Soulsville, USA, and the rest of Mississippi

There are only two photos here of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, but that's only because they jacked Matt's camera before we were allowed in. Suffice to say it was a, and perhaps the highlight of our trip. Dozens of rooms of photos, records, videos, and memorabilia about the record label and the history of soul music in general. The short version of the story is that Stax records was Motown's biggest competitor in the early 60's, and the record label that launched Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, Rufus, Johnnie Taylor, Booker T. and the MG's (actually, they were the Stax in-house band, recorded on most of Stax records, and wrote a good number of the songs), Eddie Floyd, the Staple Singers, and a ton of other acts, including a lot of one-hitters that are on oldies radio today. Stax was known for having a grittier sound, more influenced by Memphis blues, and with less of Berry Gordy's huge, 25-part arrangements with string sections and all that. They were one of the first record labels to integrate, and they spread their wings to a huge amount of young talent. It's just incredible music. All of it. And if I had $125 to spare, as many as of you might, I would buy the complete Stax singles boxset so you can see for yourself. I couldn't afford it.

But here we are outside the original building, a neighborhood in west Memphis known as "Soulsville USA" because of the number of musicians who lived in the neighborhood and because Stax and its subsidiary Hi Records were based there. On the inside we saw much cooler stuff, like some original acetates of Aretha Franklin's early stuff and Isaac Hayes' gold-plated Cadillac, spinning on a pedestal. The outside is cool too, I guess...















Down the street, where Memphis Slim lived...



And on, out of Memphis and across the Mississippi line, we made out way to William Faulkner's old estate in Oxford, lovingly called Rowan Oak.



He had this sweet walkway up to the front steps. Here I am modelling my "Wattstax '72" t-shirt, which commemorates the "black Woodstock" that Stax records put together in the L.A. Coliseum, in the most appropriate of literary locations, the home of a subtle, anti-lynching, proto-civil rightser himself, Billy the Falconer.



He also had some sweet southern aging stables...



a barn...



a grape arbor, for growing, trampling, storing (and drinking) the grapes of wrath



And that's all. More Mississippi Music Up Next!