The Memphis movie theatre that inspired the golden age of Stax Records
Music and cinema have always gone hand in hand, going right back to the days of silent cinema and its orchestral accompaniments, but never has that relationship been quite as prosperous as within the realm of Stax Records, whose entire soul revolution revolved around a disused movie theatre in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee.
Having launched a plethora of America’s all-time greatest funk, soul, and R&B stars, from the timeless tones of Otis Redding to the Hammond-heavy rhythms of Booker T and the MG’s and the exuberant cool of Isaac Hayes, Stax is among the most important record labels in the history of American music. While its chart power never quite rivalled that of its Detroit rivals, Motown, the longevity of Stax’s extensive roster largely speaks for itself; still commanding colossal respect in the realm of soulies across the globe.
It was in a garage that Stax first began its operations back in 1957, then under the name Satellite Records, with Jim Stewart at the helm. During those early days, the label tended to lean into the kind of country music and rockabilly records that were dominating the American South of the mid-to-late 1950s. Pretty early on, though, producer Chips Moman alerted the label boss to the potential of the blossoming R&B realm.
Stax’s fate as a stronghold for that distinctive R&B sound was cemented with its first hit, ‘Cause I Love You’ by Rufus and Carla Thomas. That watershed recording, though, was spurred on not just by the ever-expanding appeal of R&B but also by the label’s recent relocation from a tiny garage to a grand theatre in South Memphis.
A former Capitol Theatre on East McLemore Avenue, the building was reportedly chosen for the label because, according to the label boss, “It was in the area close to where Rufus Thomas lived [alongside] several of the other musicians and writers that are still working with the studio today.”
Explaining, “They drifted in, and we got locked in on the rhythm and blues field.”
Every revolution needs a strong headquarters, and for Stax, there was no better base than the former Capitol Theatre. Not only did the location work because it put the label in the epicentre of the rapidly developing soul scene, but the grandiose, brightly-lit nature of the building reflected the kind of novel excitement that Stax was generating as one of the newest and most innovative labels in America.
It was within that theatre that landmark recordings by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas, and Isaac Hayes, among countless others, were forged, in doing so altering the entire landscape of American soul and R&B in the process. In terms of sheer numbers, more iconic recordings were created in that cinema than in most other studios in the world.
Stax remained at the Capitol Theatre throughout its golden age, before being forced out by involuntary bankruptcy in 1975. In the wake of that loss, Stax immediately set about creating plans to revive the label, but its headquarters had since fallen into disrepair. Following the label’s descent into bankruptcy, the building was sold to a local church, whose plans for a soup kitchen on the site never materialised, leaving the building to fall into disrepair.
That original building was demolished in 1989, marking a sad loss both for Memphis and for the history of American soul music. However, the tale of the Capitol Theatre does have something of a happy ending, in that a replica of the building was constructed during the early 2000s, receiving funding from various former Stax stars, which still houses the Stax Museum of American Soul Music to this day.
