Continuing with my blog from yesterday, celebrating June as Black Music Month, here are the next group of my picks from the Stax vaults…

EDDIE FLOYD: Most folks associate Eddie with his classic “Knock On Wood” and understandably so. In fact, after he joined Stax in 1966, Eddie – a former member of the Detroit-based Falcons – was almost as busy as a songwriter (for folks like Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and Otis Redding) as he was a recording artist. Beyond “Wood,” Eddie was successful with tunes like “I’ve Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)” and “Bring It On Home To Me” and is about to release a new album on Stax this year. Recommended: “Rare Stamps” since it includes some relative obscurities like “Got To Make A Comeback” and “Love Is A Doggone Good Thing.”

ISAAC HAYES: Briefly a sax player with The Mar-Keys and then a keyboard player on several sessions at the Stax studios, Isaac Hayes made his mark at the label initially as a songwriter and producer with partner David Porter, working with Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and of course, Sam & Dave. His first album as a soloist was 1967’s “Presenting Isaac Hayes” but it was the revolutionary “Hot Buttered Soul” in 1969 – with just four tracks and Isaac accompanied by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and the Bar-Kays – that established him as an artist in his own right. Recommended: any of the Stax compilations on Ike but, honestly, “Hot Buttered Soul” is still his best!

MABLE JOHN/RUBY JOHNSON: Two of the most soulful ladies to ever record for Stax! Mable, the sister of the late R&B pioneer Willie John, was the first female recording artist signed to Motown and made Stax her next recording home. With Isaac Hayes and David Porter masterminding her first session, the trio came up with “Your Good Thing (Is About To End),” still a showstopper whenever Mable sings it live (as she did in 2007 at the various Stax 50th anniversary events): she went on to become the leader of Ray Charles’ Raelettes and is now an ordained minister and author of two novels. The late Ruby Johnson never achieved the kind of success her super-emotive style and talent warranted. The Memphis vocalist became a favorite among deep soul music lovers in the UK, thanks to her brilliant “I’ll Run Your Hurt Away” and in 1993, prompted by UK Ace Records, Stax issued a stunning twenty-track compilation of her work. Recommended: the two albums in the catalog by these great singers – Mable’s “Stay Out Of The Kitchen” and Ruby’s “I’ll Run Your Hurt Away.”

ALBERT KING: The annals of blues guitarists, the name ‘King’ has reigned supreme for many decades – and while B.B. certainly achieved the most across-the-board recognition, Mississippi-born Albert (who recorded for Stax from 1966 to 1974) not only influenced a couple of generations of other musicians including Stevie Ray Vaughan (with whom he recorded in the late ‘90s), Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. The left-handed guitarist’s most renowned recordings for Stax included “Laundromat Blues,” “Born Under A Bad Sign,” “Crosscut Saw” and “I’ll Play The Blues For You” and he even did a tribute album to Elvis Presley (1969’s “King Does The King’s Things”)! Recommended: 2007’s “The Very Best Of Albert King.”

LITTLE MILTON: Known as an R&B hitmaker as a result of his ‘60s hits with Chess Records – tunes like “Who’s Cheating Who,” “We’re Gonna Make It” and “Grits Ain’t Groceries” – before he got to Stax, Little Milton was as adept a bluesman as he was a soul man. With the label from 1971-1975, the talented music maker (who passed away in 2005) made some blistering cuts at Stax including “Walking The Backstreets And Crying,” the live version of which – cut during the time of the Wattstax festival in Los Angeles in 1972 – is perhaps one of the most riveting recordings Milton ever made. Recommended: 2006’s “Stax Profiles.”

THE MAD-LADS: OK, so the Mad Lads were never a household name in the world of music but R&B fans of the ‘60s in particular remember John Gary Williams (the group’s primary lead), William Brown, Robert Phillips, and Julius Green for their tight harmonies and soulful sounds, in particular on their hits “Don’t Have To Shop Around” and the exquisite “I Want Someone.” Recommended: 1995’s “Don’t Have To Shop Around.”

THE MAR-KEYS: The original house-band at Stax, members of The Mar-Keys truly laid the foundation for the funky sound that became synonymous with the Memphis label. The original line-up included Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper along with Charles Axton (son of Stax co-founder Estelle Axton), Don Nix and Wayne Jackson. Dunn and Cropper went on to become founding members of Booker T. & The MGs but only after being on the Mar-Keys’ biggest hit, 1961’s “Last Night.” In all, The Mar-Keys recorded some half-a-dozen albums – with various personnel – for Stax over ten years. Recommended: the two-on-one combo of “Last Night” and “Do The Pop-Eye.”

Look for Part 3 by Monday, June 30!

David Nathan
A/k/a the British Ambassador Of Soul
Secretary, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation (www.rhythmblues.org)
Owner,
www.soulmusic.com,
www.soulmusicstore.com,
www.soulmusicglobal.com

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