Booker T. Jones performs with Stax Music Academy alumni at Stax Museum’s 20th Anniversary announcement event

During a special event on September 14, 2022 at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Soulsville Foundation officials, former Stax artists, and others announced plans for the museum’s 20^th Anniversary to be celebrated throughout 2023.

On hand for the announcement was special guest and Stax icon Booker T. Jones, keyboardist for Stax house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s who has enjoyed a successful career since as producer, performer, songwriter, keyboardist, author, and more.

Booker T. Jones performed four Stax Booker T. & the M.G.’s classics with the Franklin triplets as his rhythm section; they are graduates of the Stax Music Academy.

Jones wowed the crowd in the Stax Museum’s legendary Studio A with a medley of Stax classics on a Hammond B3 organ, accompanied by a rhythm section made up of Stax Music Academy alumni who he helped prepare for their 2017 European Tour. His rhythm section was made up of triplets Chris, Jamaal, and Sam IV Franklin, who graduated in 2018 from both the Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School . Jones was also interviewed on stage by WYXR DJ and author Jared Boyd about Stax in general and this year’s 60^th anniversary of the release of their 1962 smash hit, “Green Onions.” The following evening he was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame with Stax label mate Mavis Staples at the Cannon Center.

A video presentation was created and broadcast to help promote the events to take place in 2023.

With the events for 2023 introduced in a special video, Soulsville Foundation President & CEO Pat Mitchell Worley also announced the formation of a special group of 20^th Anniversary ambassadors. The group will consist of former Stax Records artists and executives who’ll be available to advise the museum, attend events, conduct interviews, and raise awareness of the Stax legacy during the year. Included in the group are former Stax Records executive and owner Al Bell; famed Stax songwriter and recording artist David Porter; Booker T. & the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper; singer/songwriter and Stax star William Bell; one-time Bar-Kays lead singer Larry Dodson; Bar-Kays founder and lone survivor of the original group, bassist James Alexander; singer/songwriter Eddie Floyd; guitarist/producer Bobby Manuel; keyboardist/producer Lester Snell; and others to be announced.

Read more here in The Washington Post.

Read more here in The Daily Memphian.

Read more here in The Commercial Appeal.

“With the Stax Museum celebrating its 20^th Anniversary in 2023 and HBO to air the Stax Records documentary series during the same year, there will be much attention given to soul music art form we created at College and McLemore,” said Al Bell, who was unable to attend the museum’s event because he was simultaneously conducting a Wattstax 50^th anniversary panel discussion at the Americana Music Association’s conference in Nashville, and receiving one of the association’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. “Our rare artists and writers and the formidable marketing strategy we implemented at Stax gave rise to the successful career development of our artists and it allowed us to accomplish remarkable things at the label. It’s a very complicated story filled with the kinds of highs and lows that came with being a predominantly Black record company trying to thrive in the music industry of the 1960s and 1970s.”

Stax Museum Executive Director talks about the group of 20th Anniversary Ambassadors made up of Stax artists.

“Working at Stax was like giving a daily sermon to the world, of being open with loving emotions to others regardless of who they were or looked like,” said David Porter. “Showing the love of community was a given because the community earned that by the support it gave back to us.”

“We’ve very carefully planned the Stax Museum’s 20^th Anniversary so the community and the public can join us in 2023 for a very special year of events to celebrate the legacy of Stax Records,” said Stax Museum Executive Director Jeff Kollath. “Stax Records and the Stax Museum is a Memphis story that started here and became known around the world. We want to celebrate not only the past 20 years, but also look forward to the museum’s next 20 years and what we can accomplish as we continue to interpret the Stax story.”

Included in the Ambassadors is (left) Bobby Manuel and (right) Bar-Kays founder James Alexander.

Soulsville Foundation President & CEO Pat Mitchell Worley added, “Celebrating the 20th Anniversary in 2023 will be a milestone for the Stax family. We are tremendously proud to continue the legacy of Stax with a year-long calendar of exciting events slated to celebrate the past, present, future of the Stax Museum.”

Soulsville Foundation President & CEO Pat Mitchell Worley addresses the crowd.

Among the Stax Museum 20^th Anniversary events, highlights include:

• A year of free field trips for school students to familiarize more young people with the history of Stax Records;
• An April 23 “Night Train” Gala fundraiser for guest to walk through the history of Black music reminiscent of when people traveled predominantly by rail around the turn of the century;
• The May activation of a Stax Soul Mobile Pop-Up vehicle that will begin taking Stax music, merchandise, contests, parties, and more around the country to locations like Austin’s SXSW, Nashville’s Americana Fest, and New Orleans’ Essence Festival;
• A July “Live In Studio A” concert series featuring intimate performances by nationally touring acts;
• A monthly series of free and open-to-the-public events to give more fans and community residents more access to celebrating the Stax Museum’s 20^th

That monthly series, will include:

• January – Grand reopening of the Stax Museum’s newly renovated lobby and gift shop;
• February – A premier of the Stax Museum and Stax Music Academy’s Black History Month 2023 Virtual Film celebrating the 20t anniversary;
• February – Film Screening event for the 50^th anniversary of the 1973 Golden Globe Award-nominated documentary Wattstax, chronicling the famed 1972 Los Angeles concert hosted by Stax Records as well as on-the-street interviews and commentary by a young Richard Pryor;
• March – Lecture and book signing for Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions – Francesca Royster, first Black author to write a book about country music and racism;
• April – A Spoken Word event during which multigenerational spoken word artists will discuss and perform pieces about Stax and Soulsville;
• May – A Birthday Party to celebrate the official 20^th Anniversary of the Stax Museum
• June – A Black Music Month live-streamed Panel Discussion in which current Memphis artists and industry leaders will the future of Memphis music: labels, studios, audiences, venues, consumers, and more;
• July – Wax & Wine. First-of-its-kind event in Memphis pairing wines selected by a local sommelier with appetizers and a soundtrack featuring rare soul recordings from the Stax Museum’s Bob Abrahamian Collection. Ticketed event, limited seating. 
• August- The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy: A celebration of the song’s author John Gary Williams of the Mad Lads, plus a film screening of the 2016 documentary The Invaders about a Memphis 1960s Black Power youth group of which Williams was a member, plus a sneak peek at John Hubbell’s upcoming film about Williams’ life;
• September – Soldiers for the Lord: The Gospel Impulse in Memphis and Beyond: A celebration of the Black gospel music recorded at Stax plus gospel artists and producers from Memphis and beyond discussing and performing soon-to-be classics of the genre;
• September – Southwest of Memphis: A Celebration of Chicano Soul: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the Stax Museum’s first examination of the Chicano Soul Movement;
• October – Back to School: From Professor W.T. McDaniel to Jimmie Lunceford, the teachers who taught the basics of blues and improvisation of jazz were the true inspiration behind the Memphis music sound. Todays’ music educators discuss teaching a new generation of Memphis musicians;
• November – Wax and Wine: Wine tastings paired with appetizers and listening party with the Stax Museum’s Bob Abrahamian Collection. Ticketed event.
• December – In the Christmas Spirit annual Stax Museum holiday bash with food, cocktails, live music by Booker T. & the M.G.’s cover band The MD’s, and more.

ABOUT THE SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION

The Soulsville Foundation operates three distinct but related entities at the original site of Stax Records in the heart of the Memphis, Tennessee community known as Soulsville USA: The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School. Through these three programs, the Soulsville Foundation perpetuates the soul of Stax Records by preserving its rich cultural legacy, educating youth to be prepared for life success, and inspiring future artists to achieve their dreams.

For more information, please contact Tim Sampson at 901-485-8735 or tim.sampson@soulsvillefoundation.org.