You don’t have to be an expert on classic soul and R&B to recognize the American music monuments that emerged from Stax Records in the Sixties and Seventies. Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” Otis Redding ’s “Respect” and “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” Isaac Hayes’ “Theme From Shaft ,” and the Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” — just a few of Stax’s greatest hits — made the case that the Memphis-based record company was the Southern version of Motown. Whether anyone fully realizes that is another matter.
But to the rescue comes Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.
, a four-hour documentary directed by Jamila Wignot and streaming on HBO (its first two parts premiere Monday night). The film is worth watching for its rarely seen footage alone. We glimpse Hayes and the Bar-Kays working out the still astounding orchestral soul of “Theme From Shaft ” for the movie’s director, Gordon Parks.
We see clips of Redding on his farm and at the Monterey International Pop Festival, as well as images from his funeral following his death in a 1967 plane crash. And there is ample studio session footage, including that of Booker T. and the M.
G.’s, the label’s core backup band (and recording artists in their own right). As with any record company, of course, music wasn’t the whole story.
Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.
also chronicles the attendant drama, struggles, crashes, and resurrections that went with Stax — all within a fairly compact period of roughly 15 ye.
