Stax, Sounds Like The South...

Throughout the 60s, the Stax label in Memphis spawned the greatest voices of gospel-inspired soul. But above all, Stax offered a unique sound, at total variance with that of Motown. While Berry Gordy, founder of Motown, injected the pop element into the rhythm-and-blues tradition, Stax further anchored its discourse in rhythm-and-blues, blues, gospel and even country. At that time, the two stables seek to convey the idea of family. Make no mistake though, only Stax could lay claim to this designation without ulterior motives. Motown controls its artists at every stage of their careers. Whereas Stax encourages its protégés to express themselves quite freely within an admittedly defined framework. Overdubbing is king in Detroit, while collective recording is the rule in Memphis! While Motown records are made largely from the mixing table, those of Stax come straight out of the recording room. And even if when you do the addition, Motown makes a clean sweep of the profits (Stax never reaching such dividends), the influence of the sound created by the Memphis label on what would become funk is, for example, without comparison. A paradox there once again, because by combining the gold records of the Temptations (Norman Whitfield period), the Commodores, the Jacksons and the Undisputed Truth, Berry Gordy will pick up more than Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton (Stax founding duo) do with Isaac Hayes, the Emotions and the Dramatics. Stax throws in the towel in 1976; Motown is still at large ...