Southern Soul: Part 8

Stax also became involved in the 1972 Watts Summer Festival, staging an all-day concert of their artists in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Known as WATTSTAX'72, it raised over $73,000 for the local community, which brought about Stax's venture into film, Wattstax, and, of course, a soundtrack album. But while there were a few more hits still to come, effectively Stax was done. The financial problems became bigger and bigger, until the label was doomed.

"They brought together races and cultures, showing America that we really were all the same, that the distance between black and white, country and blues, sometimes even urban and rural, was smaller than imagined."

The '70s - Malaco

Malaco entered the game late, not even getting underway until the late '60s. What had started as a booking agency, Malaco Attractions, in Jackson, Mississippi, run by Tommy Couch and his brother-in-law, George Malouf, became studio in September 1967. Prior to 1971, however, the Malaco label only issued one record; instead, they leased master recordings made at the studio to other labels, although with few commercial successes - there was bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell's I Do Not Play No Rock'N'Roll on Capitol, and Paul Davis's "Mississippi River" on Bang (although Davis would go on to become a consistent hitmaker for Bang).

Things really began to change in 1970 when Wardell Quezergue came up from New Orleans. Under their deal, Malaco supplied the studio and the house band - Querzergue would supply everything else. And he did. Over four days in May 1970, he cut tracks on five different artists, including Jean Knight and King Floyd. Knight's "Mr. Hot Stuff" eventually became huge for Stax, but no one would pick up on Floyd's "Groove Me." Eventually Malaco released it, on a new label, Chimneyville. It was picked up for distribution by Atlantic (who'd earlier passed on it), and went to #6 in the pop charts. Atlantic would distribute more Malaco product, but it was the studio side that really took off, with sessions for the Pointer Sisters, James Carr, the Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, and even Paul Simon - which was just as well, since their own product simply wasn't selling, and after the distribution agreement with Atlantic ended, things looked to hit rock bottom. Right at the end of the 'real' soul era, Malaco managed to avoid going under thanks to one record - Dorothy Moore's country-soul ballad, "Misty Blue," which hit #2 R&B and #3 pop early in 1976. It was a high note on which to tail off the age of soul, and a definite irony that it should close with something that fused white and black music so perfectly. While it changed with the times (Anita Ward's huge disco hit "Ring My Bell" came from Malaco) the heart of the label remained in soul - it still calls itself The Last Soul Company, and many of the soul survivors, like Little Milton, have come into their fold.

And In The End

In many ways, the soul era had to end. Like all musical styles, it enjoyed its time in the sun, and then both the music and the audience, moved on. In the '70s, funk took over as king, then disco appropriated the crown. With that, the idea of feeling - which was the essence of soul - lost its value.

But it had been a great ride. And along the way, some of the most powerful music to appear in America had been made. The soul labels, and musicians, integrated black and white at a time when segregation was far more the norm (which perhaps makes it no surprise that the start of soul's decline can be dated to the racial distrust that flared up in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination). They brought together races and cultures, showing America that we really were all the same, that the distance between black and white, country and blues, sometimes even urban and rural, was smaller than imagined. That was perhaps its greatest achievement.

But anything that gave the world music like Otis Redding and Al Green, the rhythm section of Stax and Muscle Shoals, and the writing of Isaac Hayes and David Porter or Dan Penn was making a vital contribution in its music. It's no coincidence that the great soul songs have stood the test of time to become classics, not just of their own time, but of the 20th century. Soul probably had more heartfelt performances of wonderful songs than any period in popular music. Its influence was huge, and in artists like Macy Gray, soul is even finding a new, updated home.

Soul will never die.

Southern Soul: Part 8

"They brought together races and cultures, showing America that we really were all the same, that the distance between black and white, country and blues, sometimes even urban and rural, was smaller than imagined."

The '70s - Malaco

And In The End

Related Articles in the 'Southern Soul Primer' Category...