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Memphis Soul
Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, guitar, bass, and a driving beat on the drums. Many of the songs in this style were performed by vocalists backed by the house bands of Stax Records, Stax, Hi Records, Hi and Goldwax Records. Memphis soul sound is different from the Motown Records, Motown sound from Detroit or the lighter sound of Chicago soul. After the rise of disco in the late 1970s, Memphis soul declined in popularity. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is dedicated to preserving the Memphis sound. Overview/Memphis Soul Soul music is an emotional genre that began by expression of the struggles within the African American community. Soul is similar to genres like Motown or Rhythm and Blues but is unique because of its tonality and origin. Memphis musici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Soul
Southern soul or country soul is a type of soul and country music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern black churches. Bass guitar, drums, horn section, organ, and gospel roots vocal are important to soul groove. This rhythmic force made it a strong influence in the rise of funk music. The terms "deep soul", "country soul", "downhome soul" and "hard soul" have been used synonymously with "Southern soul".p. 18 History 1960s–1980s Some soul musicians were from southern states: these included Georgia natives Otis Redding and James Brown, Rufus Thomas and Bobby "Blue" Bland (from Tennessee), Eddie Floyd (from Alabama), Johnnie Taylor, Al Green (from Arkansas). Southern soul was at its peak through the 1960s, when Memphis soul and the Muscle Shoals sound were popular. In 1963, Stan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Mitchell (musician)
William Lawrence Mitchell (March 1, 1928 – January 5, 2010) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, soul, R&B, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, O. V. Wright, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and Quiet Elegance. Biography Born and raised in Ashland, Mississippi, Mitchell moved to Memphis when he was in high school. He attended Rust College.Howard, David N. (2004). ''Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings'', pp. 150–51. Hal Leonard Corporation. . At the age of eight, he began to play the trumpet. While in high school, he was a featured player in popular local big bands. He later formed his own combo, which from time to time included musicians such as trumpeter Booker Little, saxophonists Charles Lloyd, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soul Children
The Soul Children was an American vocal group who recorded soul music for Stax Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They had three top 10 hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart – "The Sweeter He Is" (1969), "Hearsay" (1972), and "I'll Be the Other Woman" (1973) – all of which crossed over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Career The group was formed in 1968 by Isaac Hayes and David Porter of Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, after Sam & Dave, one of the label's top acts, were forced to leave Stax and return to the Atlantic label following the termination of the Stax/Atlantic partnership. As leading songwriters and producers for the label, Hayes and Porter put together a vocal group with two male and two female singers, all of whom sang lead on some of the group's recordings. The original members were Norman West, John Colbert (a.k.a. J. Blackfoot), Anita Louis, and Shelbra Bennett. Colbert, who had been known from childhood as Blackfoot for his habit of walki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dramatics
The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs " In the Rain" and " Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their later 1993 collaboration " Doggy Dogg World" with Snoop Dogg, a top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40. Career The Dramatics, founded by Ron Banks (May 10, 1951 – March 4, 2010), Larry Demps, Rod Davis, Elbert Wilkins and Larry Reed, originally formed in 1964. They were originally known as the Sensations, but changed their billing to the Dramatics in 1965. Their first release in 1965 entitled "Bingo" was recorded for Wingate, a division of Golden World Records in Detroit, Michigan. By 1967, Motown had absorbed the entire Golden World Records operation. The Dramatics then moved to another local Detroit label, Sport Records, where they garnered their first minor hit single, "All Because of You". After becoming victims in the July 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnnie Taylor
Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially successful at Stax Records with the number-one R&B hits " Who's Making Love" (1968), " Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" (1971) and " I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" (1973), and reached number one on the US pop charts with " Disco Lady" in 1976. In 2022, Taylor was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early years Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, United States. He grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas, performing in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Vee Jay Records label in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group The Highway Q.C.'s, which included a young Sam Cooke. Taylor's singing then was strikingly close to that of Cooke, and he was hir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Night (Mar-Keys Composition)
"Last Night" is an instrumental recorded by The Mar-Keys. Released in 1961, the track appeared on ''Last Night!'', the first LP released by the Stax label. Background The label of the single gives writing credit simply to "Mar-Keys"; it was registered with BMI as having been written by Charles Axton, Floyd Newman, Gilbert C. Caple, Jerry Lee Smith and Chips Moman. The song is in a twelve-bar blues form, with brief stops, where Floyd Newman intones "Last Night" before his saxophone solo, which is followed by him exclaiming "Oh, yeah!" before the last three choruses, including the pauses, before the song's fade. According to Steve Cropper, in an interview with Paul Nassari of the '' Sunday Mail'' newspaper, in Adelaide, Australia, "Jerry Lee ‘Smoochy’ Smith came up with the piano riff that was played on organ. Since roducer ChipsMoman didn't want a guitar on it for whatever reason, I wound up playing the hold-down on the organ on the root note. It hurts me in the Mar-Keys his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Packy Axton
Charles Everett "Packy" Axton (February 17, 1941 – January 20, 1974) was an American rhythm and blues tenor saxophone player and bandleader, who was a member of the the Mar-Keys, Mar-Keys and later the the Packers, Packers. Early life Charles Everett "Packy" Axton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Everett and Estelle Axton. Estelle Axton and her brother, Jim Stewart (music), Jim Stewart, were the founders of Stax Records. He graduated from Messick High School in 1959. Career By 1959, Packy Axton had become a member of the Royal Spades, a group formed by Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Charlie Freeman and Terry Johnson, which expanded to include a horn section composed of Axton, Don Nix, and Wayne Jackson (musician), Wayne Jackson. In 1961, they renamed themselves the Mar-Keys and had a major hit with "Last Night (Mar-Keys composition), Last Night" (number 3 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot 100, number 2 on the R&B chart). Axton, Cropper and Jackson w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mar-Keys
The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were an American studio session band for Stax Records, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound. Career Early success with "Last Night" (1961) The group began as the Royal Spades while its members were in high school. They tried to get a record made for the local Satellite Records (the forerunner of Stax), unsuccessfully, even though the label was owned by the mother and uncle of the group's tenor sax player, Charles "Packy" Axton. When the band eventually made a record, Axton's mother, Estelle Axton, convinced them to change their name, and they became "The Mar-Keys". However, the live lineup of the Mar-Keys was not always the same as the band heard on the recordings. Their first and most famous recording was the organ- and saxophone-driven single " Last Night", a number three hit nationally in the US in 1961. It sold over one million c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carla Thomas
Carla Venita Thomas (born December 21, 1942) is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits " Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (1960), " B-A-B-Y" (1966) and "Tramp" (1967), a duet with Otis Redding. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas. Biography Childhood Thomas was born and raised in the Foote Homes Projects in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Along with her siblings, Marvell and Vaneese, she was one of three musical children of Rufus and Lorene Thomas. Despite growing up in the projects, the Thomas family lived near the Palace Theater on Beale Street, as Rufus was the theater's Master of Ceremonies (MC) for their amateur shows.Freeland, David. "Carla Thomas – Memphis's Reluctant Soul Queen". ''Ladies of Soul''. University Press of Mississippi, 2001. pp. 56–75. This access not only gave Thomas her first taste of the music world but it also provided a springboa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufus Thomas
Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. His dance records, including " Walking the Dog" (1963), " Do the Funky Chicken" (1969), and " (Do the) Push and Pull" (1970), were some of his most successful songs. According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene." He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He rem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WDIA
WDIA (1070 AM) is a radio station based in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since 1947, it soon became the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured black radio personalities; its success in building an audience attracted radio advertisers suddenly aware of a "new" market among black listeners. The station had a strong influence on music, hiring musicians early in their careers, and playing their music to an audience that reached through the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast. The station started the WDIA Goodwill Fund to help and empower black communities. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station's studios are located in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter site is in North Memphis. History WDIA went on the air June 7, 1947, from studios on Union Avenue. The owners, John Pepper and Bert Ferguson, were both white, and the format was a mix of country and western and light pop, as well as "homemaker shows", network shows an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estelle Axton
Estelle Axton (''née'' Stewart; September 11, 1918 – February 24, 2004) was an American record executive and co-founder of Stax Records, along with her brother Jim Stewart. Biography Born in Middleton, Tennessee, Estelle Stewart grew up on a farm. Some of her earliest musical experiences came from playing the organ and piano in church, as well as playing in a quartet with her sister, father, and uncle. She moved to Memphis as a school teacher, married Everett Axton, and was working in a bank when, in 1958, her brother Jim Stewart asked for help to develop Satellite Records, which he had set up to issue recordings of local country and rockabilly artists. She convinced her husband that they should remortgage their house and, in 1959, joined Satellite as an equal partner. The following year, Axton and Stewart turned the Capitol Theatre, in a black Memphis neighborhood, into a recording studio and record shop, and began making hit records with predominantly black artists. Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
