#robert gordon

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It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

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Link Wray, Robert Gordon, Rob Stoner at Pinkpop Festival, Geleen, Netherlands, 1978.

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Robert Gordon: Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion (2013)

"Memphis is the town where nothing ever happens, but the impossible always does."

I'm pretty sure that when you put down this book, you'll agree with me that Memphis is THE most important music city in American history.

It's the birthplace of rock 'n' roll, of course, but it's also where the blues left the Delta for the city, and where innumerable other music genres (country, gospel, soul, R&B, and later hip-hop) were culturally mingled and cross-pollinated like nowhere else throughout the 20th Century.

Stax Records, like Sam Phillips’ Sun, changed the face of music by bringing Blacks and Whites together like never before, and doing so in spite of segregation's iron grip; Stax turned Memphis into the Civil Rights movement's greatest musical experiment.

Sorry, New York, L.A., and Detroit, but it's true!

If you've watched either one of two incredible Stax documentaries, 2007's Respect Yourself or 2024's Soulsville U.S.A., and, like me, simply couldn't get enough, then might I suggest Robert Gordon's Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion to further your education?

Here, Stax is revealed as a microcosm of the broader battles, injustices, and contradictions of America's Civil Rights struggles: a safe haven where racial barriers temporarily dissolved, even while the city of Memphis itself burned just outside of the studio walls.

Of course, such groundbreaking integration through music could only happen largely by accident, as white siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton ('St' + 'Ax' -- get it?) found like-minded black business partners in Al Bell, David Porter, and other executives to build a music industry powerhouse.

Oh yeah, and an incomparable roster of multi-racial talent: Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, and their integrated M.G.'s, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, The Bar-Keys, Eddie Floyd, plus, through their joint venture with Atlantic Records, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, and more.

I won't spoil the joy of reading about their incredible achievements and gut-wrenching tragedies, but, thanks to their collective creative and professional efforts, by the early 1970s, Stax had become one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America.

It's sadly no coincidence that the moment Jim and Estelle severed their ties to Stax was precisely when a veritable cabal of racially-motivated white power brokers -- both in Memphis and on the Coasts, both from inside and outside the music industry -- suddenly converged and conspired to steal the label's priceless assets and put it out of business.

Again, the parallels between Stax's rise and fall and America's historical tradition of institutionalized racism are simply too obvious to ignore, so this fantastic book provides yet another lesson in Civics and a reminder that the fight for real and lasting change unfortunately continues.

Alright, that about wraps it up for Black History Month 2026, but tune in next week for a blog that should serve as a bridge to Women's History Month.

p.s. -- The legendary Steve Cropper sadly passed away at the age of 84 while I was reading Respect Yourself, may he rest in peace.

p.p.s. -- For serious music lovers and historians, the scene in Soulsville U.S.A. where Booker T. explains the musical origins of "Green Onions" is comparable to God and Adam's outstretched fingers in Michelangelo's The Creation of Man.

p.p.p.s. -- For a label with such an iconic brand, Stax sure loved assigning its artists to subsidiary imprints like Volt, Enterprise, and Gospel Truth, among others, as you can tell by the records photographed here.

Featured Records:

Booker T. & the M.G.s.: "Green Onions" / "Behave Yourself" (1962)

Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul (1969)

Otis Redding: Otis Blue/ Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

The Rance Allen Group: A Soulful Experience (1975)

Buy from: Thrift Books

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Robert Gordon with Link Wray - Red Hot (1977) Billy "The Kid" Emerson from: "Robert Gordon with Link Wray" (LP) "Red Hot" / "Sweet Surrender" (Single)

Rockabilly | Rock & Roll | Rockabilly Revival

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Robert Gordon: Lead Vocals Link Wray: Guitar / Backing Vocals Rob Stoner: Bass / Piano / Backing Vocals Howie Wyeth: Drums / Backing Vocals

Produced by Richard Gottehrer

Recorded: @ Plaza Sound Studios (located above Radio City Music Hall( in New York City, New York USA Early April, 1977

Album Released: Spring 1977 Single Released: on October 13, 1977 Private Stock Records

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Robert Gordon *March 29, 1947

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Robert Gordon from Black Mirror 2003 game!! I drew him from reference photo

My beloved evil doctor

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Pottery painting!

Before fireing

Finished product!!