Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story

October 12, 2007

Title: Respect Yourself: The Stax Record Story
Directors: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Executive Producer: David Horn
Video Format: DVD, NTSC, Region 0, Anamorphic Widescreen
Duration: 113’
Label: Concord Music Group, Inc.
Catalog No.: DVD-7032
Date: 2007

“It is an epic story. That which gave it life nearly killed it more than once. Innocence…naked innocence…good and evil…light and dark…black and white. In Memphis, in the 60s, people who couldn’t dine together joined together to make music – soul music, at a place called Stax.”

Respect Yourself is the story of Stax Records in Memphis, TN, which became the pre-eminent Soul music label in the United States during the Civil Rights era. The label released a massive catalog of chart-topping singles between 1959 and 1975, including “Respect Yourself,” “Green Onions” “Midnight Hour,” “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “Soul Man,” “Knock on Wood,” and the Shaft theme, among many others. Concord Music Group, Inc (which acquired and resurrected Stax in December of 2006). has now released this documentary on DVD, broadcast originally on PBS as part of its “Great Performances” series on August 1, 2007.

The documentary, beautifully narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, was directed by Grammy®-nominated filmmakers Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, and presents the first comprehensive look at Stax, chronicling the story through first-hand accounts of celebrated musicians and label artists like Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MG’s, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and the Staple Singers, as well as label president Al Bell, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Richard Pryor. These personal narratives, together with rare performances, photographs, previously unreleased home movies, and new recordings, chronicle the roller-coaster history of this label during turbulent times, from its rise to prominence as one of the largest and most successful black-owned companies in the country to its bankruptcy in 1975.

Respect Yourself calls out the message that music breathes with the life of its creative time, and the soul of an era can be heard in these vintage recordings and in the thoughts and reflections of its creators. The disk is worth owning for such a prime seat at a window into the past, but there are limited special features (only one – the Stax All-Star Reunion Rehearsal, which includes Booker T. & the MG’s, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, and Isaac Hayes). It is incredibly easy to navigate, however, with clear, concise, and yet detailed, chapter markings (accessible on both the disk itself and listed on the insert), and the insert includes a nice photo collage bonus. I especially like one thoughtful feature in particular of the disk’s behavior – when you push the “menu” button during playback, you are taken to the “Chapters” menu with the current one highlighted.

For further information:

Maultsby, Portia K. 2006. “Soul.” In African American Music: An Introduction, edited by Mellonee V. Burnim and Portia K. Maultsby, 271-291. New York and London: Routledge. (A scholarly overview of the development of Soul into a distinct African American musical style)

Gordon, Robert. 2001. It Came From Memphis. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. (A search for Memphis’ neglected social history, from resident and Respect Yourself Co-director Robert Gordon).

SoulMusicStore.com (Top rated website for purchasing rare and hard-to-find R&B, Motown, and soul music recordings)

Posted by Anthony Guest-Scott