STAX: Soulsville U.S.A.

Numerous music documentaries over the years have detailed legendary recording studios and record labels, but none rise to the magisterial level of Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. This four-part documentary series on HBO spotlights the artistic brilliance, musical impact, and historical trajectory of the home-grown, family-owned studio/label in Memphis, Tennessee, that became a powerhouse in producing soul music in the 1960s and 1970s. The Stax Sound of soul musicians included such legendary artists as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MGs, The Staple Singers, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, the Bar-Kays, the Mar-Keys, Albert King, and Isaac Hayes, among many others. What makes the series a standout is its detailing of how the particular racial, political, cultural, and economic forces of the times are central to understanding the label’s rise and fall, and rise and fall again. The story is poignant, tragic, funny, infuriating, and predictably American, yet also deeply soulful and spiritually uplifting. For helping us understand that masterful art often arises precisely from such a mixture of luck, hard work, hard times, and joyful spirits, Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. wins a Peabody.