Stax

Soul didn't start at Stax, and it certainly didn't end there, but for 17 spectacular years, 926 East McLemore was its home address. And its biggest star – its King – was Otis Redding, who cut his epic, shoulder-shrugging sigh of resignation, "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," just 18 days before he died. Meantime, Sam & Dave unpack a briefcase full of swivel-hipped mojo in "Soul Man," with the MG's and Memphis Horns sitting in snap-brimmed support. And with its chukka-chukka-wakka-wakka guitar snapping and crackling like a downed power line for nearly three minutes before Isaac Hayes utters his first "damn right," "Theme from 'Shaft'" defines tough-guy '70s soul. (Nitpick alert: Wilson Pickett and Don Covay's tracks were released on Atlantic, but they were recorded at Stax, with the label's house band. As such, we're lettin' 'em slide.)

In Next Steps, we'll hear from the engine that powered Stax's greatest hits, and more.

While solo artists like Otis and Isaac snagged the lion's share of Stax's spotlight, we've got to give some props to a band that played its way — and boosted others' — into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Booker T. & The MG's logged countless session hours for other Stax stars, but on the soul-gospel instrumental groove of "Time Is Tight," they dig down deep — loose enough to be funky, tight enough to lock it down. Co-Hall of Famers the Staple Singers unleash a fistful of ferocity in "Respect Yourself," delivering the message that Black Power can't exist without Black Pride. And in "Cheaper to Keep Her," the bassline walks but the husband doesn't, as Johnnie Taylor dispenses a double-shot of hard-won Johnnie Walker wisdom to hound dogs tempted to stray.

In Deep Cuts, Stax uncages a couple of very different birds, a former sideman takes solo flight, and more.

When you're gifted with Stax-sized riches, you run the rare risk of overshadowing some of your finest artists and greatest songs; if you need any evidence, just check out our Deep Cuts. For instance, how is it possible that Eddie Floyd, steaming down the expressway to your heart with horns blaring and drums pounding a four-alarm S.O.S., missed the pop charts entirely with "Big Bird"? Former Memphis disc jockey Rufus Thomas boogies and pecks his way to '70s immortality with a cackle and a bawwwwkkk in what might be that decade's wackiest dance craze, "Do the Funky Chicken." And former Thomas sideman William Bell mops up the bourbon-drenched dregs of his might've-been misery in the last-call desolation of "Everybody Loves a Winner."

Seventeen years isn't really all that long: just about enough time to get from kindergarten to high school . . . or change the face of music forever. And between 1959 and 1976, at the corner of McLemore and College in Memphis, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton did precisely that when they gutted a crumbling picture palace and filled it with soul. Just consider, for a moment, the songs that shook Stax Studios' hallowed walls: "Soul Man," "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," "Knock On Wood." Or the artists Stax grew into soul-certified superstars: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes. Stax's vibe was so undeniable that musicians flocked to Memphis, hoping for a slice of its magic, like when Wilson Pickett laid down "In the Midnight Hour." And even though the label shut down, and its studios were torn down, the heart of Soulsville, U.S.A. — that amazing Stax sound — is still beating strong . . . and we've got it right here.