Respect Yourself: The History of Stax Records

Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt was influential in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music. // Stax also released gospel, funk, and blues recordings. Renowned for its output of blues music, the label was founded by two siblings and business partners, Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton (STewart/AXton = Stax). It featured several popular ethnically integrated bands (including the label’s house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s) and a racially integrated team of staff and artists unprecedented in that time of racial strife and tension in Memphis and the South. According to ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman, the label’s use of “one studio, one equipment set-up, the same set of musicians and a small group of songwriters led to a readily identifiable sound. It was a sound based in black gospel, blues, country, and earlier forms of rhythm and blues (R&B). It became known as southern soul music.“ (Edited for YouTube standards) (Other version) Link to the best History of Rock and Roll series ever: This video is for educational purposes only. This video may contain copyrighted material. This material is being made available in an effort to advance understanding of historical, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. that constitutes a ’fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 . Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go BEYOND ‘FAIR USE’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.