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Mavis Staples. By Andrea Zucker

Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn. By Andrea Zucker.

"STAX HERE AND NOW: Current Images of the Stars of Stax Records"

"STAX HERE AND NOW: Current Images of the Stars of Stax Records"

September 22 - November 26, 2007

For this exhibit, “STAX HERE AND NOW: Current Images of the Stars of Stax Records,” we have dispersed a group of photographers around the country and here in Memphis, the city some still call home, to capture images of these living legends as a way of showing that, while the past is important, it is also imperative to illustrate that the present and future are part of a more all-encompassing legacy that continues to make history today. From busy recording studios and still-enthralling live performances, to bucolic farm life and sharing time with friends and family, the images in “STAX HERE AND NOW” are meant to convey the idea of lives lived in the moment, energy still abounding, and the unique personalities behind the famed personas.

See more than 40 color and black-and-white images of Stax stars such as Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Booker T. & the MGs, Mavis Staples, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, The Astors, The Temprees, Mable John, and numerous others, including a few surprises from other Memphis soul music label.

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Otis Redding with his cattle on his Big O Ranch near Macon, Georgia. Courtesy Zelma Redding.

Telegram of condolence to Redding family from Booker T. & the MGs. Courtesy Zelma Redding.

OTIS REDDING: FROM MACON TO MEMPHIS - An Exhibit from the Private Collection of Zelma Redding

OTIS REDDING: FROM MACON TO MEMPHIS

An Exhibit from the Private Collection of Zelma Redding

December 10, 2007 – April 30, 2008

His rise in the music industry was nothing short of meteoric. He arrived at Stax Records in 1962 as the driver and equipment handler for Johnny Jenkins & the Pinetoppers, a band with whom he had occasionally performed in and around his native Macon, Georgia. At the end of the evening, after having asked all day for a chance to sing, Stax Records founder Jim Stewart and Booker T. & the MGs guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper gave him that chance. There in the famed Studio A, when Otis Redding began singing "These Arms of Mine," the world changed forever. For the next five years, Redding would record hit after hit, take Europe by storm, and enthrall thousands of love children at the Monterey Pop Festival alongside the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane.

But the world changed again that same year, when, on December 10, 1967, Redding, the pilot, and all but two members of his touring band the Bar-Kays were killed when his plane crashed in Lake Monona, just a few minutes from the airport in Madison, Wisconsin. Only Bar-Kay trumpet player Ben Cauley survived the crash; fellow Bar-Kay member James Alexander was on a different, commercial flight. Otis Redding was 26 years old.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located at the site of Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where Redding recorded the songs that captured the hearts of millions, is proud to host a very special exhibit to pay homage to the singer, loving husband, and father. "OTIS REDDING: FROM MACON TO MEMPHIS - An Exhibit from the Private Collection of Zelma Redding" opens on Monday, December 10, 2007 in commemoration of Redding’s passing, and will be on display through April 30, 2008.

With items on loan from Otis Redding’s widow and daughter, Zelma and Karla Redding-Andrews, the exhibit features a collection of never-before-shown family photographs taken on the Reddings’ 300-acre ranch outside Macon, and shows more than Otis Redding the singer and entertainer. Redding is seen petting his cattle, holding his son Otis Redding III, pitching hay from his barn, and engaged in other activities that portray him at home. The exhibit also includes personal mementos from Mrs. Redding such as telegrams of condolence from Booker T. & the MGs, then-Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, and others.

"Stax Records was like a second home for Otis," stated Zelma Redding. "He recorded some of his biggest hits there and worked with some of the world’s best musicians. We are pleased to be able to share some of our personal family moments in this exhibit."

In addition to the artifacts on loan from Zelma Redding and Karla Redding-Andrews, “OTIS REDDING: FROM MACON TO MEMPHIS” contains several items on loan from private collector Bob Grady and never-before-shown artifacts from the Stax Museum archives. “OTIS REDDING: FROM MACON TO MEMPHIS” is hosted with the assistance of ArtsMemphis, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and the Big “O” Youth Educational Dream Foundation, which the Redding family founded in 2007 in an effort to continue Redding’s dream of encouraging and assisting youth by enhancing their lives through education and the arts.

For more information, please contact Tim Sampson 901-261-6324, tim@soulsvilleusa.com, or Karen Lee 310-283-9171 kl364@aol.com. For more information about the Big “O” Foundation and other Otis Redding-related events, please visit www.otisredding.com. Images available upon request.

For more information, please contact Tim Sampson 901-261-6324, tim@soulsvilleusa.com, or Karen Lee 310-283-9171 kl364@aol.com. For more information about the Big “O” Foundation and other Otis Redding-related events, please visit www.otisredding.com. Images available upon request.