The co-founder of one of the most iconic and beloved soul labels of the 60s
and 70s, Jim Stewart, died on Monday 5 Dec 2022 aged 92.
He formed Satellite Records in 1957 primarily as a country and rockabilly
label run out of a two car garage in Brunswick, TN. He was later joined by his sister Estelle Axton (11 Sep
1918 - 25 Feb 2004) who financed the purchase of professional recording equipment. In 1959
the company moved to Memphis and rented the former Capitol Theatre at 926 E McLemore Avenue and in 1961 was renamed to Stax which is an acronym of the
first two letters of each's surname. The site is now the Stax Museum since 2003, after being demolished in 1989, with the
original facade being reconstructed.
Stewart was born on a farm and joined a local country group. He worked
first in a department store and then a bank before being drafted into the
army for two years and went back into banking in 1953.
Satellite had their first regional hit in 1960, a duet between Rufus Thomas and his 16 year old daughter Carla on "Cause I Love You" which Carla followed with "Gee Whizz"
which was #5 R&B and #10 Hot 100 (allegedly selling 500k copies).
The following year Estelle persuaded Jim to release a song by her son,
Packy's, band The Mar-Keys and another hit ensued with an instrumental "Last
Night" which became the label's biggest hit reaching #2 R&B and #3 Hot
100. Apparently, it was this hit that prompted the change of name as when
the record reached the west coast Jim was notified that there was another
label named Satellite and Stax was born. Ironically another Satellite label
emerged in Chicago in 1965 as an offshoot of St. Lawrence! Then of course
there is the Mod anthem "Green Onions" by Booker T & The M.G.'s followed
by many other hits. By 1965 Stewart had quit his day-time job in the bank to
focus on Stax full time.
Estelle ran the customer facing part of the business selling records with
Jim in the back in the studio. Many of the label's artists initially came in
as customers. It's quite remarkable when you think of the times as American was in the
grips of the Civil Rights movement and segregation in the 'Jim Crow' south, yet
blacks and whites worked together in harmony. The majority of the musicians
used were mainly white whilst the singers were mainly black.
In 1968, just after the death of Otis Redding, and four members of his band
The Bar-Kays, in a plane crash on 10 Dec 1967, the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King in Memphis (4 Apr 1968) and the end of a distribution
deal with Atlantic Records, Axton sold her share of the business and Al Bell
joined Stewart running the company. Stewart then sold his share to Bell in 1972 and the company started to fail
a year later with Stewart stepping in to try and save it but, with rising
debts and a dispute with CBS who were distributing the label, the company
went under. Another factor was that a distribution deal Stewart had signed
with Atlantic, which he hadn't read properly, meant that, when they
parted company, Atlantic retained ownership of all the masters. Stax went bankrupt in 1975 eventually being relaunched by Fantasy Records
who bid for the company at an auction in 1977. Although some new material
was released, they mainly reissued back catalogue.
The company was bought by Concord Music Group in 2008 who signed Jill
Scott, Angie Stone and Leela James.
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, Stax released around 300 albums and 800 singles with 167 Billboard Hot
100 and 243 R&B hits between 1959-75.
The Stax roster included some now legendary figures: Otis Redding, Sam
& Dave, Booker T. & The M.G.'s, Johnnie Taylor, William Bell, Carla
Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Isaac Hayes, Eddie Floyd, The Staple Singers, Soul
Children, Dramatics, Emotions, Rance Allen Group, Shirley Brown and many
more, not forgetting the writing team of Hayes and Porter.
In 2002 Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Sam Moore (Sam & Dave). He did not attend the ceremony having his granddaughter instead accept the honour on his behalf.
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