The Story of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy

The sudden death of Otis Redding in a plane crash in 1967 and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis in 1968 combined to suck the collective wind out of both Stax Records and the surrounding community of Soulsville. Though the label continued on for a few more years (a time dominated by Isaac Hayes’ “Hot Buttered Soul” sound), Stax eventually closed due to forced bankruptcy in the mid-70s. Shortly after, the building was sold to a Memphis church for $10, and in 1989, the building was razed.

The demise of such a glorious center for creativity and racial integration symbolized the decline Soulsville endured for the next 20 years. By 1998, the lot at the legendary intersection of McLemore Avenue and College Street was nothing more than a vacant patch of land, identified only by a single historic marker telling visitors it was the site of Stax Records. Adjacent to the former home of some of the most famous music in the world stood an abandoned 65-unit apartment building.

But like the founders of Stax Records, a group of dedicated Memphians led by Deanie Parker (who worked for Stax for many years) had a vision. They believed that Soulsville, the home to such legendary artists as Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Aretha Franklin, could be revitalized. With assistance from the city, county and federal governments, as well as several important nonprofit organizations and anonymous donors, this group transformed the vacant patch of land and abandoned building into the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art complex that now includes both the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy.

The 17,000-square-foot museum houses more than 2,000 cultural artifacts, celebrating the music made famous by Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs, and Isaac Hayes. In addition to Stax music and memorabilia, the museum honors non-Stax soul artists of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Motown, Atlantic Records and Memphis’ own Hi Records. The 27,000-square-foot unique learning center, where music education is used as a tool to mentor primarily at-risk inner-city children, is a source of great pride for the community. Its year-round programming allows students to tap their creativity, learn valuable life lessons and meet their goals through professional instruction and counseling, field trips, unique performance opportunities and travel. In fact, 14 students from the Stax Music Academy recently embarked on their first-ever Stax Music Academy Summer Tour. Thirteen days of travel featured performances across Europe, including the opening festivities for the 2006 Porretta Soul Festival in Italy.

The museum and academy, Ms. Parker says, are “more than just a place where tourists and people interested in sharing the music created at Stax Records can come. It’s more like Stax was when I was there: a real anchor of the community.”

For more information, please contact
Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau:
800.873.6282 (U.S. and Canada Only)
www.MemphisSoul50.com

Regena Bearden
V.P. Marketing
regena@mcvb.org

Jackie Reed
Communications Manager
jreed@mcvb.org

Peter Short
Travel Media Manager
pshort@mcvb.org