For a writer born in the early 1960s whose first favorite type of music remains rhythm and blues, few things if anything could feel more flattering than being asked to contribute to a blog about America’s first family of soul music, Stax Records. This was easily one of the most cherished and sweetest gigs of my entire professional life.

Special thanks to my fellow contributor David Nathan, whose prowess and reputation make it a particular honor to work alongside him. Keep singing and swinging, Mr. BritSoulMan.

Thanks to David Henson and Chris Clough and all the cats at Concord who kept and continue to keep the music flowing.

Thanks to everyone who read and hopefully enjoyed or learned something new from something we wrote.

Thanks most of all to all the Stax artists and producers and songwriters and musicians and singers and office managers and everyone else. Thank you in particular to Albert King and Johnnie Taylor, whose catalogs I greatly enjoyed exploring; to Booker T. & the MGs and the Bar-Kays, the “house bands” who kept the Stax fires burning; and of course to Isaac Hayes and everyone who ever had anything to do with Stax and its hot buttered soul.

Oh, and you know that man John Shaft? Turns out that he really IS a baaaad mutha…..