Stax

Stax Records is synonymous with Southern soul music. Originally known as Satellite (2), the Memphis company was founded in 1959 by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, and took its new name in 1961 from the first two letters of their last names.

Among the many artists who scored hits on Stax and its Volt subsidiary during the Sixties were Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla Thomas, Booker T. And The M.G.'s (an inter-racial instrumental quartet that also served as the label's rhythm section), Mable John, Sam And Dave, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Bar-Kays, The and Otis Redding. Redding's death in December 1967 signaled the end of the first Stax era (which Atlantic distributed and retains distribution rights).

Subsequently the company spawned a new crop of hitmakers, among them Isaac Hayes, the Staples Singers, the Soul Children, The Emotions, the Rance Allen Group, Shirley Brown, Luther Ingram and the Dramatics. The company was sold to Paramount Pictures in 1968 (only to be sold back to Jim Stewart in 1972). It then entered a distribution deal with Columbia Records, only to find out that it was given a raw deal with more Stax product ending up as cut-outs and intentionally given poor marketing and distribution support. Stax was in deep financial trouble with various creditors (particularly the Union Planters Bank in Memphis, from whom Stewart borrowed money to start the company and eventually mortgaged the converted movie theater that was the Stax headquarters) and collapsed, going bankrupt in 1975.

A year and a half later in June 1977, the company's masters and related assets were purchased at auction by Fantasy, Inc., which periodically revived the Stax and Volt labels for new recordings and reissuing older post-1967 material in addition to releasing previously unreleased pre-March 1968 Stax/Volt recordings, to which it controls the rights.

1n 2008, Concord Music Group revived Stax as an active label with new artist signings including Jill Scott, Leela James and Nikka Costa.

Labelcode: LC 00914

Dating Stax Records

Atlantic distribution:
1962-1968 (701-726) Mono labels are light blue and stereo labels are yellow. Both have the original stacked record logo.

March 1968-1975:
1968-1972 (2000-2045,3001) Yellow label with blue finger snap logo.
1972-1975 (2046-2047, 3002-3024, 5500 series) Yellow label with brown finger snap logo.

Fantasy releases:
1977-1980s (4100 & 8500 series) Purple and white label with black finger snap logo.