The Memphis music studio where some of America’s most recognizable songs were recorded decades ago is now a museum. But next door, trumpets blare, drums boom, and singers craft the soulful sounds of Stax Records’ biggest hits.
At Stax Music Academy, young musicians rehearse the unmistakable intro to “Theme from Shaft,” the Isaac Hayes tour de force that won an Oscar in 1972 and tantalizes listeners with its pulsating bass line, crisp hi-hat and funky guitar. There’s an air of professionalism among the students as their teacher hands out sheets of music and words of wisdom.
“Here we go. Read the ink that’s on the paper. From the top, one, two, ready and …,” says Sam Franklin IV, the academy’s music director. When they finish, Franklin says, “Hey y’all, that was good.”
Under the guidance of Franklin and other instructors, the students are practicing for three concerts in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 28 to celebrate Black History Month and the academy’s 25th anniversary. Created in 2000, the academy is an after-school program for teens that teaches them to sing, dance and play instruments. Some pay nothing to attend.
The academy has graduated more than 4,000 students since it started in the working-class neighborhood of Soulsville, where Stax Records produced soul and R&B classics in the 1960s and 1970s. Since 2008, every high school senior has been accepted to a college or university, many on full scholarships. The academy has performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and in Europe and Australia.
Students take pride and joy in continuing the legacy of the influential record company, where Otis Redding cut “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay,” Sam and Dave worked on “Soul Man,” and The Staple Singers made “Respect Yourself.” Other mainstays of the Stax catalog include Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett and Johnnie Taylor.
Before it went bankrupt in 1975, Stax Records helped develop the raw, emotional Memphis Sound, driven by tight horn and rhythm sections, and strong-voiced singers. Some Stax songs were energetic and raucous, others smooth and sexy. Stax Records no longer churns out chart-topping music, although it still has a program for songwriters. The building has been converted into the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
The Stax Music Academy group practicing on a rainy January evening includes both Black and white players. Before the work begins, some students joke around and dance in the hallway outside the rehearsal room, which boasts a high ceiling and a whiteboard with musical notes written on it. In a separate room, vocalists clap for each other as they take turns singing for their instructors.
“It’s so fun,” said Tatiyana Clark, a 17-year-old singer who joined the academy in 2023. “I’ve been in places where we would have the same interest in music, but nothing is like the connection that I have here. Honestly, it’s a different level of friendship, when you have the exact same feelings towards music, the same experiences — almost.”
Stax began online Black History Month presentations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous programs have included specific themes, with this year’s being the U.S. labor movement and how it involved and affected Black people, including work training, entrepreneurship and unionization. But this year’s show is a series of in-person concerts at a downtown Memphis venue where attendees will hear Sam and Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’”, Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music,” and “Cause I Love You,” by the father and daughter duet of Rufus and Carla Thomas.
A companion study guide includes lessons and activities highlighting key figures and events that shaped labor policies and standards.
“It’s all about the message for me,” said Johnathan Cole, an 18-year-old singer and songwriter. “It feels good because with the world going crazy right now, everybody just needs a little bit of love, happiness and music. That’s what Stax Music Academy has always been about: love, music, creativity.”
When the labor and civil rights movements were striving for racial equality and social justice, Booker T. and the MGs churned out “Green Onions” and other toe-tapping instrumental songs, with Black men at organ and drums — Booker T. Jones and Al Jackson Jr. — and white players on lead and bass guitar — Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn.
“I would describe Stax as ‘change,'” said Johnathan McKinnie, a 16-year-old piano and organ player. “It drastically changed how music was formed … It was definitely an advocate for civil rights.”
In the vocalists’ rehearsal room, the group is perfecting Eddie Floyd’s song about luck and love, “Knock on Wood.”
“It’s like thunder, and lightning, the way you love me is frightening … better knock, knock, knock on wood,” three vocalists sing in harmony.
“Breathe. You’re not breathing,’” one instructor tells a student, who smiles and nods.
The exchange exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and dedication that permeates the academy. Pasley Thompson, a 17-year-old singer and songwriter, calls the academy “an escape from the every day.”
“Being able to be in a space with people that get you on a creative level, and on a personal level, because we’re around each other all the time, it’s a really great feeling to have,” she said.
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