In 1960s Memphis, an interracial record label was making hit after hit while segregation still shaped daily life around them.
Trailer for “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- The label gets hammered by back-to-back heartbreak: Otis Redding dies in a plane crash in December 1967, then Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis in April 1968, right in Stax’s hometown.
- The Stax studio was a converted movie theater. That sloped floor (meant for seating) actually shaped the sound—musicians played in a room that wasn’t designed for music, which helped create that raw, echo-heavy “Stax sound.”
Watch “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.”
You can watch “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” on HBO Max.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” is directed by James Wignot. It is race, music, money, Memphis, civil rights, radio, church, family, and corporate betrayal all jammed into one label’s life.
Release Date: 2024
Other Unique Stuff
- After creating classics like “Green Onions,” “Soul Man,” and “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay,” Stax still gets wrecked by legal and financial disasters, turning a soul-music fairy tale into a full-on American collapse story.
- Booker T. & the M.G.’s were an interracial group (Black and white members) recording hit after hit together in Memphis during segregation, quietly doing something socially radical while making mainstream music.
Wrap Up:
I loved “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” because it gives you the music, the history, and the heartbreak all at once. If you care at all about soul music, Memphis, or stories about brilliant people building something, this one is absolutely worth your time.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc