In 1989 the Stax Records building was demolished. The label had declared bankruptcy 14 years earlier, and the buyers of the building had allowed it to deteriorate so much that it was eventually reduced to rubble. Stax had gone from producing chart-topping soul hits for the likes of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Isaac Hayes to an historic marker in front of an empty lot in fewer than 30 years.
This did not rest well with the people of Memphis, and in 2000 ground was broken for a new project initiated by the nonprofit organization Soulsville to construct the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Stax Music Academy. The Soulsville Charter School was opened in 2005 within the Stax Music Academy and began with one class of 60 6th graders and grew each year until it became a 6th – 12th grade school. Today it provides a top notch college prep education for over 500 middle and high schoolers.
For the next two weeks Stax is launching a membership campaign to help these students continue to pursue their dreams of not just music and performance but college preparation. Anyone interested in the label, it’s history and the future of the talented youth of Memphis should join. Click here to find out more!
The Stax Music Academy primarily aims to enrich the lives of potentially “at-risk” youth in the local community through music performance. In 2006 and 2007 the school embarked on the Summer Soul Tour which included performances abroad in Rome and Florence, Italy and in the U.S. at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 2008 the Academy went on a two -week tour of Australia. However, it is more than just a touring group, as students prepare for college with rigorous academic courses all while having access to a multi-million dollar facility.
The Academy was also featured on the Today Show trying their hand at some Stax-influenced dance moves:
To find out more about the Stax Museum, a great place to start would be a virtual tour of their facility. If you live in Memphis and have never toured the museum, you are missing out on a wealth of musical history.
Soul music has returned to the corner of McLemore and College and will stay there for good with the help and support of the public. Memberships include discounts in the gift shop, discounted tickets to Stax Music Academy concerts and free admission to the museum, but more importantly breathes life into the only bona fide soul music museum in the world and a state-of-the-art music education facility.
See Also:
The Sound of Memphis: Stax to the Max – A Soulsville Street Festival
