One of the most important record companies in history, Stax
represented one of the two main strands in American black music (Motown
was the other). Ironically but not untypically, the label was
founded by a white guy, Jim Stewart, whose musical background was
actually in country music.
Stewart originally came to Memphis when he was 18, entering the
banking profession but also playing music in a local band. He
made a couple of his own tape recordings, but got little or no
interest from any of the local labels.
He formed his own label (Satellite) in 1957 and produced his own
record and a couple of other releases. Stewart's sister, Estelle
Axton, then took the brave step of mortgaging her home to help
finance the purchase of an Amplex mono recorder and, after a one
year stint in Brunswick, they set up operations in an old Memphis
neighbourhood theatre - they rented the premises for $100 a month,
pulled it apart and set up a control room on what used to be the
stage area. They also divided the theatre in two, since the
original building was too big to house the Amplex recorder. The
front part of the building became the front of studio record shop,
and Stax (Stewart and Axton)
was born.
Stax artists: