The HBO Original four-part documentary series STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A., produced and directed by Jamila Wignot, debuts on Monday, May 20. An official selection of the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival and winner of the TV Premiere Audience Award, this series is produced by Laylow Pictures and White Horse Pictures in association with Concord Originals, Polygram Entertainment, and Warner Music Entertainment. The first two episodes will air back-to-back on HBO at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), followed by the final two episodes on Tuesday, May 21 at the same time. Meanwhile, all four episodes of the series will be available to stream on Max on May 20.
By 1973, Stax Records was one of the recording industry’s most influential producers of soul music, breaking acts such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, and many more. In just under two decades, the scrappy outsider had grown from a modest family-owned record store and studio in Memphis, TN to a trailblazing global music label. STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A. chronicles the audacious group of individuals who dared to make music on their own terms, smashing racial barriers and defining an era and leaving an enduring musical legacy in their wake. Driven by a striking collection of restored and remastered archival performance footage and intimate interviews with key players in the label’s remarkable history, STAX: SOULSVILLE U.S.A. details the unlikely origin story of Stax Records and pays tribute to its complex music library and the legendary artists that emerged from the iconic studio.
A wealth of music and archival footage is complemented by insight from: Stax founder Jim Stewart and co-owner Estelle Axton; the legendary Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, Stax producer and artist; Al Bell, Stax’s former president, owner, and director of promotions; Deanie Parker, Stax’s director of publicity; David Porter, musician and Stax songwriter; Booker T. Jones, Booker T. & The M.G.’s musician and band leader; Booker T. & the M.G.’s guitarist, Steve Cropper; Rufus Thomas, artist and Memphis DJ; Carla Thomas, Stax singer and songwriter; Sam Moore, singer; Bar-Kays bassist, James Alexander; musician and Bar-Kays drummer, Willie Hall; Howard Robertson, Stax publicist; Terry Manning, Stax engineer; Bettye Crutcher, Stax songwriter; Bobby Manuel, Stax guitarist; Wattstax cinematographers Larry Clark and Roderick Young; Bruce Talamon, photographer; James Douglas, marketing and promotions for Stax; and Rob Bowman, historian and author of “Soulsville, U.S.A.”
