A Second Look

In my first semester here at Rhodes I took Dr. Huebner’s Southern History course. As one of the assignments, we had to write a paper about a museum or monument in Memphis of our choosing. I chose the Stax Museum on McLemore Avenue, and reading Dr. Hughes’ dissertation, I went back to my reflection to draw comparisons between the museum and the history as Dr. Hughes presents it.

One of the primary aspects that seems to stand out refers to the “roots” of Memphis Sound. Dr. Hughes frequently mentions country as a dominant informant to the Memphis Sound. However, the Stax Museum thoroughly recounts how blues, gospel and country united to form “soul” as we know it now. Given soul’s marketing for a black audience, and that its lead performers were predominantly black, it makes sense to emphasize the blues and gospel roots, especially in a city portraying a proud black heritage. That being said Hughes makes a compelling argument in the duel for musical supremacy between Memphis and Nashville. Even still today, Memphis as a city is considered edgier, rougher, and more laid back than the cleaner, more polished and professionalized city 200 miles east.

In light of Dr. Hughes’ perspective, it seems as though the Stax Museum really wants to highlight both soul music’s “blackness” and its interracial labor force. Written on one of the panels in the Museum, Stax founder Jim Stewart promotes his “interracial company that felt like family.” Multiple panels, photos, and backstage videos emphasize the well-intentioned, civil rights fighting, integration of music. Using the manta of music brings everyone together regardless of race, the Stax Museum perpetuates the Memphis Master Narrative as a core city in Dr. King’s nonviolent movement towards civil rights and integration. Nonetheless, Dr. Hughes adds an additional rationale to the integrationist motif. In the 1960’s “Memphis was primarily a pop market” and the Stax management sought out the most talented musicians to make such “commercial music” (Hughes 9). Similar to decisions made by business leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, integration was an economic necessity. Although there some Stax groups were predominantly white, like the touring Mar-Keys, the image and the branding of Stax has become essentiallized in proverbial, radical, and harmonious (pun intended) integration.

Do you think that the Stax Museum is appropriate in sugar-coating the interracial history of the company?

Are there cities in the modern day with a “Sound”?


Check out this image of Stax. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/08/01/arts/recordingspan.jpg

And also this image of the Bar-Kays who are the “face” of integrationist soul.

http://localvie.ws/stax/images/popups/The-Bar-Kays.jpg