Soul as a genre did not evolve until the late '50s, when artists like Sam Cooke and Ray Charles began merging traditional gospel and R&B styles. As a result of this unique blend, soul emerged in the African-American neighborhoods of Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Memphis.
Though each city developed a distinctive style, Memphis musicians relied most heavily on gospel, a strong local influence that gave Memphis Soul its signature sound. Once quoted in a piece for CBS News, Isaac Hayes said, “In the North, there was Motown. They had a slick, polished sound…but when you go below the Mason-Dixon Line, down South, the soul is a raw, raw sound. It was ours.”
As music in Memphis moved from its early beginnings on Beale Street to its well-known success at Sun Studio, the interracial roots that shaped the core of the Memphis sound continued in a small nest of residential streets just south of Downtown. Known to the world as “Soulsville, USA,” this neighborhood gave birth to Memphis Soul.
At the center of Memphis Soul was Stax Records. Founded and co-owned by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, and eventually owned by Al Bell, the label gave the community an anchor, a beacon on which the local talent could focus. While Stax produced nearly every single singer, songwriter and musician in the area, including the house band largely responsible for the Stax sound, Booker T. and the MGs, the neighborhood’s claim to fame went beyond Stax artists to include Aretha Franklin; Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire; and Al Green, who recorded his biggest hits at nearby Royal Studio for the Hi Records label.
Led by one of Soulsville’s most significant producers, Willie Mitchell, Royal Studio became one of the most important studios in Memphis. With its own rhythm section (the Hodges Brothers and drummer Howard Grimes), the label supported a talented group of artists, producing everything from instrumentals by Bill Black’s Combo and Ace Cannon to the sensuous R&B of Ann Peebles and Al Green. A hit factory in its own right, Royal Studio and Hi Records added a depth to the local artistic roster that most cities could not touch. To this day, Royal Studio continues to record musicians of all kinds, as well as to reissue its inspirational catalog for future generations.
