered in full.

Stax first star was Carla Thomas, who also performed with her dad, Rufus. Pretty soon they realized the house band they had was pretty kick ass and released Booker T & the MGs big hit, “Green Onions.” Eventually Otis Redding wandered in from Atlanta. As they searched for bigger labels to partner with they eventually they settled on a deal with Atlantic who sent Sam & Dave down to record at Stax. They ended up with several hits including “Soul Man.” Eventually they hired former DJ Al Bell as the promotions guy but he eventually became part and then full owner. Al was getting the music onto Black radio but couldn’t crack white radio in the U.S. When they realized that they were popular in Europe courtesy of Pirate Radio, they organized a tour of Stax artists in the UK… a young Rod Stewart happened to see Otis Redding perform and it changed his life…

Episode 2 centers on first, the tragic loss of Otis Redding and most of his backing band, the Bar-Kays. Then, MLK is assassinated in Memphis, at the Lorraine Motel where many of the Stax artists had stayed. It rocked the whole company. Then, Jerry Wexler (ultimate bad guy) moved in and took advantage of James Stewart and basically cleared out his entire catalog by swindling Stewart on their contract. It was truly a low point for Stax.

Epsiode 3 brings us to Al Bell’s energized comeback for Stax. In house producer Isaac Hayes decided to step out from the producers chair and into the studio for his own records. First, Presenting Isaac Hayes and then, his masterwork, Hot Buttered Soul. I’ve always loved Isaac Hayes. Stax’s resurrection was complete with Isaac won not only a Grammy but an Oscar for “Shaft.” But alas, Stax signed a contract with CBS Records and Clive Davis and history was to repeat itself in terms of big labels…

Episode 4 we see Stax pushing out to the West Coast and putting on the big music festival (which was filmed for a documentary which reminded me of Questlove’s Summer Of Soul ), Wattstax which was at the time the largest non-Civil Rights gathering of Black Americans in the U.S. It was to commemorate the anniversary of the Watts Riots. What a day that festival must have been!! Eventually CBS sacked Clive and the new execs completely changed the terms of the agreement they had with Stax. They cut off royalties and eventually drove Stax into the ground. What a damn shame.

I will say, I went from knowing Stax as a label and basically a “sound” to knowing much much more about the Stax Records story and the brilliant people behind it by watching this documentary series. I only wish they would have hung on but such is the treacherous nature of the music business. I liked this documentary so much I recommended it to my hair stylist who is also a drummer. This was just great viewing. The music they play is alone worth watching but the story and the people involved make for a fascinating ride.

Any label that brought us the incomparable Otis Redding should be celebrated… period.

I urge all you rock n rollers to check this one out. It’s “a bad mother…” “Shut your mouth,” “I’m just talkin’ about” Stax. Cheers!