The HBO Original four-part documentary series Stax: Soulsville U.S.A., will premiere on Monday, May 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO with two episodes airing back-to-back, followed by the final two episodes airing back-to-back on Tuesday, May 21 at the same time. All four episodes of the series will be available to stream on Max on May 20.
The film, an official selection of the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival and winner of the TV Premiere Audience Award, is produced and directed by filmmaker Jamila Wignot. The series is a production of Laylow Pictures and White Horse Pictures in association with Concord Originals, Polygram Entertainment, and Warner Music Entertainment.
By 1973, Stax Records was one of the recording industry’s most influential producers of soul music, breaking acts such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, and many more. In just under two decades, the scrappy outsider had grown from a modest family-owned record store and studio in Memphis, TN to a trailblazing global music label.
Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. chronicles the audacious group of individuals who dared to make music on their own terms, smashing racial barriers and defining an era and leaving an enduring musical legacy in their wake.
Driven by a striking collection of restored and remastered archival performance footage and intimate interviews with key players in the label’s remarkable history, Stax: Soulsville U.S.A. details the unlikely origin story of Stax Records and pays tribute to its complex music library and the legendary artists that emerged from the iconic studio.
Founded in 1957 by Jim Stewart and co-owned with his sister, Estelle Axton, the company drew upon a mix of young, local talent – musicians, songwriters, and producers – who would create the unforgettable Stax sound. Against the backdrop of the American south of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, white and Black artists worked together, defying segregation, and producing hits such as “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay,” “Soul Man,” “Green Onions,” and the Oscar-winning “Theme from Shaft.”
Buy or stream Stax Records’ Soul Explosion compilation.