Memphis

Bobby Womack’s career started in the mid-fifties, when he started touring with his family group the Valentinos, mentored by Sam Cooke. He had taught himself to play guitar,...

The Bar-Kays were founded in Memphis in 1966, evolving from an earlier band called the Imperials. The founder members were Jimmy King (guitar), Ben Cauley (trumpet), Ronnie Caldwell...

Syl Johnson was born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1936. His family moved to Chicago in 1950, where Johnson started singing with Blues artists, including Magic...

Al Bell was born Alvertis Isbell in 1940 in Brinkley, Arkansas and moved to North Little Rock, where he attended the Scipio Africanus Jones High School. Education in...

Otis Lee Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, in 1942. He grew up in a musical family and, like so many of his generation, he joined a series...

Don Bryant was born in Memphis in 1942, one of ten children. His father and mother were both Gospel singers, so Don grew up surrounded by music. In...

Ann Lee Peebles was born in Kinloch, Missouri, in 1947, one of eleven children. She grew up singing in her father’s church and soon joined the family Gospel...

Stax/Volt Records went into decline after the golden years and was declared bankrupt on December 19, 1975, finally closing down on January 12, 1976. Jim Stewart lost his house. The...

Arthur Conley grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where he joined a Gospel group, the Evening Smiles, at just twelve years of age. Soon after that, he formed an...

Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr. was born in Center Star, Alabama, in 1943. His father played mandolin and encouraged Dewey to take an interest in music. The nickname “Spooner”...