XM Radio will be the exclusive broadcaster for “50 Years of Stax: A Concert To Benefit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.” Soul Street (XM 60) will broadcast the event live from 7-10pm ET on Friday, June 22nd.

The 50th Anniversary of Stax Records got even more special treatment on June 18th, when the United States House of Representatives discussed and voted on a bill to honor the label: House Resolution 154, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.

At the start of a 15-minute session that aired nationally on C-SPAN at 1 p.m. CST, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijala (D-Ariz.) thanked Memphis and Stax Records for its contributions to the nation’s culture and named several artists who helped make Stax Records the birthplace of Southern soul music. He was followed by U.S. Rep. Bob Bishop (R-Utah), who echoed Grijala’s sentiments and spoke of the unprecedented relationships between the black and white musicians at the time.

Rep. Cohen spoke passionately about his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and the importance not only of Stax Records, but also of Hi Records’ Al Green and Willie Mitchell. Cohen also mentioned the city’s Seven Days of Soul celebration, urging everyone to attend “50 Years of Soul: A Concert to Benefit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music” at the Orpheum Theater on Friday, June 22, and discussed the future of the label, citing its re-launch by the Concord Music Group earlier this year, and named Angie Stone, Lelah Hathaway, Soulive, and Isaac Hayes as artists who have been signed to record new music. Finally, Cohen noted the importance of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music at the original site of Stax Records, stating emphatically, “Memphis has the only soul music museum in the world.”

U.S. Rep Danny Davis (D-Ill.) hailed Stax Records as one of the greatest music labels in the world, explaining that he was born near Memphis in the Arkansas Delta and considered Memphis one of his homes. He discussed the vital role Stax Records played in the Civil Rights Movement and gave particular praise to Stax for signing the Chicago-based Staple Singers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, saying that the label “put them on a world stage” and gave them an opportunity they might otherwise not have had.

The resolution passed unanimously. In an unparalleled celebration of Stax Records’ 50th anniversary, the heart and soul of the legendary label’s lineup will reunite onstage for “50 Years of Stax: A Concert To Benefit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.” The event will be held this Friday, June 22 at Memphis’ historic Orpheum Theater. Artist confirmations include Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs (featuring Steve Cropper & Duck Dunn), Mavis Staples, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, the Soul Children, the Reddings (honoring the legacy of their father Otis Redding) plus the following artists signed to the reactivated Stax label: Angie Stone, N’dambi, Soulive and Lalah Hathaway. Hosts of the show are Chuck D (Public Enemy) and Randy Jackson (renowned producer, songwriter and co-host of “American Idol”).

Exciting news for those living in Los Angeles - and those planning to visit! Two days after the Stax 50th anniversary concert at The Hollywood Bowl on July 18, The American Cinematheque will present a series of films celebrating soul music - and in particular, the sound of Stax.

All screenings take place at The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood and are as follows:

On Saturday July 21, 2007 at 6:00pm:
ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE
(2003, 95 mins, Pennebaker Films, Directed by D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus)
On learning that there was little or no surviving film footage or videotape of many of the greatest 60s and 70s soul artists performing on-stage, documentary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus (husband-and-wife team) - working with entertainment journalist (and soul music devotee) Roger Friedman - set out to capture some of the great artists on film while they were still with us. Fortunately a large number of the performers in question were still performing on a regular basis - and in great form. The film features knockout performances from such R&B legends as Wilson Pickett, Jerry Butler, Isaac Hayes, the Chi-Lights, Carla Thomas, Mary Wilson, Ann Peebles, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), and many more, as well as interviews in which the artists discuss the ups and downs of their careers. It includes stunning performance footage of Memphis R&B pioneer Rufus Thomas, who passed on at the age of 84 shortly after being filmed. This is a dream celebration of the artists and songs that won America’s heart . . . and filled it with soul.

SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY
(1967, 20 mins, Pennebaker Films, Directed by D.A. Pennebaker)
Pennebaker captured the entirety of Otis Redding’s legendary 1967 Monterey appearance revealing the breath-taking showmanship that thrilled the festival audience as much as the pyrotechnics-fueled Hendrix and Who. Redding and his backing band (the stunning Booker T & The MGs) were fresh from their triumphant appearances on the Stax Revue of Europe and in top form. This film leaves you breathless with the sheer joy of Otis Redding - and underscores the enormity of the loss we suffered by his death just 5 months later.

Saturday July 21, 2007 - 9:00pm:
RESPECT YOURSELF
(2007, 115 mins, Tremolo Productions, Directed by Morgan Neville)

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stax Records, this brand new documentary created for PBS is the authoritative history of the rise of the Memphis soul label that changed the world. The film is jammed with amazing archive rarities. Live performances, forgotten TV appearances, home movies, news footage, lost recordings of all the legendary Stax artists from Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes to Sam & Dave and the Staples Singers. The film is also the story of the civil rights movement and how the music created at Stax mirrored the glories and pains of that struggle. The film offers fresh insights from the survivors together with heartfelt testimony from Stax devotees ranging from Bono and Elvis Costello to Chuck D.

Sunday July 22, 2007 - 7:30pm:
STAX REVUE 1967
(1967, 78 mins, Concord )

A platinum gem recently unearthed in the vaults of Norwegian TV and never before seen in the US! It’s the only known full-length film of the legendary 1967 Stax Revue - the European tour that sparked the soul revolution. Beautifully shot in a controlled studio environment we get to experience the excitement that Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Arthur Conley, Booker T. & The MGs brought to Europe in that halcyon tour. The film has been digitally-restored and this is its US Premiere!

Discussion between films with soul music historian David Nathan (of www.soulmusic.com)

WATTSTAX
(1973, 98 mins, Sony Repertory, Directed by Mel Stuart)

This is the landmark 1972 concert that teamed soul music with Black Pride - and was dubbed the “black Woodstock”. And so it was - but it’s also much more than that. Not only are there riveting performances - but the film also documents the socio-political background to the event. An emphasis on black pride and the opportunity for African-Americans to assert that - in the immortal words from Jesse Jackson’s concert prologue - “I Am Somebody”. The film presents a slew of great Stax Records artists performing at the L.A. Coliseum including: Rufus & Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Booker T & The MGs, the Bar-Kays, the Staple Singers, Albert King, and concert-closer Isaac Hayes. We also experience the churches, shops and streets of Watts - just seven years after the race riots that scarred the city. The film delivers what comedian Richard Pryor (who delivers hilarious scathing observations) calls “a soulful expression of the black experience.

The full schedule of films for the 8th Annual Mods & Rockers Festival can be found at:
http://www.modsandrockers.com

Ticket information:
http://www.modsandrockers.com/tickets.html