The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
5 things to see at the reopened Stax Museum
for now, and equipment has been installed to allow visitors to swipe their own credit cards to avoid contact.
On July 1, the museum returned to its regular hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. TuesdaySunday. Admission for Shelby County residents is free on Tuesday afternoons after 1 p.m.
As Memphians look for safe entertainment options, a return — or perhaps a first-time visit — to Stax should be high on their list of things to do.
Although there are hundreds of fascinating displays and items, here are five things to make sure to check out.
‘Beautiful Souls’
As part of the museum’s reopening, its gallery is hosting a photo exhibit titled “Beautiful Souls: Joel Brodsky and the Faces of Stax Records.” The collection of images by Brodsky — best known for shooting iconic album covers for The Doors and Detroit rock legends like The Stooges and MC5 — focuses on his early ‘70s era portraits of Stax artists including Booker T. & the MGS, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Margie Joseph and Rufus Thomas, among others.
As the exhibit’s guide notes, following Stax Records’ 1969 re-launch, the label decided to present its artists “authentically, in settings and clothing and facial expressions that added to the soul contained deep within the grooves of the vinyl records … Stax Records was responding to a rise in black pride, particularly around clothing and hairstyles, with an emphasis on celebrating the uniqueness and beauty of black culture.”
A version of this exhibition originally hung at the Stax Museum in 2007 as “The Art of Stax: Essential Album Photography of Joel Brodsky.” Sadly, Brodsky died just three months before the exhibition’s opening in June of that year, but his images remain a timeless reminder of Stax’s iconic second era.
Isaac’s Oscar and Caddy
Two of the true jewels of the Stax Museum are pieces connected with “Black Moses,” aka the late, great Isaac Hayes. The Stax songwriter turned solo star would make history for his work on the soundtrack to director Gordon Parks’ pioneering 1971 “blaxploitation” film “Shaft.” The film’s title track — an irresistible mingling of wah-wah guitar, orchestral flourishes and Hayes’ protorapping — became a pop sensation, topping the Billboard charts. The tune would ultimately earn Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song, making him the first African American to win the honor. Three years after Hayes’ death in 2008, his Oscar trophy was donated to the museum.
The award pairs nicely with another trophy of sorts, Hayes’ custom 1972 Cadillac Eldorado. Arguably the museum’s most popular exhibit, the car is showcased on a rotating platform so patrons can get a 360-degree view of the magnificently tricked-out ride — with its fur-lined interior, mini television, refrigerated bar and 24-karat gold details, from wire rims to windshield wipers.
Jim Stewart’s Fiddle
It’s one of the funny twists of history that the greatest, funkiest soul label in the world, one of the most powerful outlets for African American expression, was started by a white hillbilly fiddler and bank employee named Jim Stewart.
The guiding light of Stax for many years, in 2018, Stewart donated his original violin to the museum’s permanent collection. The violin — a foundational totem of the label originally known as Satellite Records — would serve Stewart as the company transitioned from a tiny garage operation in Brunswick, Tennessee, to becoming an international musical institution.
The piece is one of the many new items that have been acquired and added to the collection since Stax Museum Executive Director Jeff Kollath took over in 2015.
Phalon’s Sax
One of the more poignant pieces found in the museum is a King Super 20 saxophone that belonged to original Bar-kays member Phalon Jones. It was retrieved from Lake Monona in Wisconsin shortly after the plane carrying Otis Redding and Jones’ fellow bandmates crashed on Dec. 10, 1967, killing everyone aboard except trumpet player Ben Cauley. It remains a powerful reminder of the tragedy and of the enduring spirit of Stax.
Gift Shop
Gift shops at most museums are fairly staid affairs. However, the Stax Museum shop happens to be one of the unique retail experiences in Memphis. In addition to the usual wares (mugs, key chains, etc.), the Stax shop doubles as one of the city’s best music stores — with a deep collection of CDS, LPS and books about soul, R&B and various other genres. The shop also boasts the coolest collection of Stax and Memphis music branded merch, with authorized clothing lines paying tribute to Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & The MGS, and Stax subsidiary labels like Enterprise and Ardent. Not only is the Stax shop a can’tmiss stop on your way out of the museum, but it’s a good spot for finding that perfect gift for a music-loving friend or family member year-round.