The story of Stax Records unfolds like a Greek tragedy. A white brother
and sister build a record company that becomes a monument to racial
harmony in 1960's segregated south Memphis. Their success is startling,
and Stax soon defines an international sound. Then, after losses both
business and personal, the siblings part, and the brother allies with a
visionary African-American partner. Under integrated leadership, Stax
explodes as a national player until, Icarus-like, they fall from great
heights to a tragic demise. Everything is lost, and the sanctuary that
flourished is ripped from the ground. A generation later, Stax is
rebuilt brick by brick to once again bring music and opportunity to the
people of Memphis.
Set in the world of 1960s and '70s soul music, Respect Yourself is a
story of epic heroes in a shady industry. It's about music and
musicians--Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, the
Staple Singers, and Booker T. and the M.G.'s, Stax's interracial house
band. It's about a small independent company's struggle to survive in a
business world of burgeoning conglomerates. And always at the center of
the story is Memphis, Tennessee, an explosive city struggling through
heated, divisive years.
Told by one of our leading music chroniclers, Respect Yourself brings
to life this treasured cultural institution and the city that created
it.
