STAX MUSEUM OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH!

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC TO HOST

“STILL LIFE IN SOUL: Contemporary Music Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff”
November 6, 2009 – April 30, 2010



The Stax Museum of American Soul Music announces a new exhibition, “STILL LIFE IN SOUL,” opening November 6th, 2009. The exhibit explores the current life, activity, and resurgence in popularity of soul music through portrait, performance, and documentary photography made since 2005 by music photographer Jacob Blickenstaff.

Opening Reception and Party

Friday, November 6, 2009 - 7-10 p.m.

Food, Cocktails, Former Stax Records Artists, Jacob Blickenstaff, and other Special Guests

Live Music by the Stax Music Academy

$20 General Admission - FREE to Stax Museum Members

Click Here for information about how to join!

More about "STILL LIFE IN SOUL":

Soul music was a nuanced, emotional, and energetic idiom that reached a worldwide audience at its height in the 1960s but then virtually disappeared by the end of the 1970s. After subsequent decades of disco, hip-hop, rap, and modern R&B – much of which covered and sampled original soul music classics from Stax Records and other labels – the roots of authentic soul are sprouting again with revived careers of veteran artists, dynamic new acts, successful concerts and festivals, reissue projects, and soul-driven independent labels.

According to Blickenstaff, “This started out as a project about music history, but I quickly found a community of music lovers, labels, bands, festivals, and DJ’s that were all coming together to support and create great music with the older artists. This work focuses on the current lives of the artists but the story is really about everyone working together to make it happen. It’s an amazing, passion-driven phenomenon that soul music is growing again in the 21st century.”

Artists represented in the 40 photos in the exhibit include Bettye LaVette, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Lee Fields & the Expressions, Barbara Lynn, Maxine Brown, Roscoe Robinson, Harvey Scales, Candi Staton, Sir Lattimore Brown, Otis Clay, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Skip Pitts, Ben Cauley, Mighty Hannibal, John Gary Williams (of the Mad Lads), and many others. The work chronicles performances at The Ponderosa Stomp, Lincoln Center, Dig Deeper, and the Brooklyn Soul Festival, as well as recording sessions at Daptone Studios. Performances were backed by contemporary soul bands the Bo-Keys, The Sweet Divines, and Eli Reed and the True Loves.

As the only soul music museum in the world, it’s an essential part of our mission to recognize these incredible artists and organizations that are dedicated to authentic soul music who are bringing a whole new generation of fans to the scene. It is also very much in keeping with the philosophy of our Stax Music Academy, where we carry the Stax Records legacy of playing real music into the future with a new generation.

Jacob Blickenstaff is a music photographer based in New York City. His work has been published internationally in magazines and newspapers including Rolling Stone, WIRE, Wax Poetics, No Depression, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Offbeat, Gambit Weekly, and Time Out New York. He has also been an official photographer for the Ponderosa Stomp since 2007. Additional music clients include Lincoln Center, NPR Music, Daptone Records, and Proper American Records. This is the first major exhibition of his photography.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held November 6th at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, during which students of the Stax Music Academy will perform for guests and former Stax Records artists.

For more information, images, or to schedule an interview with the photographer, please contact Tim Sampson at 901-942-2535 or tim.sampson@soulsvillefoundation.org.

To learn more about Jacob Blickenstaff and to see more of his photography, visit his website at http://www.33-13.com/.

O My Soul! Big Star box set now available at the Stax Museum

While Stax is best known for the classic soul music that it churned out in the '60s and '70s, there were also a few rock and roll bands and artists that recorded for Stax and its sister labels. One of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed bands from that era is the subject of an impressive new CD box set, which is now available at the Stax Museum Online Shop.

Big Star inspired a fevered allegiance among fans of power pop, giving rise to a cult of believers who spent decades spreading the gospel. Their enthusiasm turned this obscure Memphis pop band – one that got little airplay, sold few records, and only played a handful of times – into a remarkable rock and roll resurrection story. Big Star’s trek from obscure Memphis band to standard bearers for an entire genre of music has never been fully mapped – until now.

Keep An Eye On The Sky spans 1968 to 1975 and shows the progression of Big Star through selections from such studio precursors as Rock City and Icewater; music from Big Star’s acclaimed albums (the Ardent/Stax releases #1 Record and Radio City, as well as Third/Sister Lovers); and relevant solo work by group principals Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, who formed Big Star in 1971 with bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens.

This four-CD collection mixes classic Big Star tracks with a trove of unreleased demos, unused mixes, alternate versions of songs, and a 1973 concert recorded in Memphis. The lavish packaging includes extensive liner notes, rare and never-before-seen photos from William Eggleston and others, and insightful essays about the cult of Big Star and the band’s history.

ORDER NOW!

Check out some of the reviews:

4 1/2 Stars

- "The four CDs of Keep An Eye On The Sky are the last word on Big Star's first, ultimately glorious lifetime." - Rolling Stone

4 1/2 Stars - "Anybody who has ever loved the band will find something to cherish here, whether it's the crackerjack live show... or merely the context of the set, which tells the story of America's greatest cult band this side of the Velvet Underground in a complete and affecting fashion." - AllMusic.com

A - "Anyone who still needs convincing will find the case for Big Star's legendhood made beyond a reasonable doubt on Keep An Eye On The Sky." - Entertainment Weekly

9.3 (out of 10) - "Big Star aren't just rock's greatest cult band; they were arguably rock's first cult band. Keep An Eye On The Sky sounds like the one reissue that finally gets Big Star right." - Pitchfork

Stax Museum Honors Isaac Hayes' Birthday with First Hayes Signature Shirt

FIRST EVER ISAAC HAYES T-SHIRT.
Entertainment icon Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, on August 20, 1942. Today, on what would have been the late Stax Records legend’s 67th birthday, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is introducing the new Isaac Hayes Signature T-Shirt for men and women.

With United States exclusivity rights from Mr. Hayes’ family and his estate granted to the Stax Museum for use of his image and name on merchandise, this new t-shirt is the first in what will become the Isaac Hayes Collection, sold at the Stax Museum, through the museum’s web store, and at other locations where Stax-related products are sold.

While obviously commercial in some aspects, the museum’s intent in designing the collection is also to promote the legacy of Mr. Hayes for future generations to come. Partial proceeds from sales of the collection will benefit the nonprofit Stax Music Academy, which Mr. Hayes dearly loved.

The new t-shirt, which features a photo illustration of the sultan of soul looking over his signature sunglasses, will be available at the Stax Museum gift shop starting Saturday, August 22, 2009.

Al Bell, Stax Records, Stax Museum in The New York Times

Josh Anderson for The New York Times

READ IT HERE! DEBORAH SONTAG FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ON AL BELL, STAX RECORDS, AND THE STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/arts/music/16sont.html?hp

Grave Marker Unveiling Ceremony for Stax Legend Isaac Hayes

Just a little after one year of the passing of entertainment icon Isaac Hayes on August 10, 2008 at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, a special ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at his gravesite at Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

“ROSES FOR BLACK MOSES: A Celebration and Commemoration of the Life of Isaac Hayes” will include the unveiling of a special grave marker designed to pay tribute and memorialize the singer, songwriter, actor, Academy Award and Grammy winner, author, radio show host, and philanthropist whose works changed the course of popular culture internationally and whose philanthropic efforts have helped children and others worldwide for decades.

Hayes, born in Covington, Tennessee on August 20, 1942, came to Stax Records in the early 1960s, where he quickly formed a successful songwriting partnership with David Porter. The two went on to write more than 200 songs for the company, including “Soul Man,” “Hold On, I’m Coming,” and “When Something is Wrong with my Baby.” Both became legends in the music business and Hayes went on to enjoy a solo career in music. He was the first African-American to win an Oscar for a non-acting category for his “Theme from Shaft,” starred in more than 30 movies and television shows, became an honorary king of Ghana, where he built an 8,000-square-foot school, and was best known to younger generations for his role of “Chef” on the animated sitcom South Park.

The public is invited to “ROSES FOR BLACK MOSES”, and attendees are encouraged to bring roses, which will be placed in a large vase beside the grave marker before it is unveiled and will then be distributed to area nursing homes. There will be a short program with David Porter, members of the Hayes family, former Stax Records artists, and out-of-town guests. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held indoors at the cemetery.

STAX MUSEUM BLOG CORRECTION

In the last entry where it reads in the first sentence, "artists who did record at Stax Records," that should have been "artists who did NOT record at Stax Records." Sorry for the error!

STAX MUSEUM'S MESSAGE TO MICHAEL

Here at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, we have a wall of video screens where many, many artists who did record at Stax are represented with video footage and information. They include Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Labelle, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Parliament, Billy Preston, The Spinners, and lots of others.

There's also a great video of a very young man in flowered pants and a fringe vest singing lead with his brothers behind him, all in front of a massive crowd of screaming fans. The young man is, of course, Michael Jackson.

With the soul music world losing such icons in recent years as Ray Charles, the aforementioned Billy Preston, and our own beloved Isaac Hayes, it's a particularly piognant day for us as we look consider the life, career, accomplishments, and the extraordinary philanthropic contributions of Michael Jackson, one of the world's greatest entertainers for many decades.

Just like Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson always did things his own way. He always broke new ground. He never fit into any particular category because he was unique. He respected those who had come before him and he helped pave the way for many others. He is one of the few artists living today whose music will stand the test of time, and in fact, already has become a part of the international psyche.

Tomorrow night, the Stax Music Academy is performing a special tribute concert to Motown as its Summer Grand Finale in conjunction with that label's 50th anniversary. Three Michael Jackson/Jackson Five songs were already in the show. Now when our students perform them, they will be a special tribute and will have new meaning for all of us.