Thanks to a wonderful teacher in high school, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to the entire Stax singles catalog almost immediately upon becoming interested in 60′s R+B. I went from one cd, Otis Redding’s Greatest Hits, Volume 2 to The Complete Stax Singles 1959-1968. I think a lot of folks can hand something this comprehensive to a kid nowadays, off a hard drive, or loaded onto a 3000gb ipod, and they will take it gladly. Though maybe not listen to it. My teacher said, “Here, write a report on it, give it back in two weeks.” Nine discs, about 250 songs, along with a great huge book that came with the set. I devoured the lot. I can still recall hearing Macy Skipper or Eddie Floyd for the first time. Flipping out over Jeanne & the Darlings and Carla Thomas.

The story of a little re-purposed movie theater with a record shop in the front and a studio in the back, where neighborhood kids would come in and make their dreams come true became something close to a fairy tale for me, and I would regale friends about Memphis’ belle epoque. Each player seemed to fulfill some role in the Stax castle, with Rufus Thomas serving as the wizened Shakespearean court jester with a beautiful daughter, William Bell the sad-hearted knight errant, Johnny Taylor the cad, Booker T. & the MG’s standing sentry over the proceedings, ready at a moment’s notice to jump into action, and label owner Jim Stewart running around like Jimmy Stewart in a screwball comedy (“Whoa, we got a goldmine over here!”). At the heart of this myth was its true hero, Otis Redding: a figure so benevolent that he held the entire place together through his kind demeanor and his ability to touch any person to the core with his voice alone. Here was a guy who used lyrics his wife wrote to create one of the greatest breakup songs ever recorded, who was known to throw a song out after the third take because it wasn’t raw enough, who sang a song to kids about staying in school. I remember being shocked while reading Peter Guralnick’s Sweet Soul Music when he mentions that Redding actually got upset at Sam and Dave for getting the crowd too riled up before he took the stage. It was, and still is, the only negative thing I have ever heard about Otis Redding.

Of course this version of events is too perfect to be entirely true, and it ends with a crushing blow. That happens on the evening of December 9, 1967, when Otis, his manager and four members of his backing band, the Bar-Kays, are killed in a plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin. Besides the posthumous release of Otis’ biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” the coda of this tale is sung in not one but two other songs, “A Tribute To A King” by William Bell, and “Otis, Sleep On” by Redding’s protoge Arthur Conley. The moment I had always thought of as perhaps the most fitting end to Otis’ story is on the last song he recorded “The Happy Song (Dum Dum),” when he laughs his way through the line:

You oughtta see my baby’s face/ she just grins grins grins…

Otis Redding – The Happy Song (Dum Dum)

And right there my concrete sense of Stax ends. Black and White photos turn to that gritty 70′s Brown and Yellow. Al Bell makes some highly-profitable but not-so friendly moves. Isaac Hayes stops writing music for others and starts making music for himself,

and this

turns into this

There I left it, and really have ever since. When I hear about the great Stax artists of the 70′s — Hayes, The Staples Singers, The Bar-Kays, Luther Ingram — I enjoy ‘em, but they don’t stir my heart. When I recently watched Mel Stuart’s excellent 1973 documentary, WattStax, I found myself searching the artists’ faces for something of the past. A sheepish grin over all the attention, maybe? An insular attitude amongst the musicians? No dice. There is a powerful composure and professionalism throughout the all the performances. Even Rufus Thomas pulls off some artful crowd control after folks start rushing the field to get closer to the stage. And when Bar-Kays sax player Harvey “Joe” Henderson says, “Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude,” he means that he and his bandmates have earned it.

I guess I’m saying that as much as I like the 70′s stuff (and LOVE this performance of “Son of Shaft”),  I don’t pay too much attention.

All of this as a lengthy defense for the indefensible crime of misattribution* by yours truly. In my last post I indulged deeply in the fantasy of a Stax that never existed.

In my mind, Isaac Hayes was backed up by Booker T. & the MG’s in one final late-night jam, as he recorded one of the greatest soul masterpieces of all time: “Walk On By.” But, as my fact-checkin’ cuz Tim points out in the comments:

I hate to burst your bubble, but the MGs are not on “Walk on By”. Booker had just left or was soon to leave Stax, Cropper left soon after this too. That’s The Bar-Kays.

The Bar-Kays. Well, yes and no. The Bar-Kays and Harold Beane on lead guitar. Not Charles “Skip” Pitts who plays wah-wah on Shaft, or regular Bar-Kays guitarist Michael Toles, who plays rhythm guitar on “Walk on By” and on Shaft, and who later became part of Hayes’ touring group, and certainly not Steve Cropper. It is indeed Hayes on keyboard, not Booker T. That fanatic, exhausted drumming is courtesy of the Bar-Kays’ Willie Hall, not my hero Al Jackson Jr. The strings and horns, it turns out, were outsourced to Detroit, with members of the Detroit Symphony playing on violin. Definitely not the Memphis Horns, as I had always assumed. Here is how Marvell Thomas, son of Rufus, piano player and Co-Producer of Hot Buttered Soul tells the story of Beane’s playing to music historian Bill Dahl:

“The guitar solo was not something that was planned on front end,” recalled Thomas. “It was like, ‘Well why not?’ We just stretched out and let it go. When you get in the middle of it, you just kind of ride with it until it stops.”**

And that’s where I’m sort of left too. If I didn’t know a lot of this stuff, especially the bit about Detroit, I think I’d be a lot happier. And if I didn’t talk about it, the song may even be better. The fact that the fantasy of Stax is is impossible is something I’ve probably always known. I’m sure Otis Redding was secretly a shoplifter, William Bell was fiercely confident, and the works of Booker T. are actually by a different man with the same name. The golden age of Stax perseveres not through its anecdotal history, but by the immense, emotional scope of the music, and the joy which one inevitably feels while listening.

And so, I think I’d prefer to let the misinformation of the previous post stand. It’s a reverie brought about by late night radio– a truth that’s undeniable. Plus, everybody knows advice that was given up for free…lots of details to discern. Lots of details.

*This word, by the way, being the ultimate in onomotoseeia.

**This quote, and much of the personnel information comes from AllMusic and the Concord Music Group website, which oversaw the 2009 reissue of Hot Buttered Soul.

Obviously, there are many many more tracks that begin with this iconic drumbeat. I just haven’t found them yet. If you happen to know more, let me know, yeah?

The Ronettes – Be My Baby

I’m pretty sure that any artist who is using “the beat” in their song nowadays is referencing this tune. Its fun to know that within four or five seconds you can conjure so many images and ideas.

Tracy Dey – I Won’t Tell

THE standout track from the excellent “One Kiss Can Lead To Another” box set. Anyone who can scream “I WON’T TELL!” so loudly can obviously be trusted. The story, a sort of Hayley-Mills-being-bad romp involves some brothers and sisters not being too nice to each other. The outro gives the listener exactly what they want: just a few more seconds of bliss. What came first, this or the Beach Boys’ “Hang On To Your Ego?”

The Magnetic Fields – When You Were My Baby

The ghost of Merritt & vocalist Susan Anway’s “The Wayward Bus” lingers when I listen to any girl group. Were songs from this genre always infused with such pathos, or am I just doomed to hear it the way Stephin did from now on?

Carla Thomas – What A Fool I’ve Been

I guess I always take this singer for granted. Her vocals on the verses in particular are really powerful.

The Twinkle – Terry

Originally thought too perverse to be played on British airwaves, this song really isn’t too different in content from J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers’ “Last Kiss.” C’mon, it’s sweet! The cheating part is just, you know, topical!

Bat For Lashes – What’s A Girl To Do?

Can this song really exist without it’s eerie video? The answer is yes. While Natasha Khan certainly benefits from being cast as Donnie Darko’s cousin from Brighton, the story rivals any told in the girl group canon. And that scary intro! I guess dumping someone is a bit like taking a walk in the graveyard.

Cinderella – Please Don’t Wake Me

Not that Cinderella.

The Satisfactions – Daddy You Gotta Let Him In

If I were this girl’s dad, I’d be pretty convinced of here case. That is, until she starts channeling the spirit of Big Mama Thornton on the chorus, talking about “one of Hell’s Angels!” Sorry kid, the front door’s got a date with The Club tonight.

The Magnetic Fields – The Saddest Story Ever Told

“You’ll see the world/ Diving for a pearl you’ll never find/ And then we’ll finally grow old/ The saddest story ever told”

Au Revoir Simone – A Violent Yet Flammable World

It took me a long time to like this band. Being shallow, I was bothered by the fact that their album cover looks like the front of the JCrew Fall Collection. But, being just as shallow, it occurred to me one day that the band’s name is culled from the scene in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” where Texas Diner girl Simone is waving farewell to Pee Wee from the bus, a la “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” and shouting:

“Ooo-vwah Pee Wee!”

“Ooo-vwah Simone!”

Man, these gals are awesome!

The Jesus & Mary Chain – Just Like Honey

You gotta give credit where it’s due. And I’m not going to front and say I had ever heard this song before the closing scene of “Lost in Translation” Though frankly I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rest of the album is pretty darn amazing too. Even if dudes do look like the Thompson Twins.

Britt Daniel – Set Me Free

This is a live cover that Spoon’s Daniel laid down at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA back in ’00. These guys do some pretty tasteful covers, including a wonderfully stripped down “Bring It On Home To Me,” and Destroyer’s “It’s Gonna Take An Airplane”

The Crystals – Then He Kissed Me

I’m going to spit a lot of superlative in this blog. Every song is the best to me, but you can’t beat this one for pure joy. William Blake would like this song. Yeah.