HBO just released a four part documentary, Stax: Soulsville USA and if you love great music, this is a must see.
In the 60's and early 70's, Stax Records came out of nowhere to become the coolest label in America. Based in Memphis, TN, they recorded the best soul music and brought it to a white audience for the first time. Otis Redding, Booker T & the MG's, Isaac Hayes, Carla Thomas, The Staples Sisters, Sam & Dave — they had some of the best acts of the era (or any era, really).
But they were about so much more than great music: in a time when the South was still strictly segregated, they signed integrated bands. They had an integrated office staff. Their house band, Booker T & the MGs (which backed almost all the acts) was integrated. All of this was rarer than rare at the time and a statement itself.
Probably the pinnacle of their creative success came when Otis Redding blew the roof off the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. An unforgettable performance.
