Thanks to the efforts of Martin Lewis and American Cinematheque, Los Angeles-based soul music lovers were treated to an incredible two nights of movies focused on the genre – and what a treat it was! Saturday night, we got to see the late, great Otis Redding in all his glory at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, just months before his untimely passing. It was a special occasion: although the Macon, Georgia-R&B star had seen his name on the Billboard Hot 100 on a smattering of occasions (having his biggest pop success, curiously, with his particularly emotive reading of the standard “Try A Little Tenderness” in 1965), he was essentially a hitmaker among the black community until enjoying posthumous mainstream acclaim with “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay,” just weeks after his death in a plane crash in late ’67.

Watching Otis before an audience that had been drawn to the event by the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix (making his U.S. debut), it was immediately apparent that he was out to impress. And he did. Virtually the only African-American performer at the three-day festival – Dionne Warwick and The Impressions were scheduled but canceled – other than Lou Rawls, Otis was on a mission and with a sweat-drenched performance that included “Respect” (during which Redding referenced having had his song covered by Aretha Franklin, then enjoying her first blush of pop acceptance and even added her famous ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T’ line to his version), “Shake,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” a rousing rendition of The Stones’ “Satisfaction” and a scorching “Try A Little Tenderness,” he won over the flower children – in much the same way Aretha would when appearing at Fillmore West in 1972.

Film maker D.A. Pennebaker and his partner/wife Chris Hegedus with Fox News scribe Roger Friedman were responsible for the 2002 documentary “Only The Strong Survive” and it is a fine representation of some of R&B’s real pioneers. Included in the line-up: Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), Jerry Butler, Wilson Pickett, Ann Peebles, The Chi-Lites and Stax alumni Luther Ingram, Rufus and Carla Thomas and Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave), who participated in a Q&A session at the Saturday night showing of the film in Los Angeles along with Pennebaker, Hegedus and Friedman.

The movie, according to Friedman, was inspired by seeing the Pioneer Awards events put on by The Rhythm & Blues Foundation (www.rhythm-n-blues.org), which is responsible year-round for providing financial assistance to artists of the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s as well as celebrating the music’s pioneers at its awards ceremonies. I’ve served on the organization’s Board for a decade (and am currently its Secretary) and while it was heartening to know that our events inspired Friedman to propose the idea of making “Only The Strong Survive,” it should be noted that – contrary to his comments on Saturday night – the R&B Foundation is very much alive, active and in business! That said, certainly, the end result of Friedman’s inspiration and the Pennebaker-Hegedus team’s work is a more than worthy piece of historical importance and relevance.

The final movie for the evening was a new documentary, “Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story,” an excellent piece that faithfully, with no-holds-barred, traces the history of Stax Records from its inception and creation by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton through to its eventual demise in the mid-‘70s when the company essentially went out of business, its masters sold to Fantasy and now in the capable hands of Concord Music Group who continue to go to great lengths to restore its rich legacy. The film is very honest in its portrayal of the key characters involved in the Stax story from Stewart, Axton, house band musicians such as Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper and Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn (the original MGs along with drummer, the late Al Jackson), Wayne Jackson of the Mar-Keys and former DC disc jockey Al Bell who joined Stax in 1965 and would go on to purchase the label in 1972. Included are candid comments from many of the artists including Isaac Hayes, Mable John, Sam Moore, David Porter, Mavis Staples making the story of the rise and fall of Stax and its eventual resurrection through the building of the excellent Stax Museum in Memphis (www.soulsville.com), the revitalization of the catalog and the reintroduction of the imprint through Concord Records in 2006. The documentary airs August 1 through PBS stations in the U.S. and a DVD is due out in the late fall and for any self-respecting soul music lover, a must-see.

David Nathan
Aka the British Ambassador Of Soul
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com