The Soul of Stax - ACE286.2

Caption: "Los Angeles 1972." Isaac Hayes comes on stage at Wattstax, is greeted by Jesse Jackson, and takes a bow. Jim Stewart, founder with his sister Estelle Axton, of Stax records, in his car. Commentary says that he started recording in his garage. Stewart in Brunswick, the Memphis, Tennessee, suburb where they then set up a studio; Stewart talking about the early days when they had to stop recording when trains passed because of lack of insulation. Axton and Stewart describe how they finally moved to Memphis proper, with a studio built in the disused Capitol Theater cinema. Photograph of Rufus Thomas outside Stax studios. Thomas in interview at Radio WDIA, Memphis. Singing the Bread and Gravy song. Sings along to the recording of himself and daughter, Carla, performing ’Cause I Love You (1959). Photographs of Carla. Rufus Thomas. Stewart talks about ’Cause I Love You being an instant hit; Jerry Wexler, Atlantic Records, and Stewart talking about the agreement between Stax’s forerunner, Satellite, and Atlantic to press and distribute it. Photograph of Carla Thomas (Gee Whiz (1961) in background), and of William Bell outside the studio. Bell describes his early connections with Stax and the Thomas family. He performs You Don’t Miss Your Water, his hit from 1961, accompanied by Rufus’s son, Marvell, who played on the original.