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Post subject: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:22 am
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Just finished watching "Take Me To The River" on Netflix. It is not just historic but also futuristic. A good watch.

Guitarists should pay attention to Skip Pitts, his brief lecture on giving SPACE to other players and the vocalists is golden.

Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood also makes a brief appearance, probably because Mavis Staples does also. Bassists today do not know David Hood's name but he played some of the most standout bass riffs in R&B history and his riffs are sampled all the time. Hood should be as famous as Jamerson and Dunn but isn't. Hood played bass on Staples Singers sessions at Fame Studios with "The Swampers" in Muscle Shoals after Stax imploded following the deaths of Otis Redding and Dr. King in rapid succession compounded by the near collapse of UP Bank. This triad of disasters dragged Stax, the number three employer in Memphis, to an untimely demise.

It is a bit mystifying that American Sound Studios is almost completely ignored in the film, even though it was also a vital part of the Memphis scene in the 60's and 70's. American was where Elvis made his best sounding recordings with producer Chips Moman including fan favorite "Suspicious Minds" that became the centerpiece of all Elvis shows from 1969 onward.

But the main focus of "Take Me To The River" is Stax and Hi even though some R&B projects were also done at American where Joe Tex recorded. Tex even was involved in the Elvis sessions there.

While human beings worked in the studios together not caring about race, eventually they had to go outside. The racial tensions of this period were incredible and something most young people today could not even fathom. American had a marksman with a high powered rifle on the roof of their building during the 69 Elvis sessions for example. It was bad. Armed troops with fixed bayonets, dogs, fires, marches, marshal law, police dragging beaten bloody citizens to jail. Who would not want to forget that?

Today it is all gone. Stax, Hi, American, William Bell's club all demolished. The Stax Studio complex in fact was sold for one dollar...and then flattened to the ground. All that is left are the recordings, a few old timers who played or sang on them and the impressive work of the Stax Foundation of today which focuses on educating and enabling the next generation of studio and show players in Memphis. After watching this film the old music is still good and for the first time in a while the future of music in Memphis looks better to me.


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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:43 am
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Sounds pretty cool. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:06 pm
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Thanks, for the brief history lesson and heads up on the documentary, Dave. I can remember choosing and buying Stax and Hi recordings simply because of their artists and consistent production taste.

I don't have Netflix, but I will keep an eye out for the show to turn up elsewhere.

FSB

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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:05 pm
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Thank You....... :D

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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 4:38 pm
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Lenny1716 wrote:
Thank You....... :D


+1 :D

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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:47 am
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Saw this last night - excellent!

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Post subject: Re: Stax/Hi/Memphis Sound Documentary on Netflix
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:11 am
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I will definitely check this out. Another great one on Netflix is the Eagles documentary. And I think I mentioned this one here before, "Hired Gun": https://www.netflix.com/title/80106507


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