Ebonee webb biography of william
Tennessee music culture
Tennessee music artists!
Memphis Funk’s Second Life Overseas
In the waning days of 1975, following years of social tensions and economic peril, federal marshals enacted a near-violent takeover of Stax Records’ headquarters in Memphis.
The physical coup that spelled the company’s foreclosure marked the bitter end of a soul music titan—one that had not only shaped radio and onstage success, but also pioneered the Black avant-garde and even delivered an Oscar-winning movie theme.
Decades later, speculation lingers about whether lenders, along with record industry executives, conspired to stifle the growing sociopolitical influence of African American musicians who had risen from poverty. Whether or not there was a coordinated effort, Stax’s collapse incapacitated the local music industry, as its dominance had sustained Memphis’s studios, theaters, mastering labs, and rehearsal halls.
For every veteran musician left wondering what was next after Stax’s collaps