Dennis Lund: The ‘death’ of Stax Records and the Lorraine Hotel

At a recent concert featuring Booker T. Jones, of Booker T. and the M.G.’s fame, the 74-year-old Jones reminisced a bit regarding his long career, specifically his work at Stax Records in Memphis, Tenn. The music produced at the makeshift studio– it was a converted movie theater– was special for a variety of reasons.
The artists who recorded there under the Stax label (and other labels by arrangement), are a virtual who’s who of R&B music of the late ’50s and early ’60s. In addition to Booker T, the list included Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas (his daughter), Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett (more on that later) and many others.
At that concert, Mr. Jones invited me to visit the Stax Studios in Memphis. Well, actually he also invited the 299 other people in the room as well, but on a recent trip, I took him up on the offer. The time spent there was too short and very informative.
Part of what made Stax great, was not just the artists, many of whose names you may have recognized, but the vibrant atmosphere that allowed those artists to thrive. Stax was founded in a garage in 1957 as “Satellite Records” by Jim Stewart, who originally focused on rockabilly and country music. In 1961, his sister Estelle Axton joined him and the name change occurred: Stewart/Axton, was used to become Stax Records. They moved into a converted movie theatre in a predominantly black section of Memphis, an unusual move for the two white owners in the early ‘60s.
It was at this time, that Stax become a “family,” an integrated one, during a period of increasing racial strife.
The owners were white, as mentioned previously, and the house band (later called Booker T. and the M.G.’s was mixed: Booker T, Isaac Hayes (he subbed for Booker T on occasions) and the drummer, Al Jackson Jr. were black, while guitarists Steve Cropper (lead) and the late Donald “Duck” Dunne (bass). These people were the ‘soul’ of Stax Records and the songs produced garnered national and world wide acclaim.
Several factors combined at Stax to create the atmosphere and the sound: The common bond of the music, the slanted floor of the recording studio, the older recording equipment used, the creative freedom given to all the artists and the $125 a week ($950 today) paid to each of the M.G.’s, allowing them to focus on the music and not the once needed night gigs.
In the time period from ‘61 until the late ‘60s, Stax was indeed something special, with 1967 being their peak year. On an epic European tour that summer the band members were all treated like stars, while also being allowed to all stay in the same hotels (something that did not happen back in Memphis). This opened their eyes to not only how good they were, but to how deep the pervasive racism was at home.
Long recording sessions at the Stax studios were often followed by late night dinners at the Lorraine Hotel. Quoting from one of the displays at the Stax Record Museum:
“While Stax itself was an oasis of racial sanity within a segregated society, there were few places outside of the company, for the integrated Stax personnel to socialize. The Lorraine Hotel was an exception, and it became a Stax Family hangout.”

The Lorraine Hotel sign. (Photo by Dennis Lund)

The Lorraine was more than just a hotel, not only to the Stax lineup but to the many musicians who came to Memphis to record there, as well as to predominantly black visitors in need of a good hotel. Continuing:
“Guest rooms were often used to write songs. Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd stopped by Wilson Pickett’s room and wrote ‘In the Midnight Hour.’ Cropper and Floyd also wrote ‘Knock on Wood’ there. Trumpeter Wayne Jackson recalls often visiting the Lorraine after a gig to work out horn parts for upcoming sessions.”
Previously there had been occasional family squabbles:
A recording session with Wilson Pickett became ugly, with some of the studio musicians walking out. Later after the session was completed, they refused to work with Pickett again.
In part due to the issues with Pickett, Stax changed its policies and a neighborhood local was not permitted to record there. Instead, Aretha Franklin recorded her first songs in New York for Atlantic Records.
The Stax revue was performing in Los Angeles when the Watts Riots of ’65 broke out. Parts of L.A. were in flames, the airport was closed and the musicians were isolated in their rooms.
Al Bell, had become the first black vice president at Stax. Steve Cropper’s roll was modified, from musician/marketing to musician only. Bell began to exert his influence, leading the company into the tumultuous period of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.
The “oasis of racial sanity” that was Stax Records was about to change and dramatically so.
One of those “black visitors” mentioned above was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was in Memphis to show his support for the striking sanitation workers of the city. The strike, now over eight weeks old, had torn the city apart, martial law had been declared, marches were a daily occurrence, and violence had broken out in several instances. On April 3, 1968 Rev. King delivered his prophetic “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech.    Quoting from the speech:
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
The next day, as he stood talking to friends, on the balcony of the same Lorraine Hotel, an assassin sent Dr. King to that Promised Land.
The impact of King’s death was felt by millions. To the small family at Stax Records, the impact meant the beginning of the end of their “oasis of racial sanity.” Al Bell summed up the situation:    “Dr. King’s death heightened internally the racial sensitivity amongst those of us at Stax. Up to that point in time, I don’t think we focused on that. We were an integrated organization existing in a city where integration was an issue. Dr. King’s death caused (some) African American people in the community to react negatively toward the white people that worked for Stax Records.”
One of those white employees, Wayne Jackson, put it this way: “White wasn’t really cool over there anymore.”
Stax records did continue on, but changes were coming in terms of artists, musical styles and the targeted market focus. New artists were signed or recorded there, including Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Mom’s Mably and even Jesse Jackson.
The shift was most evident in Isaac Hayes, whose “Super Fly” soundtrack was a huge success.
In 1972 Stax hosted a benefit concert in Los Angeles called “WattStax,” timed to coincide with the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. The concert (over 100,000 attended) and later movie and album, were all very successful. Stax had now shifted from a primary focus of music, to being an active supporter of the rising Black cultural movement.
But the family spirit that once existed was gone and Stax fell into bankruptcy, with legal issues having a negative impact both on the company and the artistic creativity that once thrived.
Stax was indeed an oasis of sanity for a period of time, and produced some of the best soul music of the day.
But times change and Stax changed with the times. Whether those changes where for the better is debatable, but one factor that is not is the inevitability of change.
The answer to that, of course, depends on your perspective. As for me, I think I will put on some vinyl:   “Otis Blue,” one of Redding’s best, sounds pretty darn good right now.