Word: stax
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...with snappy acoustic phrases and a mellow that aren’t a far cry from (I hate to say it) Jack Johnson. Another sound new to Adams is the soulful, gospel-tinged “Let Us Down Easy,” which offers a taste of early Stax, a hearty gospel chorus, and Adams’ signature twang. Adams closes “Cardinology” with “Stop”—a strong and emotional piano ballad typical of his former work, but the only slow song on this album. Who knows? This...
...when Hayes' name was read out, you could practically hear the sound of mandibles detaching throughout the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, while back at Stax Records in Memphis there must have been astonished cheers. Hayes had become the first African American to win a music Oscar (or, indeed, an Oscar in any category except for acting). But that belated recognition was less a harbinger of enlightenment than a blip on the rainbow radar. No black musician would cop another Oscar until 1985, when Prince was honored for the score of Purple Rain...
...other endeavors, Hayes' influence was more readily apparent. Born in Covington, Tenn., 40 miles northeast of Memphis, he was working in a meatpacking plant after college when one of his songs got him hired at Stax. There he played in the house band behind most of Otis Redding's singles and found a songwriting partner in an insurance salesman named David Porter. They eventually composed some 200 songs and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 - the same year as the Sherman Brothers, whose Mary Poppins score was the spoonful of sugar to Hayes and Porter...
...Producing many of the Stax hits of the '60s, Hayes and Porter helped define that studio's sound, which dispensed with the pop craftsmanship of Stax's main rival Motown Records and, taking inspiration from James Brown's mid-'60s ravers, revved up the motor of testosterone. For Sam & Dave they wrote the hits Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man. Both tunes are declarations of sexual prowess ready to explode. Get with the program, they said, or get out of the way. When first released, the songs were No. 1 R&B winners (Soul...
...Tyrangiel's defense of Amy Winehouse in his article "Trouble Woman" [Feb. 4]. She is a rare talent, and her music is a wonderful combination of Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, with a little touch of Otis Redding thrown in. She would have been very much at home at Stax Records. It's troubling to read about Winehouse's high jinks in recent months. Despite her enormous gifts, she has inner demons and struggles. However, I still root for her because, as is evident on Back to Black, Winehouse is aware of them and is a survivor. Tamara Williamson, MEMPHIS...