Memphis Soul Music Record Label ‘STAX: Soulsville U.S.A.’ Doc Trailer
by Alex Billington
May 2, 2024
Source: YouTube
“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, Estelle Axton, Al Bell, Steve Cropper, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones, Sam Moore, & Deanie Parker. Looks like a lovely tribute to Stax and all their artists.
Here’s the official trailer for Jamila Wignot’s doc series STAX: Soulsville U.S.A., from HBO’s YouTube:
By 1973, Stax Records (official website) was one of the recording industry’s most influential producers of soul music, breaking acts such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, and many more. In under two decades, the scrappy outsider had grown from a modest family-owned record store and studio in Memphis, TN to a trailblazing global music label. STAX: Soulsville U.S.A. chronicles the audacious group of individuals who dared to make music on their own terms, smashing racial barriers and defining an era and leaving an enduring musical legacy in their wake. Driven by a striking collection of restored and remastered archival performance footage and intimate interviews with key players in the label’s remarkable history, STAX: Soulsville U.S.A. details the unlikely origin story of Stax Records and pays tribute to its complex music library and all the legendary artists that emerged from the iconic studio.
STAX: Soulsville U.S.A. is a 4-part docu series directed by the acclaimed doc producer / filmmaker Jamila Wignot, director of the doc films Town Hall and Ailey previously, plus episodes of the TV series “Makers: Women Who Make America”, “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” and “American Masters” (the episode about Alvin Ailey). Produced by Jamila Wignot and Kara Elverson. Executive produced by Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow, Nigel Sinclair, Nicholas Ferrall, Scott Pascucci, Sophia Dilley, Michele Smith, Jody Gerson, David Blackman, Charlie Cohen, and Ron Broitman. HBO will release the STAX: Soulsville U.S.A. series streaming on Max starting on May 20th, 2024 coming soon. Anyone interested in watching?
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