1 00:00:13,972 --> 00:00:15,640 [birds chirping] 2 00:00:15,682 --> 00:00:17,559 [tree cracking] 3 00:00:17,642 --> 00:00:19,394 [crashing, rustling] 4 00:00:19,477 --> 00:00:23,023 [bright, plucky string instrumentals playing] 5 00:00:25,984 --> 00:00:28,319 [engine popping gently] 6 00:00:28,361 --> 00:00:32,490 [Bell] My father was a landscaping contractor... 7 00:00:37,078 --> 00:00:39,247 for Winthrop Rockefeller... 8 00:00:39,873 --> 00:00:41,291 [car horns honking] 9 00:00:41,332 --> 00:00:42,792 ...of the Rockefeller family. 10 00:00:42,834 --> 00:00:47,255 -[car horns honking] -[bright instrumentals continue] 11 00:00:52,344 --> 00:00:54,554 -[music fades] -[traffic humming] 12 00:00:54,637 --> 00:00:59,225 As a teenager, I delivered invoices from my father. 13 00:01:00,352 --> 00:01:02,854 [cheery string instrumentals playing] 14 00:01:04,397 --> 00:01:07,734 And one time, Rockefeller talked to me about wealth. 15 00:01:11,529 --> 00:01:15,533 He taught me the major financial world's way of thinking. 16 00:01:16,242 --> 00:01:22,207 One, you don't own any of the turf. 17 00:01:24,042 --> 00:01:27,295 So if you wanna become an entrepreneur, 18 00:01:28,338 --> 00:01:30,715 you have to appreciate that there's someone else 19 00:01:30,799 --> 00:01:32,384 that owns the turf 20 00:01:32,425 --> 00:01:34,844 that you're setting out to build something on. 21 00:01:39,390 --> 00:01:43,561 Two, after you've gotten to a certain magnitude, 22 00:01:43,645 --> 00:01:47,816 you begin to infringe on somebody else's market share. 23 00:01:51,235 --> 00:01:54,781 And that's the major corporations in this country. 24 00:01:57,491 --> 00:02:01,579 Once you do that, they realize you're achieving something, 25 00:02:02,372 --> 00:02:04,582 they come in and they wanna buy it. 26 00:02:05,917 --> 00:02:10,380 "If we can't buy it from you, we'll try to copy it. 27 00:02:13,216 --> 00:02:16,720 And if we can't copy it, then we'll destroy you." 28 00:02:19,264 --> 00:02:22,600 The big fish has to eat the little fish. 29 00:02:24,811 --> 00:02:27,022 [car horn honking] 30 00:02:27,439 --> 00:02:31,359 I understood the rules of the game in America, 31 00:02:33,069 --> 00:02:36,281 but after all of our success, 32 00:02:37,741 --> 00:02:39,659 I began to wonder, 33 00:02:40,785 --> 00:02:43,204 why couldn't Stax become the big fish? 34 00:02:43,288 --> 00:02:46,207 [string instrumentals mellow, turn solemn] 35 00:02:47,375 --> 00:02:50,420 -[lights click] -[electricity buzzing] 36 00:02:52,964 --> 00:02:55,133 [buzzing intensifies] 37 00:02:55,216 --> 00:02:56,676 [echoing click] 38 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:58,762 [cheering] 39 00:02:58,803 --> 00:03:00,513 [up-tempo drum beat playing] 40 00:03:00,597 --> 00:03:02,891 [funky, mellow bass line joins] 41 00:03:05,977 --> 00:03:09,856 [Bowman] By the '70s, Stax was on everybody's radar 42 00:03:09,939 --> 00:03:11,483 in the music industry. 43 00:03:11,566 --> 00:03:15,028 Very successful, recognized, 44 00:03:15,111 --> 00:03:18,782 but Stax's presence on the West Coast 45 00:03:18,823 --> 00:03:20,492 still eluded them. 46 00:03:20,575 --> 00:03:24,329 [solemn string instrumentals layer over drum beat] 47 00:03:28,416 --> 00:03:32,837 [Bell] We decided to open an office in Los Angeles. 48 00:03:34,547 --> 00:03:37,591 But to have more impact on the West Coast, 49 00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:42,347 we needed more involvement in the Black community. 50 00:03:45,266 --> 00:03:48,186 Black folks in Watts needed help. 51 00:03:48,269 --> 00:03:50,355 We had just gone through the Rebellion, 52 00:03:50,438 --> 00:03:52,273 you know, six, seven years before. 53 00:03:52,357 --> 00:03:54,401 [indistinct shouting] 54 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:58,196 [clamoring] 55 00:03:58,863 --> 00:04:01,783 There were whole blocks that had been burned down... 56 00:04:04,536 --> 00:04:08,415 and seven years later they had not been rebuilt. 57 00:04:12,335 --> 00:04:15,588 There's no difference in Watts now, Watts '65. 58 00:04:15,672 --> 00:04:17,589 [up-tempo drum line picks up once more] 59 00:04:17,673 --> 00:04:20,468 [Bell] Those people were in pain. 60 00:04:21,678 --> 00:04:24,931 We had an obligation and needed to do something about it. 61 00:04:26,558 --> 00:04:29,227 [Stewart] Al's commitment to the Black community, 62 00:04:29,269 --> 00:04:31,896 he felt like he should give something back 63 00:04:31,938 --> 00:04:35,525 and still conduct business and-and make money. 64 00:04:36,526 --> 00:04:39,863 I understood that he felt he needed to do that. 65 00:04:41,573 --> 00:04:44,200 -[typewriter keys clacking] -[chatter] 66 00:04:44,242 --> 00:04:46,494 [Bell] We decided to put on a concert 67 00:04:46,578 --> 00:04:49,914 at the Los Angeles stadium where the Rams play. 68 00:04:51,624 --> 00:04:54,794 The management at the stadium kinda laughed at us, 69 00:04:54,878 --> 00:04:56,254 "You're some little record company 70 00:04:56,338 --> 00:04:57,922 from out of Memphis, Tennessee. 71 00:04:57,964 --> 00:05:00,508 You wanna rent this stadium to put on a concert? 72 00:05:00,592 --> 00:05:02,135 Who do you say these artists are?" 73 00:05:02,218 --> 00:05:03,345 [laughs] 74 00:05:03,428 --> 00:05:05,764 [funk bass melody playing] 75 00:05:05,847 --> 00:05:08,808 It became, "Let's bring the whole entire roster out there." 76 00:05:08,892 --> 00:05:11,853 And we were promoting the daylights out of it. 77 00:05:13,521 --> 00:05:16,274 [Teddy] Everybody knew Wattstax, Wattstax. 78 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:17,442 We worked on it for months, 79 00:05:17,525 --> 00:05:18,777 and every time you run into anybody, 80 00:05:18,818 --> 00:05:21,321 they'd say, "I'll be there. I'll be there." 81 00:05:23,156 --> 00:05:25,867 [Bell] Now it looks like we may pack this stadium. 82 00:05:25,950 --> 00:05:28,828 So you know how it is when there's a gathering 83 00:05:28,912 --> 00:05:30,455 of more than one of us someplace, 84 00:05:30,538 --> 00:05:31,998 the largest segment of society 85 00:05:32,082 --> 00:05:33,917 begins to kind of wonder, 86 00:05:33,957 --> 00:05:36,378 "Are we gonna have a problem here?" 87 00:05:36,461 --> 00:05:40,090 [mellow, yet driving jazz instrumentals join] 88 00:05:43,551 --> 00:05:47,806 [Teddy] The LAPD wanted to patrol the Coliseum. 89 00:05:49,683 --> 00:05:52,977 Nobody liked the Los Angeles Police Department. 90 00:05:53,019 --> 00:05:54,646 [solemn string music playing] 91 00:05:54,729 --> 00:05:58,233 The Rebellion started because of the LAPD. 92 00:05:58,316 --> 00:06:01,820 [clamoring] 93 00:06:01,861 --> 00:06:06,449 Their hiring practices were to go to the South 94 00:06:06,491 --> 00:06:09,160 and get police from there. 95 00:06:09,494 --> 00:06:10,995 So they hated us in the South, 96 00:06:11,037 --> 00:06:12,997 and then they brought 'em here to the West. 97 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:17,585 [man 1] You got police that are antagonistic, 98 00:06:17,669 --> 00:06:22,215 who want to do some cock waving kind of thing 99 00:06:22,298 --> 00:06:23,758 and provoke somebody. 100 00:06:25,677 --> 00:06:28,847 [Teddy] Larry Shaw and Al Bell said, 101 00:06:28,930 --> 00:06:32,558 "No, we were hiring our own security." 102 00:06:33,393 --> 00:06:35,520 [Clark] You just eliminated a huge problem. 103 00:06:35,603 --> 00:06:37,480 No police, no conflict. 104 00:06:37,522 --> 00:06:41,026 ["We The People" by The Staple Singers playing] 105 00:06:47,449 --> 00:06:49,451 ♪ We the people ♪ 106 00:06:49,534 --> 00:06:50,869 ♪ Hey, now ♪ 107 00:06:51,369 --> 00:06:53,538 ♪ Got to make the world go 'round ♪ 108 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:56,249 ♪ Got to make the world now ♪ 109 00:06:56,332 --> 00:06:58,835 ♪ We the people ♪ 110 00:06:58,877 --> 00:07:00,337 ♪ Yeah ♪ 111 00:07:00,378 --> 00:07:02,505 ♪ Got to make the world go 'round ♪ 112 00:07:02,547 --> 00:07:04,966 ♪ Got to make the world now ♪ 113 00:07:05,884 --> 00:07:08,595 [Porter] Let's bring together our people. 114 00:07:08,678 --> 00:07:10,930 Let's show ourselves that we can do something for each other 115 00:07:11,014 --> 00:07:14,392 and not be dependent upon anybody, and we can do it. 116 00:07:14,476 --> 00:07:18,480 ♪ But we all are living on blood, so ♪ 117 00:07:18,563 --> 00:07:22,275 ♪ Don't let nobody slip into the mud ♪ 118 00:07:22,359 --> 00:07:25,737 ♪ 'Cause we the people ♪ 119 00:07:26,237 --> 00:07:27,489 ♪ You tell 'em ♪ 120 00:07:27,572 --> 00:07:29,741 ♪ Got to make the world go 'round ♪ 121 00:07:29,824 --> 00:07:31,451 ♪ Got to make the world now ♪ 122 00:07:31,534 --> 00:07:33,787 [Bell] We decided that we were going to 123 00:07:33,870 --> 00:07:36,581 charge the people just one dollar. 124 00:07:36,915 --> 00:07:41,336 And we committed to give a portion of the proceeds 125 00:07:41,419 --> 00:07:44,297 to all of our civil rights organizations 126 00:07:44,381 --> 00:07:46,174 and our civic organizations. 127 00:07:46,257 --> 00:07:47,676 ♪ Everybody sweatin' ♪ 128 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:49,427 ♪ What you give is what you get ♪ 129 00:07:49,469 --> 00:07:52,180 -[song fades] -[chatter] 130 00:07:53,056 --> 00:07:55,517 [indistinct crew chatter] 131 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:57,602 [Bell] Our music was a reflection 132 00:07:57,644 --> 00:08:00,605 of what goes on in our lives, 133 00:08:00,647 --> 00:08:02,732 and we wanted to show that. 134 00:08:06,111 --> 00:08:09,531 Larry Shaw said, "Let us do a documentary 135 00:08:09,989 --> 00:08:13,493 so that Black people can see themselves." 136 00:08:14,119 --> 00:08:17,414 We brought on David Wolper and Mel Stuart. 137 00:08:18,123 --> 00:08:21,292 The finest documentary people in Hollywood. 138 00:08:22,502 --> 00:08:25,171 But all of the behind-the-camera staff 139 00:08:25,255 --> 00:08:26,548 were all white guys. 140 00:08:26,631 --> 00:08:29,926 No. No. No, we didn't want that. 141 00:08:30,552 --> 00:08:32,511 Larry Shaw had a vision. 142 00:08:32,595 --> 00:08:36,057 He wanted the people that lived and worked in Watts 143 00:08:36,140 --> 00:08:37,851 to speak for theirselves. 144 00:08:37,933 --> 00:08:39,561 [bright, funky instrumentals playing] 145 00:08:39,644 --> 00:08:43,481 And at that time, UCLA had just graduated 146 00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:45,859 a crop of Black filmmakers. 147 00:08:46,234 --> 00:08:48,403 [Clark] African Americans had been pretty much 148 00:08:48,486 --> 00:08:50,447 kept out of the industry. 149 00:08:50,905 --> 00:08:54,492 They needed to find some people who really knew the community. 150 00:08:54,576 --> 00:08:56,578 And that was us, "The Wild Bunch." 151 00:08:56,661 --> 00:08:58,830 [laughs] You know, the-the-the young guys 152 00:08:58,913 --> 00:09:00,749 that lived in South Central LA. 153 00:09:02,334 --> 00:09:04,169 [man 2] I was 20-something. 154 00:09:04,794 --> 00:09:06,921 Was just a young guy with a camera 155 00:09:07,005 --> 00:09:09,841 and happy to have a chance to use a camera. 156 00:09:12,594 --> 00:09:15,680 And I wanted to show how beautiful Black folks were. 157 00:09:17,098 --> 00:09:19,601 [man 3] I was working at a camera shop. 158 00:09:19,684 --> 00:09:22,312 I have quite a meager portfolio, to be honest. 159 00:09:23,313 --> 00:09:28,276 They looked at the portfolio and they said to me, uh, 160 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,613 "We're going with somebody else, but here's some tickets, 161 00:09:31,696 --> 00:09:33,698 and a backstage pass." 162 00:09:35,033 --> 00:09:36,826 [crew member] Camera six, roll nine! 163 00:09:36,868 --> 00:09:39,621 [“Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” by The Dramatics playing] 164 00:09:39,704 --> 00:09:42,290 [woman] Wild sound. Wattstax. 165 00:09:47,170 --> 00:09:49,214 ♪ Some people ♪ 166 00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:51,925 ♪ Are made of plastic ♪ 167 00:09:53,426 --> 00:09:54,678 [Richard Pryor] Over seven years ago, 168 00:09:54,719 --> 00:09:56,262 the people of Watts stood together 169 00:09:56,346 --> 00:09:58,056 and demanded to be heard. 170 00:09:58,098 --> 00:10:02,018 On a Sunday this past August in the Los Angeles Coliseum, 171 00:10:02,060 --> 00:10:04,062 over 100,000 Black people came together 172 00:10:04,145 --> 00:10:06,564 to commemorate that moment in American history. 173 00:10:06,981 --> 00:10:10,026 [Talamon] The atmosphere, it was like a combination 174 00:10:10,068 --> 00:10:14,614 of church, a sporting event, a revival, 175 00:10:14,698 --> 00:10:16,741 and it was nothing but Black people 176 00:10:17,784 --> 00:10:20,286 as far as the eye could see. 177 00:10:20,370 --> 00:10:23,748 -[song fades] -[cheering] 178 00:10:24,666 --> 00:10:28,086 [Jesse Jackson] Today, we are together, 179 00:10:28,670 --> 00:10:32,590 we are unified and on one accord. 180 00:10:33,091 --> 00:10:36,261 But when we are together, we got power, 181 00:10:36,344 --> 00:10:38,680 and we can make decisions. 182 00:10:39,514 --> 00:10:41,933 That is why we gather today, 183 00:10:42,017 --> 00:10:44,686 to celebrate our homecoming 184 00:10:44,769 --> 00:10:47,230 and our own sense of somebodiness. 185 00:10:47,272 --> 00:10:52,694 That is why I challenge you now to stand together, 186 00:10:53,486 --> 00:10:56,531 raise your fists together, 187 00:10:57,282 --> 00:11:02,370 and engage in our national Black litany. 188 00:11:03,496 --> 00:11:05,874 -I am... -[crowd] I am... 189 00:11:05,957 --> 00:11:08,293 -...somebody. -[crowd] ...somebody. 190 00:11:08,335 --> 00:11:09,878 -I am... -I am... 191 00:11:09,961 --> 00:11:11,796 -...somebody. -...somebody. 192 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,299 -I may be poor... -I may be poor... 193 00:11:14,382 --> 00:11:16,009 -...but I am... -...but I am... 194 00:11:16,092 --> 00:11:17,761 -...somebody! -...somebody! 195 00:11:17,802 --> 00:11:19,471 -I am... -I am... 196 00:11:19,512 --> 00:11:20,764 -...Black... -...Black... 197 00:11:20,805 --> 00:11:22,307 -...beautiful... -...beautiful... 198 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:23,892 -...proud! -...proud! 199 00:11:23,975 --> 00:11:26,644 -I must be respected! -I must be respected! 200 00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:30,148 -I must be protected! -I must be protected! 201 00:11:30,190 --> 00:11:31,316 What time is it? 202 00:11:32,150 --> 00:11:34,611 When we stand together, what time is it? 203 00:11:34,652 --> 00:11:36,029 Nation Time! 204 00:11:36,112 --> 00:11:38,823 When we say no more, "Yessir, boss," what time is it? 205 00:11:39,741 --> 00:11:40,909 What time is it? 206 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:43,203 What time is it? 207 00:11:44,329 --> 00:11:45,622 [applause] 208 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:47,874 [man 4] "...Freedom Sweet and wonderful to say. 209 00:11:48,333 --> 00:11:52,087 On my heartstrings freedom sings All day, every day." 210 00:11:52,170 --> 00:11:54,923 "And there are words like Liberty 211 00:11:55,006 --> 00:11:57,175 that almost make me cry. 212 00:11:57,258 --> 00:12:00,762 If you had known what I know, you would know why." 213 00:12:00,845 --> 00:12:03,515 [crowd chatter] 214 00:12:05,016 --> 00:12:06,851 [Carla] I had been at a stadium before, 215 00:12:06,935 --> 00:12:08,937 but I had no idea how many people were up there. 216 00:12:09,020 --> 00:12:10,522 It was just... when they told me 217 00:12:10,563 --> 00:12:13,400 it was over a hundred thousand people, I was like... "Wow." 218 00:12:13,483 --> 00:12:15,652 [announcer] Carla Thomas! 219 00:12:16,277 --> 00:12:20,240 [Carla] By the time I sang, I was hyped up on adrenaline. 220 00:12:21,408 --> 00:12:22,867 ♪ Hey, boy ♪ 221 00:12:22,951 --> 00:12:25,078 ♪ We're drifting apart ♪ 222 00:12:25,495 --> 00:12:29,666 ♪ We keep breaking each other's hearts ♪ 223 00:12:29,708 --> 00:12:33,712 ♪ Tell me, how long can this go on ♪ 224 00:12:33,753 --> 00:12:36,881 ♪ Before all our love is gone ♪ 225 00:12:36,965 --> 00:12:38,925 ♪ Tell me now ♪ 226 00:12:39,009 --> 00:12:42,512 ♪ Can we pick up the pieces ♪ 227 00:12:42,554 --> 00:12:46,099 ♪ Can we pick up the pieces ♪ 228 00:12:46,182 --> 00:12:49,394 ♪ And start all over ♪ 229 00:12:49,436 --> 00:12:50,687 ♪ Yeah ♪ 230 00:12:51,062 --> 00:12:54,858 ♪ I know we can make it ♪ 231 00:12:55,233 --> 00:12:59,070 ♪ This time, we can go all of the way ♪ 232 00:12:59,154 --> 00:13:02,574 ♪ 'Cause I realize the cost of losing you ♪ 233 00:13:02,657 --> 00:13:04,242 ♪ Is too high a price... ♪ 234 00:13:04,325 --> 00:13:08,872 [Carla] When we first got there, it was kinda unreal. 235 00:13:08,913 --> 00:13:10,790 I just thought it was just so wonderful 236 00:13:10,874 --> 00:13:12,834 because I was there 237 00:13:12,917 --> 00:13:14,836 when Stax actually started. 238 00:13:14,919 --> 00:13:18,423 ♪ Let's start all over ♪ 239 00:13:18,506 --> 00:13:21,551 ♪ Yeah, start all over ♪ 240 00:13:21,593 --> 00:13:23,428 [Carla] It was our realization, 241 00:13:23,511 --> 00:13:27,432 the importance of Stax to the Black community. 242 00:13:29,517 --> 00:13:33,396 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 243 00:13:33,438 --> 00:13:34,439 All right! 244 00:13:35,231 --> 00:13:36,941 ["Lying on the Truth" playing] 245 00:13:36,983 --> 00:13:39,027 ♪ Tell the truth on our equal rights ♪ 246 00:13:39,944 --> 00:13:44,949 ♪ Yeah! You been lyin' on the truth ♪ 247 00:13:47,077 --> 00:13:50,246 Al, this is a very important precedent that's being set today 248 00:13:50,288 --> 00:13:51,915 with Black enterprise being involved 249 00:13:51,956 --> 00:13:53,583 in a tremendous community project. 250 00:13:53,625 --> 00:13:55,293 Uh, do you think there's enough of this? 251 00:13:55,377 --> 00:13:56,795 Would you like to see more of it? 252 00:13:56,878 --> 00:13:58,630 Oh, I think there should be more of that. 253 00:13:58,713 --> 00:14:01,257 Uh, I hope that today is just an example 254 00:14:01,299 --> 00:14:03,301 to all Black businessmen, and other businessmen, 255 00:14:03,343 --> 00:14:05,345 of how we should begin to participate 256 00:14:05,428 --> 00:14:07,389 and-and-and put money back into the community 257 00:14:07,472 --> 00:14:09,140 rather than through token presentations 258 00:14:09,182 --> 00:14:10,809 that we've been doing in the past. 259 00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:13,353 I hope today is just a-a-an example 260 00:14:13,436 --> 00:14:15,689 and merely beginning of what it's really all about. 261 00:14:15,772 --> 00:14:18,108 ["Son of Shaft" performed by The Bar-Kays] 262 00:14:18,149 --> 00:14:22,320 Right now, we'd like to give everybody a chance 263 00:14:22,904 --> 00:14:23,988 to get down. 264 00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:27,158 [funky instrumentals playing] 265 00:14:48,221 --> 00:14:51,182 ♪ Whoa-oh-whoa-oh-whoa ♪ 266 00:14:52,058 --> 00:14:54,519 ♪ Whoa-ho-ho-ho ♪ 267 00:14:55,979 --> 00:14:58,023 [falsetto] ♪ Woo-hoo ♪ 268 00:14:58,106 --> 00:15:01,735 ♪ I was born and raised on 45th Street ♪ 269 00:15:01,818 --> 00:15:05,864 ♪ Had the problems of a man at the age of three ♪ 270 00:15:05,947 --> 00:15:09,868 ♪ Now, my daddy's bad, I've been told ♪ 271 00:15:09,909 --> 00:15:13,455 ♪ So my family name I must uphold ♪ 272 00:15:13,538 --> 00:15:17,334 ♪ I love by the clock and I live by the gun ♪ 273 00:15:17,375 --> 00:15:21,379 ♪ You ever met the father, you met his son ♪ 274 00:15:21,463 --> 00:15:22,505 ♪ Woo! ♪ 275 00:15:25,425 --> 00:15:26,885 ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 276 00:15:27,218 --> 00:15:30,513 [reporter] As a sister living in this community, 277 00:15:30,555 --> 00:15:32,640 what does this day mean to you? 278 00:15:33,224 --> 00:15:34,184 Oh, wow. 279 00:15:34,225 --> 00:15:36,269 It's a day in which I'm given a chance 280 00:15:36,353 --> 00:15:40,940 to represent people that I love, people that I'm proud of. 281 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,780 Dad felt it important to get the man on the street, 282 00:15:46,863 --> 00:15:48,948 the woman on the... in the beauty shop, 283 00:15:49,032 --> 00:15:52,243 the man at the restaurant, the man on the stoop, 284 00:15:52,327 --> 00:15:58,540 all of these different aspects of Black people in their lives. 285 00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:03,546 Black is beautiful because it feels so good. 286 00:16:04,255 --> 00:16:06,716 People have to have something that they can relate to 287 00:16:06,758 --> 00:16:07,926 for right now. 288 00:16:07,967 --> 00:16:09,135 I don't mean tomorrow, 289 00:16:09,219 --> 00:16:10,637 for right now, dig what I'm saying? 290 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:11,763 [falsetto] ♪ Woo! ♪ 291 00:16:17,268 --> 00:16:19,771 ♪ Good God Almighty ♪ 292 00:16:20,188 --> 00:16:23,441 [falsetto] ♪ Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo! ♪ 293 00:16:23,942 --> 00:16:25,944 ♪ Don't mess with me ♪ 294 00:16:26,361 --> 00:16:29,614 I wanted Black people to be able to look into that mirror 295 00:16:29,656 --> 00:16:31,950 and see themselves positively, 296 00:16:32,033 --> 00:16:33,451 and I wanted white people to be able 297 00:16:33,493 --> 00:16:35,120 to look through a little peephole 298 00:16:35,203 --> 00:16:37,622 and be able to look inside and see just a little bit 299 00:16:37,664 --> 00:16:39,082 of what we were all about. 300 00:16:41,459 --> 00:16:44,295 ♪ Lord knows I'm the son ♪ 301 00:16:44,879 --> 00:16:48,466 ♪ Hee-hee! ♪ 302 00:16:51,136 --> 00:16:53,263 ♪ Woo, oh! ♪ 303 00:16:54,055 --> 00:16:56,808 [funky instrumentals continue] 304 00:16:57,684 --> 00:17:00,145 [Bell] There's a lot more than putting out music. 305 00:17:00,937 --> 00:17:03,606 -[song ends] -[cheering, applause] 306 00:17:05,525 --> 00:17:06,651 Hey! 307 00:17:06,734 --> 00:17:09,654 -Hey! -Hey! 308 00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:12,365 -Hey! -Hey! 309 00:17:13,157 --> 00:17:15,743 -Can I ask you something? -[crowd shouts] 310 00:17:16,118 --> 00:17:17,954 Ain't I'm clean? 311 00:17:17,996 --> 00:17:19,622 [screaming, cheering] 312 00:17:19,664 --> 00:17:21,249 [comical kick drum hit] 313 00:17:21,790 --> 00:17:22,876 [whimsical guitar riff] 314 00:17:22,959 --> 00:17:24,794 Oh! 315 00:17:25,795 --> 00:17:29,507 ["Funky Chicken" playing] 316 00:17:36,931 --> 00:17:38,516 Y'all come on in now! 317 00:17:39,309 --> 00:17:40,810 Come right on down front! 318 00:17:41,853 --> 00:17:43,563 I got somethin' I wanna show you. 319 00:17:44,522 --> 00:17:46,691 I'm talking about the Funky Chicken. 320 00:17:46,733 --> 00:17:48,526 [Clark] The deal was, is that 321 00:17:48,902 --> 00:17:50,612 no one's supposed to get on the field. 322 00:17:50,695 --> 00:17:52,364 [Rufus] Y'all ready? 323 00:17:52,864 --> 00:17:54,449 ♪ Do the funky chicken now ♪ 324 00:17:54,532 --> 00:17:56,117 ♪ Do the funky chicken now ♪ 325 00:17:56,534 --> 00:17:57,577 ♪ Do the funky chicken now ♪ 326 00:17:57,660 --> 00:17:59,287 And he invites everybody in on the field 327 00:17:59,371 --> 00:18:02,040 and they're dancing and having a good time, you know. 328 00:18:02,374 --> 00:18:03,792 ♪ Do the funky chicken now ♪ 329 00:18:04,250 --> 00:18:06,169 ♪ Oh, oh ♪ 330 00:18:06,211 --> 00:18:07,796 ♪ Do the funky chicken now ♪ 331 00:18:08,672 --> 00:18:10,256 ["Funky Chicken" continues] 332 00:18:10,340 --> 00:18:12,467 [Bell] Los Angeles Rams are gonna play... 333 00:18:12,884 --> 00:18:14,386 [Rufus] ♪ Woo! ♪ 334 00:18:15,053 --> 00:18:17,764 [Bell] ...so a problem was brewing. 335 00:18:18,473 --> 00:18:21,267 [Clark] And then, Larry Shaw whispers something in his ear, 336 00:18:21,768 --> 00:18:23,687 and what he's saying is, "Get 'em off the field." 337 00:18:23,728 --> 00:18:26,564 [Rufus] Come on, y'all, please go to the stand. 338 00:18:27,399 --> 00:18:30,568 Please with a capital P-P. 339 00:18:31,111 --> 00:18:32,946 [Bell] God bless the talents of Rufus Thomas. 340 00:18:33,029 --> 00:18:35,240 He was able to control that crowd. 341 00:18:35,323 --> 00:18:36,324 [Rufus] That's right. 342 00:18:36,408 --> 00:18:37,909 Might be a little slow, 343 00:18:37,951 --> 00:18:39,494 but you just got to go. 344 00:18:39,577 --> 00:18:42,914 Don't jump the fence because it don't make sense. 345 00:18:42,956 --> 00:18:45,875 [clamoring] 346 00:18:46,501 --> 00:18:48,628 [Clark] And there's one guy... [laughs] 347 00:18:48,712 --> 00:18:51,589 ...that's on the field and he's acting a fool. 348 00:18:51,673 --> 00:18:53,842 You know, he's doing all kinds of crazy stuff. 349 00:18:53,883 --> 00:18:55,093 [Rufus] He don't mean to be mean, 350 00:18:55,135 --> 00:18:56,803 he just want be seen. 351 00:18:58,054 --> 00:19:00,098 Yeah, that's a brother, all right. 352 00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:02,267 [laughter] 353 00:19:02,350 --> 00:19:04,060 Somebody told him he's cute 354 00:19:04,102 --> 00:19:06,396 and he want to try to show it off out there. 355 00:19:07,105 --> 00:19:08,982 [Clark] It could've been a conflict, 356 00:19:09,357 --> 00:19:12,110 but there were no police inside. 357 00:19:12,193 --> 00:19:13,611 [Rufus] Now, y'all get him off. 358 00:19:13,653 --> 00:19:15,447 Y'all go out there and get him off. 359 00:19:15,530 --> 00:19:18,033 Get him off, y'all. Get him on off. 360 00:19:18,116 --> 00:19:19,451 Get him on off. 361 00:19:19,492 --> 00:19:22,078 And finally, the kids rush out, 362 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:23,455 and he doesn't want to go, 363 00:19:23,538 --> 00:19:25,457 but they don't beat him up or they're not violent. 364 00:19:25,498 --> 00:19:27,917 It's just like the power of this... this loving mob 365 00:19:27,959 --> 00:19:31,796 just swept him off the field in a very nice way. [laughs] 366 00:19:32,297 --> 00:19:35,550 It also kinda showed the unity that was there that day. 367 00:19:36,676 --> 00:19:38,887 [Carla] Dad was amazing. 368 00:19:39,304 --> 00:19:41,264 And then I asked him, I said, 369 00:19:41,306 --> 00:19:43,016 "Can we go sit out in the audience?" 370 00:19:43,099 --> 00:19:45,769 He said, "Are you crazy? No!" 371 00:19:45,810 --> 00:19:47,187 They wouldn't let us go out. 372 00:19:47,270 --> 00:19:49,939 Because I wanted to see, as the sun was going down, 373 00:19:49,981 --> 00:19:51,107 I wanted to see Isaac. 374 00:19:51,149 --> 00:19:53,443 [engine revving] 375 00:19:53,485 --> 00:19:55,612 [Jesse Jackson] Brothers and sisters, 376 00:19:56,488 --> 00:20:00,742 we are now about to bring forth 377 00:20:01,659 --> 00:20:03,620 a bad... 378 00:20:04,746 --> 00:20:06,664 bad... 379 00:20:06,706 --> 00:20:10,210 bad brother, 380 00:20:10,293 --> 00:20:13,588 Isaac Hayes. 381 00:20:13,672 --> 00:20:15,256 Yeah! 382 00:20:15,757 --> 00:20:17,050 Yes! 383 00:20:17,133 --> 00:20:19,010 ["Theme From Shaft" playing] 384 00:20:19,094 --> 00:20:20,720 Yes! 385 00:20:23,765 --> 00:20:25,725 Yeah, yeah, yeah! 386 00:20:27,227 --> 00:20:29,688 ["Theme From Shaft" continues] 387 00:20:39,906 --> 00:20:41,449 Yes! 388 00:20:44,327 --> 00:20:46,705 [Talamon] So here I am as a young photographer, 389 00:20:46,746 --> 00:20:49,708 just trying to make his way in the world. 390 00:20:51,543 --> 00:20:54,671 So I decided I needed to get up on that platform. 391 00:20:57,090 --> 00:20:59,342 [cacophonous screaming] 392 00:21:00,260 --> 00:21:01,803 Yeah, yeah, yeah! 393 00:21:02,846 --> 00:21:04,097 Yeah, yeah! 394 00:21:04,556 --> 00:21:06,558 [Talamon] They had hired, you know, 395 00:21:06,599 --> 00:21:09,310 the slabs of beef brothers, the big, the big brothers, 396 00:21:09,394 --> 00:21:11,271 but they weren't really security. 397 00:21:11,938 --> 00:21:16,151 So I was able to waltz right up the stairway. 398 00:21:16,818 --> 00:21:20,947 I had zero credentials to be on that stage. 399 00:21:22,449 --> 00:21:26,286 I was just there by sheer luck and a little audacity. 400 00:21:26,786 --> 00:21:29,247 And I'm a foot away from Isaac Hayes 401 00:21:29,330 --> 00:21:31,082 in front of everybody. 402 00:21:31,916 --> 00:21:33,626 ♪ Soulsville ♪ 403 00:21:33,710 --> 00:21:36,921 ["Soulsville" by Isaac Hayes playing] 404 00:21:40,467 --> 00:21:42,469 ♪ Black man ♪ 405 00:21:42,552 --> 00:21:44,137 ♪ Born free ♪ 406 00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:47,974 ♪ At least that's the way it's supposed to be ♪ 407 00:21:48,058 --> 00:21:52,228 ♪ The chains that bind him are hard to see ♪ 408 00:21:52,270 --> 00:21:55,357 ♪ Unless you take this walk with me ♪ 409 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,275 ♪ Ooh ♪ 410 00:21:57,317 --> 00:22:00,070 ♪ The place where he lives ♪ 411 00:22:00,487 --> 00:22:03,323 ♪ Has got plenty of names ♪ 412 00:22:03,740 --> 00:22:07,619 ♪ Slum, ghetto, and Black belt ♪ 413 00:22:08,286 --> 00:22:10,622 ♪ They are one and the same ♪ 414 00:22:10,663 --> 00:22:13,917 -♪ And I call it ♪ -♪ Soulsville ♪ 415 00:22:14,918 --> 00:22:17,962 [soulful R&B saxophone solo] 416 00:22:20,799 --> 00:22:24,135 Okay, so, this is one of the photographs 417 00:22:24,177 --> 00:22:27,639 I took of Isaac Hayes that night. 418 00:22:29,766 --> 00:22:33,144 Wattstax was, for me, a pivotal moment. 419 00:22:33,645 --> 00:22:36,272 Later, I had the audacity to think 420 00:22:36,314 --> 00:22:38,108 I need to be one of the keepers 421 00:22:38,149 --> 00:22:41,069 of Black folks' history, visual history. 422 00:22:41,695 --> 00:22:43,488 'Cause I wasn't gonna leave it to somebody else. 423 00:22:43,571 --> 00:22:45,198 ♪ Little Black boy ♪ 424 00:22:45,281 --> 00:22:47,033 ♪ Needs a pair of shoes ♪ 425 00:22:48,493 --> 00:22:51,996 ♪ And this is only a part of ♪ 426 00:22:52,038 --> 00:22:53,998 ♪ Soulsville ♪ 427 00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:57,919 [Young] The images, they chose me. 428 00:23:01,881 --> 00:23:05,427 That was my dream, to become a cameraman. 429 00:23:05,510 --> 00:23:08,054 And, uh, it came true. 430 00:23:08,638 --> 00:23:10,765 In ‘74, I went to Zaire, 431 00:23:10,849 --> 00:23:12,726 and I filmed When We Were Kings, 432 00:23:12,809 --> 00:23:15,603 Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. 433 00:23:16,521 --> 00:23:19,899 I got the job because I... they saw Wattstax. 434 00:23:21,443 --> 00:23:24,029 This is what I wanted to do when I was 12 years old 435 00:23:24,070 --> 00:23:25,530 in sixth grade. 436 00:23:26,239 --> 00:23:27,699 I did something. 437 00:23:27,741 --> 00:23:29,868 I did something. You know? 438 00:23:29,909 --> 00:23:32,579 ♪ This misery that we have in ♪ 439 00:23:32,662 --> 00:23:34,372 ♪ Soulsville ♪ 440 00:23:34,414 --> 00:23:36,916 ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ 441 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,462 [Bell] That day that I stood on that stage 442 00:23:40,545 --> 00:23:42,297 in Los Angeles, California, 443 00:23:42,380 --> 00:23:43,965 and saw that place, 444 00:23:44,049 --> 00:23:47,385 which was probably an impossible dream 445 00:23:47,427 --> 00:23:51,222 filled with 112,000 of my people... 446 00:23:51,306 --> 00:23:54,726 ["Soulsville" continues] 447 00:23:54,768 --> 00:23:58,438 The highest day in my life, that day. 448 00:23:58,521 --> 00:24:01,983 I can't even explain how much that meant to me. 449 00:24:03,485 --> 00:24:05,737 ♪ Soulsville ♪ 450 00:24:09,074 --> 00:24:11,659 [song fades] 451 00:24:13,078 --> 00:24:16,081 -[cheering] -[funky drum beat playing] 452 00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:21,002 [upbeat, jazzy instrumentals playing] 453 00:24:26,758 --> 00:24:28,677 [announcer] Two thousand soulful people came together 454 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,262 for the opening of Wattstax. 455 00:24:31,304 --> 00:24:33,640 Wattstax, how about that? 456 00:24:33,723 --> 00:24:36,518 [funky music continues] 457 00:24:41,106 --> 00:24:44,234 [Bowman] The growth at Stax from the beginning of the label 458 00:24:44,275 --> 00:24:47,612 till the Wattstax documentary film 459 00:24:47,654 --> 00:24:49,989 is mind-boggling to comprehend. 460 00:24:51,408 --> 00:24:55,203 Stax, and many people in the music industry, 461 00:24:55,286 --> 00:24:58,039 begin to think in bigger terms for Black artists. 462 00:24:59,290 --> 00:25:03,920 And opens up the door for artists we all know and love. 463 00:25:07,465 --> 00:25:11,636 By '73, Memphis was in the top five 464 00:25:11,678 --> 00:25:14,097 record producing centers in the world. 465 00:25:14,139 --> 00:25:17,809 New York, L.A., London, then Nashville and Memphis, 466 00:25:17,851 --> 00:25:21,688 driven by the success of Stax Records. 467 00:25:22,605 --> 00:25:25,525 [Parker] We were all learning 468 00:25:25,608 --> 00:25:29,320 and developing and growing and changing. 469 00:25:30,864 --> 00:25:34,325 [Robertson] Oh my goodness. Stax, it was excellence. 470 00:25:34,367 --> 00:25:36,161 It was Black excellence. 471 00:25:38,371 --> 00:25:43,668 You got writers, producers, publishers, costume people. 472 00:25:44,419 --> 00:25:47,339 There was a company that was created 473 00:25:47,422 --> 00:25:49,799 as a result of selling 474 00:25:49,841 --> 00:25:54,304 Isaac all of his instruments and sound systems 475 00:25:54,346 --> 00:25:56,014 and stuff for the road. 476 00:25:56,348 --> 00:26:01,561 So Stax was important to the economy of the city. 477 00:26:03,188 --> 00:26:06,358 [Bell] One time, Jim Stewart called the president 478 00:26:06,441 --> 00:26:08,193 of Union Planters National Bank 479 00:26:08,234 --> 00:26:09,569 to borrow a million dollars. 480 00:26:09,652 --> 00:26:11,696 We paid him back in less than a year. 481 00:26:11,738 --> 00:26:14,616 And in Memphis, Tennessee, at that time, 482 00:26:14,699 --> 00:26:15,909 to borrow a million dollars, 483 00:26:15,992 --> 00:26:17,660 especially being a little old record company 484 00:26:17,702 --> 00:26:19,412 in the music business and pay that back, 485 00:26:19,496 --> 00:26:21,039 "What the hell are you all doing?" 486 00:26:21,122 --> 00:26:23,917 [laughs] "We want to do business with y'all." 487 00:26:24,376 --> 00:26:26,711 [commercial announcer] Union Planters National Bank. 488 00:26:26,795 --> 00:26:29,547 To help you get more out of life. 489 00:26:29,923 --> 00:26:33,718 [woman 1] Up until that time, Stax had been under the radar 490 00:26:33,802 --> 00:26:36,221 because it was in an all-Black area. 491 00:26:36,262 --> 00:26:37,681 But word started getting out 492 00:26:37,722 --> 00:26:39,891 that people were making a lot of money over there. 493 00:26:40,725 --> 00:26:42,060 You know, all the artists started buying 494 00:26:42,102 --> 00:26:44,354 all the fancy cars right and left. 495 00:26:46,481 --> 00:26:48,817 King Furs made a lot of money. 496 00:26:48,900 --> 00:26:51,986 I bought my first one there when I was 21. [chuckles] 497 00:26:52,404 --> 00:26:55,240 Local merchants were making money because we spent money. 498 00:26:55,990 --> 00:26:58,410 Whites took the money, but they still resented it. 499 00:26:59,911 --> 00:27:02,956 I remember going to the bank a couple of times, 500 00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:05,083 and, you know, the tellers would have an attitude 501 00:27:05,166 --> 00:27:08,253 seeing a Black person coming in with a nice-sized check. 502 00:27:08,795 --> 00:27:10,755 [Hayes] I had a jeweler 503 00:27:10,797 --> 00:27:13,174 who I brought a lot of business to. 504 00:27:13,925 --> 00:27:16,094 He told my wife, "Isaac is getting too big 505 00:27:16,136 --> 00:27:17,929 for his britches." 506 00:27:17,971 --> 00:27:19,931 [Bowman] For most of white Memphis, 507 00:27:19,973 --> 00:27:22,308 it's like, "How did this happen? 508 00:27:22,392 --> 00:27:25,395 How did... how did these Black people in South Memphis 509 00:27:25,437 --> 00:27:27,480 become this big and have this power?" 510 00:27:28,189 --> 00:27:31,151 [Parker] We were energized, successful, 511 00:27:31,234 --> 00:27:38,283 and there was nothing in Memphis to stop it or to change it. 512 00:27:42,287 --> 00:27:44,956 [indistinct chatter] 513 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:48,752 [Stewart] The early '70s were very good... 514 00:27:50,170 --> 00:27:56,259 but I'd been doing this for 15 years or more, 515 00:27:56,801 --> 00:27:59,137 night and day, seven days a week. 516 00:27:59,471 --> 00:28:01,723 I was getting tired. 517 00:28:02,849 --> 00:28:04,726 [solemn note resonates] 518 00:28:04,809 --> 00:28:07,270 [Bell] One day, Jim said, "Al, 519 00:28:07,854 --> 00:28:09,856 I think we need to sell the company." 520 00:28:09,939 --> 00:28:13,068 [solemn melody plucked softly on strings] 521 00:28:13,151 --> 00:28:16,029 And I said, "No, Jim, we don't need to sell." 522 00:28:18,281 --> 00:28:19,991 I loved this company, 523 00:28:20,408 --> 00:28:22,577 and my personal mission 524 00:28:22,619 --> 00:28:25,372 is to continue to build and grow Stax Records. 525 00:28:26,664 --> 00:28:28,708 I couldn't just give it up. 526 00:28:30,251 --> 00:28:32,879 [Stewart] I understood where Al was coming from, 527 00:28:32,962 --> 00:28:37,175 so I agreed to sell my interest to Al. 528 00:28:38,927 --> 00:28:42,722 [Bell] I needed millions of dollars to buy Jim out. 529 00:28:44,391 --> 00:28:47,268 So I knew I had to get to one of these major companies out here 530 00:28:47,352 --> 00:28:48,687 and get me some help. 531 00:28:48,728 --> 00:28:50,313 [traffic humming] 532 00:28:50,355 --> 00:28:51,731 I went to several companies, 533 00:28:51,815 --> 00:28:54,359 but there was no place in the entire industry 534 00:28:54,401 --> 00:28:58,363 that would offer the kind of money that we needed, 535 00:28:58,446 --> 00:29:00,115 except CBS. 536 00:29:00,949 --> 00:29:02,909 [announcer] The leader in the rock revolution. 537 00:29:02,992 --> 00:29:04,202 CBS Records took in 538 00:29:04,285 --> 00:29:06,788 two billion, seventeen million dollars. 539 00:29:06,871 --> 00:29:08,707 And that's just for records and tapes. 540 00:29:08,790 --> 00:29:10,709 [Bell] Columbia, CBS Records 541 00:29:10,792 --> 00:29:13,837 was the number one recorded music company 542 00:29:13,878 --> 00:29:15,755 in existence in our industry. 543 00:29:15,839 --> 00:29:17,173 They were all power. 544 00:29:17,215 --> 00:29:19,884 The whole of the industry bowed to their knees. 545 00:29:20,969 --> 00:29:22,929 But there was a problem. 546 00:29:23,555 --> 00:29:25,181 The Black segment of the industry 547 00:29:25,265 --> 00:29:27,434 considered CBS racist. 548 00:29:28,476 --> 00:29:32,814 They believed CBS didn't care about them at all. 549 00:29:33,857 --> 00:29:35,900 It was as though they were nonexistent. 550 00:29:35,942 --> 00:29:38,069 [indistinct announcing] 551 00:29:38,153 --> 00:29:41,156 Where I found some peace within me to make this decision 552 00:29:41,197 --> 00:29:42,157 was Clive Davis... 553 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,285 ["Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight playing] 554 00:29:46,995 --> 00:29:48,872 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 555 00:29:48,913 --> 00:29:51,416 ...the president of CBS Records. 556 00:29:52,584 --> 00:29:54,085 ♪ Mr. Big Stuff ♪ 557 00:29:55,378 --> 00:29:58,256 ♪ Who do you think you are, Mr. Big Stuff? ♪ 558 00:29:58,298 --> 00:29:59,966 Clive Davis... 559 00:30:01,718 --> 00:30:03,094 A genius. 560 00:30:04,596 --> 00:30:09,059 I explained to him my mission to expand into the mainstream. 561 00:30:09,434 --> 00:30:13,855 He said, "Well, Al, I think I can get that done. 562 00:30:14,356 --> 00:30:15,607 I think we can do that." 563 00:30:17,442 --> 00:30:18,777 [Bowman] Clive Davis 564 00:30:18,860 --> 00:30:22,947 saw this as making money in the R&B business, 565 00:30:22,989 --> 00:30:26,076 that, at that point, CBS had yet to be making. 566 00:30:26,117 --> 00:30:29,245 The soul music market was substantial, it was growing, 567 00:30:29,621 --> 00:30:35,043 and for CBS, the opportunity with Stax was gold. 568 00:30:35,585 --> 00:30:36,961 [Bell] When we finished talking, 569 00:30:37,003 --> 00:30:39,381 Clive Davis got up, took my arm, said "Al, 570 00:30:39,464 --> 00:30:41,841 we're gonna march through this industry together 571 00:30:41,925 --> 00:30:43,927 and show them what can be done out here." 572 00:30:43,968 --> 00:30:45,929 [upbeat drum beat playing] 573 00:30:45,970 --> 00:30:49,099 [Bowman] The deal that Al Bell and Clive Davis worked out 574 00:30:49,140 --> 00:30:54,145 was the inverse of the typical distribution deal of the time. 575 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,901 CBS could get a 15% royalty of the sales 576 00:30:59,984 --> 00:31:02,153 and Stax would get the rest. 577 00:31:02,195 --> 00:31:05,657 Plus, Stax maintained creative control. 578 00:31:06,574 --> 00:31:09,160 This is a total flip. 579 00:31:09,244 --> 00:31:14,791 The little guy is going to make a lot more than the big guy, 580 00:31:14,833 --> 00:31:16,084 the corporate behemoth. 581 00:31:16,167 --> 00:31:19,462 No large American record corporation 582 00:31:19,504 --> 00:31:22,799 had ever agreed to a deal like this before. 583 00:31:23,633 --> 00:31:28,179 With CBS, things were really, really happening. 584 00:31:29,514 --> 00:31:35,562 Stax got into spoken word, country, rock, show tunes. 585 00:31:35,645 --> 00:31:37,564 Would you welcome Lena Zavaroni? 586 00:31:37,647 --> 00:31:39,065 [applause] 587 00:31:39,149 --> 00:31:41,026 [Robertson] We had signed this little girl. 588 00:31:41,067 --> 00:31:43,403 She had a voice like Ethel Merman. 589 00:31:44,279 --> 00:31:47,365 ♪ Every minute, he gets bolder ♪ 590 00:31:47,449 --> 00:31:50,910 ♪ Now he's leaning on my shoulder ♪ 591 00:31:50,994 --> 00:31:52,537 ♪ Mama... ♪ 592 00:31:53,204 --> 00:31:55,081 We were on top of the world. 593 00:31:55,165 --> 00:31:56,708 We were on top of the world. 594 00:31:56,750 --> 00:31:59,461 ♪ Whoa, Mama ♪ 595 00:31:59,878 --> 00:32:01,880 ♪ He's kissing me ♪ 596 00:32:01,963 --> 00:32:04,299 [Bowman] Al Bell really wanted to make Stax Records 597 00:32:04,382 --> 00:32:07,010 a major label equal to RCA or Columbia. 598 00:32:07,052 --> 00:32:08,219 ♪ Yeah ♪ 599 00:32:08,261 --> 00:32:11,389 [song ends with bright musical flourish] 600 00:32:12,015 --> 00:32:16,436 The Stax-Columbia deal was made October 24, '72... 601 00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:19,647 and by May 1973, 602 00:32:19,731 --> 00:32:22,609 Columbia, which was owned by CBS, 603 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:24,486 had a problem. 604 00:32:24,527 --> 00:32:27,238 [tense string music playing] 605 00:32:29,157 --> 00:32:31,659 [reporter] The story begins with Pat Falcone, 606 00:32:31,743 --> 00:32:33,036 convicted heroin smuggler 607 00:32:33,078 --> 00:32:36,247 with ties to a large New York mafia family. 608 00:32:38,291 --> 00:32:40,919 Patsy Falcone was arrested on a drug charge 609 00:32:41,002 --> 00:32:43,755 and a quantity of heroin was also seized. 610 00:32:43,838 --> 00:32:45,590 In Falcone's address book, 611 00:32:45,632 --> 00:32:48,093 investigators found the name of a high-level executive 612 00:32:48,176 --> 00:32:49,302 at Columbia Records, 613 00:32:49,386 --> 00:32:52,305 a major record company in rock music. 614 00:32:52,889 --> 00:32:54,265 A while later, that executive 615 00:32:54,307 --> 00:32:56,601 and Clive Davis, president of Columbia Records, 616 00:32:56,643 --> 00:32:58,436 were fired on short notice. 617 00:32:58,895 --> 00:33:00,021 [reporter] CBS is saying nothing 618 00:33:00,105 --> 00:33:01,815 about the dismissal of Clive Davis 619 00:33:01,898 --> 00:33:04,526 other than an official statement saying that he's being sued 620 00:33:04,609 --> 00:33:07,153 for misappropriation of company funds. 621 00:33:07,904 --> 00:33:09,572 [Bell] They fired Clive Davis. 622 00:33:10,782 --> 00:33:12,075 I said, "Oh my God." 623 00:33:12,492 --> 00:33:14,577 The only reason I made the deal with CBS 624 00:33:14,619 --> 00:33:17,497 was because of the relationship with Clive Davis. 625 00:33:17,580 --> 00:33:19,541 And now he's gone. 626 00:33:22,419 --> 00:33:23,628 [music fades] 627 00:33:23,712 --> 00:33:29,092 [Bowman] Clive Davis's successors get into office. 628 00:33:29,134 --> 00:33:30,760 They start looking at the various deals 629 00:33:30,802 --> 00:33:32,470 they have with various companies. 630 00:33:33,013 --> 00:33:36,433 They see the Stax deal and think this is nuts. 631 00:33:37,350 --> 00:33:40,395 This little company in this backwater town, 632 00:33:40,478 --> 00:33:43,523 as these New York executives saw it, 633 00:33:44,107 --> 00:33:46,067 had control of everything. 634 00:33:46,985 --> 00:33:49,320 And so they want to renegotiate the deal. 635 00:33:49,738 --> 00:33:51,322 [Bell] I said, "Wait a minute." 636 00:33:51,823 --> 00:33:53,408 I had already signed a deal. 637 00:33:53,491 --> 00:33:54,409 [crackling] 638 00:33:54,492 --> 00:33:55,368 [bee buzzing] 639 00:33:55,452 --> 00:33:56,995 -[rustling] -[horn blaring] 640 00:33:57,078 --> 00:33:58,955 Well, my mind went back to 641 00:33:58,997 --> 00:34:00,874 what Winthrop Rockefeller taught me 642 00:34:00,957 --> 00:34:03,376 about big fish eats the little fish. 643 00:34:05,170 --> 00:34:07,339 They try to copy what you're doing. 644 00:34:07,380 --> 00:34:08,840 [recording technician] Rolling. 645 00:34:08,922 --> 00:34:11,176 [Bell] They come and try to acquire 646 00:34:11,259 --> 00:34:13,178 or purchase what you're doing. 647 00:34:14,387 --> 00:34:16,348 And if they can't do that, then they set out 648 00:34:16,431 --> 00:34:18,475 to put you out of business. 649 00:34:20,351 --> 00:34:23,063 There are rules in this game, in that world. 650 00:34:24,230 --> 00:34:26,232 But I couldn't accept that offer. 651 00:34:26,315 --> 00:34:28,735 -What time is it? -Nation Time! 652 00:34:30,362 --> 00:34:32,739 I don't think Al realized 653 00:34:32,822 --> 00:34:38,786 what he might be up against when you got powerful executives 654 00:34:39,411 --> 00:34:43,541 at a corporation the size and scale of Columbia 655 00:34:43,583 --> 00:34:47,295 who decide, "No, this doesn't work for us. 656 00:34:47,379 --> 00:34:49,172 It's time to renegotiate." 657 00:34:49,214 --> 00:34:50,507 It's like talking to the mafia. 658 00:34:50,547 --> 00:34:52,717 You're not gonna have your kneecaps broken, 659 00:34:52,759 --> 00:34:54,719 but you're gonna say no? 660 00:34:54,761 --> 00:34:55,887 See what happens. 661 00:34:55,929 --> 00:34:59,099 [grim, ominous instrumentals playing] 662 00:35:01,101 --> 00:35:03,311 [man 5] I was in Washington, D.C., 663 00:35:03,395 --> 00:35:07,190 doing promotions, and I went into Waxie Maxie, 664 00:35:08,191 --> 00:35:11,236 ran by a gentleman by the name of Herbie Cohen, 665 00:35:11,319 --> 00:35:15,281 who has 19 stores in the Washington, D.C. area. 666 00:35:15,365 --> 00:35:17,367 And I knew Herbie personally. 667 00:35:19,536 --> 00:35:22,330 So I went through and see the salespeople 668 00:35:22,414 --> 00:35:25,375 getting their aisles together, tidied up and everything. 669 00:35:26,418 --> 00:35:29,087 I said, "How am I doing on that new Johnnie Taylor?" 670 00:35:29,170 --> 00:35:32,090 "We don't have it." "Uh?" 671 00:35:32,173 --> 00:35:34,134 "We don't have Johnnie Taylor." "Hold on, hold on." 672 00:35:34,217 --> 00:35:36,052 So I ran back up and I said, "Well, by the way, 673 00:35:36,094 --> 00:35:37,846 I didn't see the Staple Singers. You got them?" 674 00:35:37,929 --> 00:35:40,598 "We don't have it." "Uh-huh?" 675 00:35:40,682 --> 00:35:43,977 And I said, "Herbie, why you not having no product? 676 00:35:44,060 --> 00:35:45,603 What's going on? You lost your mind?" 677 00:35:45,645 --> 00:35:47,147 And he said, "No, I ain't lost my mind. 678 00:35:47,230 --> 00:35:48,982 You lost yours. 679 00:35:49,065 --> 00:35:51,359 CBS got you on hold." 680 00:35:51,985 --> 00:35:52,986 "On hold?" 681 00:35:53,069 --> 00:35:55,822 [dramatic music playing] 682 00:35:56,448 --> 00:35:59,951 [Robertson] I went to Dallas with the Staple Singers. 683 00:36:00,493 --> 00:36:03,288 They were opening at the Fairmont Hotel. 684 00:36:05,081 --> 00:36:08,293 Actually the first Black act to ever headline 685 00:36:08,335 --> 00:36:10,253 at a Fairmont Hotel. 686 00:36:10,295 --> 00:36:13,798 You got radio spots running and-and-and all of that, 687 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,009 and they're appearing right there in town. 688 00:36:16,092 --> 00:36:19,262 You know, it's a tremendous opportunity to sell product. 689 00:36:19,304 --> 00:36:21,181 So imagine... 690 00:36:21,264 --> 00:36:24,934 imagine my confusion 691 00:36:24,976 --> 00:36:29,397 when I'm talking to the record shops, 692 00:36:29,481 --> 00:36:33,318 and I'm told that, "Well, we love-- 693 00:36:33,401 --> 00:36:36,946 I mean, sales would be going well if we had some product." 694 00:36:37,864 --> 00:36:39,657 "You don't have product? 695 00:36:40,116 --> 00:36:42,452 CBS is our distributor, 696 00:36:42,494 --> 00:36:44,662 there's an office in Dallas, 697 00:36:44,746 --> 00:36:48,291 and you don't have Staple Singers product?" 698 00:36:52,337 --> 00:36:54,589 [Bell] I talked to CBS every week, 699 00:36:54,673 --> 00:36:56,174 two times a week, three times a week, 700 00:36:56,216 --> 00:36:58,009 and always gotta start with, "Al, it's just, 701 00:36:58,051 --> 00:36:59,386 there's no demand for it." 702 00:36:59,469 --> 00:37:00,929 "But there's demand for product in the market!" 703 00:37:01,012 --> 00:37:04,182 "But, Al, we're not getting the demand in here." 704 00:37:04,224 --> 00:37:06,393 So, now keep in mind, CBS is laughing 705 00:37:06,476 --> 00:37:08,353 because they control your money now. 706 00:37:08,395 --> 00:37:11,189 [dramatic music continues] 707 00:37:11,690 --> 00:37:15,527 [Parker] Stax Records is continuing to produce product 708 00:37:15,568 --> 00:37:19,531 at the pace and level that it always has, 709 00:37:19,864 --> 00:37:23,284 but we can't get the product into the marketplace 710 00:37:23,368 --> 00:37:27,247 because CBS controls our distribution. 711 00:37:27,622 --> 00:37:29,165 No product out. 712 00:37:29,541 --> 00:37:32,752 If you press it, they're stockpiling it someplace 713 00:37:32,836 --> 00:37:34,045 where you can't find it. 714 00:37:34,129 --> 00:37:36,047 [traffic humming] 715 00:37:36,131 --> 00:37:38,425 [Bell] CBS got in touch with me 716 00:37:39,342 --> 00:37:41,553 and asked me to have a meeting with me. 717 00:37:42,178 --> 00:37:43,888 [indistinct chatter] 718 00:37:43,972 --> 00:37:48,643 Said to me, "Al, what we'd like to do is make a deal with you 719 00:37:48,727 --> 00:37:53,481 where we will make you vice president of CBS Corporate. 720 00:37:53,565 --> 00:37:56,234 -[echoing pop] -[chatter] 721 00:37:56,276 --> 00:37:58,278 You have access to all the perks 722 00:37:58,361 --> 00:38:01,906 that executives of your stature get inside of CBS. 723 00:38:01,948 --> 00:38:03,742 The corporate jets. 724 00:38:04,409 --> 00:38:06,703 We'd like for you to go around America, speaking 725 00:38:06,745 --> 00:38:09,372 and talking to people about the beautiful relationship 726 00:38:09,414 --> 00:38:11,374 with CBS working with Black people. 727 00:38:11,791 --> 00:38:14,627 And when soul music artists start making demands, 728 00:38:14,711 --> 00:38:18,590 we want you to come in and say, 'CBS is gonna take care of you, 729 00:38:18,673 --> 00:38:21,092 and it can help build your career and build your life.'" 730 00:38:21,134 --> 00:38:25,138 He said, "And you'll be the most powerful Black man in America. 731 00:38:25,221 --> 00:38:26,890 What do you think about that, Al?" 732 00:38:26,931 --> 00:38:29,934 I said, "Let me... let me think about that." 733 00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:33,021 And I disappeared. I left. 734 00:38:33,104 --> 00:38:36,274 [wind whistling] 735 00:38:36,316 --> 00:38:37,859 [car horn honking] 736 00:38:38,443 --> 00:38:44,032 There was a desire to take Stax over, 737 00:38:44,115 --> 00:38:45,784 own it and control it, you know? 738 00:38:45,825 --> 00:38:48,453 "Y'all sing and dance and do what you do best, 739 00:38:48,536 --> 00:38:50,663 and we'll take care of the business." 740 00:38:51,539 --> 00:38:53,583 [Bell] If I'd accepted that deal, 741 00:38:53,625 --> 00:38:56,294 I knew what the end results of that was going to be. 742 00:38:56,336 --> 00:38:57,921 A contemporary slave. 743 00:38:58,922 --> 00:39:01,675 I couldn't take that. I can't sell my soul. 744 00:39:02,175 --> 00:39:08,139 At the same time, I wouldn't knowingly sabotage the careers 745 00:39:08,181 --> 00:39:10,975 of all of those artists at Stax. 746 00:39:12,310 --> 00:39:13,812 So I couldn't do it. 747 00:39:14,938 --> 00:39:16,940 [car horns blaring] 748 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:19,776 [Bowman] Ultimately, 749 00:39:19,818 --> 00:39:23,071 CBS starts withholding money from Stax. 750 00:39:23,988 --> 00:39:28,201 Suddenly, there's no income coming into this company. 751 00:39:28,284 --> 00:39:31,538 [tense string music playing] 752 00:39:31,621 --> 00:39:33,873 [Stewart] I came back to Stax 753 00:39:33,957 --> 00:39:37,669 when the company fell into financial straits. 754 00:39:39,713 --> 00:39:43,341 We, um, had a substantial debt. 755 00:39:43,758 --> 00:39:48,430 So I put what money I'd gotten for the sale 756 00:39:48,513 --> 00:39:50,015 back into the company. 757 00:39:50,098 --> 00:39:51,933 [Bell] We were belt tightening. 758 00:39:52,017 --> 00:39:53,685 We cut back employees. 759 00:39:53,727 --> 00:39:57,689 [Stewart] We cut back until there was almost no overhead. 760 00:39:57,772 --> 00:40:00,442 We had to work from nothing. 761 00:40:00,734 --> 00:40:03,194 [Bell] Yes, it was back scrapping again. 762 00:40:03,820 --> 00:40:06,031 But, you know, you get knocked down, 763 00:40:06,072 --> 00:40:08,867 the challenge is get back up. That's how you stay in the game. 764 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,662 [Manuel] During that time, Al Bell was inspirational. 765 00:40:13,580 --> 00:40:16,624 Al, you know, was gonna find a way. 766 00:40:17,792 --> 00:40:20,253 [Crutcher] We used to call Al Bell the "hype-meister" 767 00:40:21,004 --> 00:40:26,217 because no matter how dark the situation, 768 00:40:26,301 --> 00:40:30,722 Al Bell has an upside to the story. 769 00:40:31,556 --> 00:40:33,224 "It's gonna be okay, Ms. Crutcher. 770 00:40:33,308 --> 00:40:35,518 Don't worry about it. It's all right." 771 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,605 [tense music fades] 772 00:40:40,815 --> 00:40:43,443 [Bell] We needed to get some revenue. 773 00:40:43,526 --> 00:40:47,489 So Jim Stewart came up with the idea of Truth Records, 774 00:40:47,572 --> 00:40:51,659 so we could sell records outside of our deal with CBS 775 00:40:51,743 --> 00:40:53,411 and start making money. 776 00:40:53,495 --> 00:40:56,581 That was Stax refusing to lay down, 777 00:40:56,623 --> 00:40:59,042 refusing to say, "Columbia got my hands tied." 778 00:40:59,084 --> 00:41:02,212 -[recording feedback] - [tech] This is, uh, G. 779 00:41:02,253 --> 00:41:06,383 One, two, three, four. 780 00:41:06,424 --> 00:41:10,261 ["Woman To Woman" by Shirley Brown playing] 781 00:41:12,430 --> 00:41:13,765 [Brown] Hello? 782 00:41:15,266 --> 00:41:17,102 May I speak to Barbara? 783 00:41:19,104 --> 00:41:20,939 Barbara, this is Shirley. 784 00:41:21,356 --> 00:41:22,732 Shirley Brown. 785 00:41:23,274 --> 00:41:24,901 She, uh, she was a great artist. 786 00:41:24,943 --> 00:41:30,115 She... she would've been, you know, an Aretha Franklin. 787 00:41:30,156 --> 00:41:32,742 ♪ Woman to woman ♪ 788 00:41:32,784 --> 00:41:37,205 ♪ If you've ever been in love ♪ 789 00:41:38,456 --> 00:41:40,083 ♪ Then you know ♪ 790 00:41:41,084 --> 00:41:45,005 ♪ How I feel ♪ 791 00:41:45,505 --> 00:41:48,299 ♪ And woman to woman ♪ 792 00:41:48,383 --> 00:41:50,468 ♪ If you were in my shoes... ♪ 793 00:41:50,552 --> 00:41:52,303 To this day, I can see Al sitting there 794 00:41:52,345 --> 00:41:53,638 with Jim in Jim's office, 795 00:41:53,722 --> 00:41:56,307 listening to that groove. You know? 796 00:41:56,349 --> 00:41:59,519 ♪ Same thing too ♪ 797 00:41:59,602 --> 00:42:01,354 [Manuel] Making music like that, 798 00:42:01,438 --> 00:42:03,606 that's what Stax was built on. 799 00:42:03,648 --> 00:42:06,609 ♪ Woman to woman ♪ 800 00:42:06,651 --> 00:42:09,904 ♪ Now can't you see where I'm coming from ♪ 801 00:42:09,988 --> 00:42:13,199 That's a thing of communicating and moving you. 802 00:42:14,701 --> 00:42:16,453 Making you feel something. 803 00:42:16,494 --> 00:42:19,330 ["Woman to Woman" continues] 804 00:42:19,414 --> 00:42:23,376 ♪ Woman to woman ♪ 805 00:42:23,460 --> 00:42:25,086 [Casey Kasem] At number 22, moving up 4, 806 00:42:25,170 --> 00:42:28,089 here's Shirley Brown and "Woman to Woman." 807 00:42:28,173 --> 00:42:30,425 ♪ Woman to woman ♪ 808 00:42:30,508 --> 00:42:34,637 ♪ Now, should I just step aside ♪ 809 00:42:35,388 --> 00:42:42,604 ♪ And let her take what's rightfully mine ♪ 810 00:42:43,688 --> 00:42:48,943 ♪ Oh, woman to woman ♪ 811 00:42:49,736 --> 00:42:53,323 [Stewart] Woman to Woman was the last record I did. 812 00:42:53,365 --> 00:42:55,992 ["Woman to Woman" continues faintly] 813 00:42:56,034 --> 00:42:57,744 Ironically enough... 814 00:42:58,620 --> 00:43:00,580 it was a million seller. 815 00:43:02,290 --> 00:43:03,875 Too little, too late. 816 00:43:03,917 --> 00:43:07,587 -[chatter] -[typewriter keys clacking] 817 00:43:10,215 --> 00:43:13,176 [Bowman] Stax was doing everything they could 818 00:43:13,218 --> 00:43:16,262 to save themselves from economic strangulation 819 00:43:16,346 --> 00:43:17,555 by CBS. 820 00:43:17,931 --> 00:43:20,642 Suddenly, they have this much bigger problem 821 00:43:20,725 --> 00:43:21,893 with Union Planters, 822 00:43:21,976 --> 00:43:24,646 who they've had a long relationship with. 823 00:43:26,231 --> 00:43:29,401 [tense, pensive string instrumentals playing] 824 00:43:30,151 --> 00:43:33,196 By the mid-'70s, this bank was in trouble. 825 00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:38,576 They had made an unbelievable number of shaky loans 826 00:43:39,202 --> 00:43:42,288 and is now being threatened by the U.S. government 827 00:43:42,997 --> 00:43:47,377 to get its ship straightened out or go out of business. 828 00:43:47,419 --> 00:43:50,422 [tense music continues] 829 00:43:51,756 --> 00:43:54,634 And then it's discovered that one of their employees 830 00:43:54,718 --> 00:43:57,095 is forging checks. 831 00:43:57,554 --> 00:43:59,973 He's a loan officer named Joe Harwell, 832 00:44:00,598 --> 00:44:02,934 who just happens to have the Stax account. 833 00:44:03,935 --> 00:44:06,646 [Bell] Joe Harwell, he'd been sent to prison. 834 00:44:07,522 --> 00:44:09,024 I was shocked. 835 00:44:10,608 --> 00:44:11,943 I was shocked. 836 00:44:11,985 --> 00:44:14,571 I thought he was the best banker in the world. 837 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:18,241 When the artists came in town, if they needed to get money, 838 00:44:18,283 --> 00:44:21,286 cash a Stax check, I would send them to him. 839 00:44:23,496 --> 00:44:25,373 [Bowman] The bank has insurance 840 00:44:25,457 --> 00:44:29,836 that basically says if there's fraudulent activity 841 00:44:29,919 --> 00:44:33,256 between a bank employee and a client, 842 00:44:33,298 --> 00:44:38,970 they can collect millions of dollars and save the bank. 843 00:44:42,182 --> 00:44:45,101 The board of directors at Union Planters 844 00:44:45,769 --> 00:44:49,856 is comprised of the financial elite within Memphis. 845 00:44:51,900 --> 00:44:54,402 They were not going to allow that bank to go down 846 00:44:54,486 --> 00:44:56,071 if they could do anything about it. 847 00:44:57,822 --> 00:45:00,825 At Union Planters, the solution is to 848 00:45:00,909 --> 00:45:05,205 connect Joe Harwell to Al Bell. 849 00:45:05,663 --> 00:45:09,501 [explosions echoing] 850 00:45:10,168 --> 00:45:11,920 [Parker] In Memphis, Tennessee, 851 00:45:12,003 --> 00:45:15,173 what better target than a record company 852 00:45:15,256 --> 00:45:17,676 that's predominantly African American 853 00:45:17,717 --> 00:45:20,053 that's making Black people wealthy? 854 00:45:22,430 --> 00:45:26,017 Our fate becomes their cover. 855 00:45:27,018 --> 00:45:28,478 [Bell] Union Planters National Bank 856 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:34,359 filed a 16-count indictment against me and Joe Harwell 857 00:45:34,442 --> 00:45:40,365 for conspiring to defraud the bank of $18.9 million. 858 00:45:41,783 --> 00:45:44,577 Can you imagine that in Memphis, Tennessee? 859 00:45:44,994 --> 00:45:46,871 And a Black man from Arkansas 860 00:45:46,913 --> 00:45:49,749 conspiring to defraud a white bank 861 00:45:49,833 --> 00:45:51,668 of $18.9 million? 862 00:45:51,710 --> 00:45:54,170 Is that believable? [laughs] 863 00:45:54,254 --> 00:45:56,464 Is that believable even? 864 00:45:56,548 --> 00:46:00,176 [solemn music playing faintly] 865 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:06,224 -[traffic humming] -[car horn honking] 866 00:46:07,058 --> 00:46:09,894 [vehicle brakes squealing] 867 00:46:09,936 --> 00:46:11,521 [car horns blaring] 868 00:46:11,563 --> 00:46:13,481 [birds chirping] 869 00:46:15,358 --> 00:46:17,235 [hushed chatter] 870 00:46:17,902 --> 00:46:20,321 When I went to my trial, 871 00:46:20,405 --> 00:46:22,323 I thought based on the way 872 00:46:22,407 --> 00:46:26,953 these attorneys were presenting their case, 873 00:46:27,829 --> 00:46:28,955 that the jurors, 874 00:46:29,039 --> 00:46:32,042 two black people, ten white people, 875 00:46:32,459 --> 00:46:34,169 knowing the world, 876 00:46:34,252 --> 00:46:37,088 that they would do anything other than find me guilty. 877 00:46:37,172 --> 00:46:40,258 -[grim instrumentals playing] -[insects chirring] 878 00:46:42,260 --> 00:46:44,596 I left the courtroom that first day 879 00:46:46,097 --> 00:46:48,808 and went back over there on South Parkway 880 00:46:49,434 --> 00:46:51,811 to my back guest bedroom, 881 00:46:52,896 --> 00:46:56,274 got on my knees beside the bed, and I opened a drawer. 882 00:46:57,025 --> 00:46:59,152 My mind was I needed something, 883 00:46:59,235 --> 00:47:02,113 and in that drawer was my Bible... 884 00:47:03,239 --> 00:47:04,616 and my .38. 885 00:47:04,949 --> 00:47:08,328 [unsettling string chord joins] 886 00:47:12,707 --> 00:47:14,417 And as I looked at it, 887 00:47:14,959 --> 00:47:17,796 I just grabbed my Bible, took it out, 888 00:47:17,879 --> 00:47:19,756 stayed on my knees, 889 00:47:19,798 --> 00:47:23,093 and I went to my Garden of Gethsemane. 890 00:47:24,302 --> 00:47:26,971 Not my will, but Thy will be done. 891 00:47:30,058 --> 00:47:32,018 And made up my mind that night, 892 00:47:32,102 --> 00:47:35,563 if they are successful prosecuting me, 893 00:47:38,024 --> 00:47:40,610 then I'll run this business going forth 894 00:47:40,652 --> 00:47:42,570 and rebuild it from jail. 895 00:47:42,612 --> 00:47:45,240 [music ends with echoing drum beat] 896 00:47:47,492 --> 00:47:51,955 If the only demon 897 00:47:53,081 --> 00:47:57,210 in this situation that Al Bell had been fighting 898 00:47:57,669 --> 00:47:59,879 had been criminal, 899 00:47:59,963 --> 00:48:02,048 that would've been one thing. 900 00:48:02,132 --> 00:48:06,469 But he was fighting the most insidious of all demons, 901 00:48:06,511 --> 00:48:08,388 and that's racism. 902 00:48:08,930 --> 00:48:11,391 He-- It was bigger than Al Bell. 903 00:48:11,474 --> 00:48:15,895 Al Bell just happened to be the owner and face 904 00:48:15,979 --> 00:48:20,692 of what it was that Memphis was trying to kill. 905 00:48:23,194 --> 00:48:25,238 [Stewart] All the charges against Al 906 00:48:25,321 --> 00:48:27,866 caused us to lose credibility. 907 00:48:27,949 --> 00:48:30,785 Nobody wanted to have anything to do with Stax. 908 00:48:31,286 --> 00:48:34,080 We could not overcome all these things 909 00:48:34,164 --> 00:48:36,458 coming at us from all sides. 910 00:48:37,917 --> 00:48:42,213 [somber string music playing] 911 00:48:45,592 --> 00:48:47,719 [Manuel] I realized the company was in trouble 912 00:48:47,802 --> 00:48:49,679 when I went to cash my check. 913 00:48:51,264 --> 00:48:53,183 I was told, "We've been instructed, uh, 914 00:48:53,224 --> 00:48:55,643 that we can't take your payroll checks." 915 00:48:56,394 --> 00:48:59,564 Then it got so bad that uh, uh, 916 00:48:59,647 --> 00:49:01,316 we were getting paid in cash. 917 00:49:02,484 --> 00:49:05,236 [Porter] I was writing money out of my checking account, 918 00:49:05,278 --> 00:49:06,821 giving to people, because they'd say, 919 00:49:06,905 --> 00:49:08,865 "I can't pay my house note. 920 00:49:08,907 --> 00:49:10,158 I can't pay this, I can't pay." 921 00:49:10,241 --> 00:49:12,619 And me giving people money 922 00:49:13,370 --> 00:49:16,039 to take care of some of their responsibilities. 923 00:49:18,208 --> 00:49:20,126 [Parker] Bills piling up. 924 00:49:20,919 --> 00:49:22,754 No money coming in. 925 00:49:23,254 --> 00:49:26,174 Employees and artists leaving. 926 00:49:26,925 --> 00:49:28,885 [Robertson] One day, I got called 927 00:49:28,927 --> 00:49:30,929 into Deanie's office. 928 00:49:31,429 --> 00:49:36,476 She said, "I've got to cut my department in half 929 00:49:36,559 --> 00:49:38,103 immediately, 930 00:49:38,186 --> 00:49:40,480 and I'm starting with you 931 00:49:40,563 --> 00:49:44,567 because in six months, none of us are gonna be here." 932 00:49:46,778 --> 00:49:48,488 [Douglas] In the final days, 933 00:49:48,571 --> 00:49:51,783 I-I don't think there was more than 20 people 934 00:49:51,866 --> 00:49:54,577 left aboard ship to work. 935 00:49:55,453 --> 00:49:57,122 [Manning] Al was trying to work things out, 936 00:49:57,205 --> 00:49:59,332 get some money from here, some money from there. 937 00:49:59,416 --> 00:50:03,253 He definitely believed he could keep Stax going 938 00:50:03,294 --> 00:50:06,423 if we did one more great record or one more thing. 939 00:50:06,464 --> 00:50:09,050 [traffic humming] 940 00:50:12,595 --> 00:50:16,641 [Bell] I was in my office on McLemore, 941 00:50:17,267 --> 00:50:21,646 and I got a telephone call from the receptionist. 942 00:50:22,272 --> 00:50:24,774 She said, uh, "Mr. Bell, 943 00:50:24,816 --> 00:50:27,736 there are some police officers 944 00:50:28,403 --> 00:50:30,947 and people from Union Planters National Bank 945 00:50:30,989 --> 00:50:33,074 that want to meet with you." 946 00:50:33,158 --> 00:50:36,327 [grim, ominous music playing] 947 00:50:38,204 --> 00:50:40,999 I walked up, and then the officer 948 00:50:41,082 --> 00:50:42,959 from Union Planters National Bank, 949 00:50:43,001 --> 00:50:46,629 he said, "Take us to the master tape vault. 950 00:50:46,671 --> 00:50:48,131 We want the master tapes." 951 00:50:48,173 --> 00:50:50,592 I said, "What the heck are you talking about?" 952 00:50:50,967 --> 00:50:54,220 I looked and saw a Black federal marshal, 953 00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:58,016 and I said to him, "What's going on, man? 954 00:50:58,099 --> 00:50:59,893 I mean, what is this for?" 955 00:51:00,268 --> 00:51:03,688 He said, "Well, Al, Union Planters National Bank 956 00:51:03,772 --> 00:51:06,316 brought an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding 957 00:51:06,399 --> 00:51:07,525 against you, 958 00:51:07,567 --> 00:51:09,861 and I have to serve you with that. 959 00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:12,489 They want the master tapes." 960 00:51:15,533 --> 00:51:19,371 I was really getting upset, really getting upset. 961 00:51:20,330 --> 00:51:24,167 Our most important asset as a recorded music company 962 00:51:24,209 --> 00:51:26,503 is those masters. 963 00:51:28,713 --> 00:51:35,679 At that point, I really was ready to go off. 964 00:51:38,431 --> 00:51:40,600 And then the Black federal marshal, 965 00:51:41,184 --> 00:51:42,894 he said quietly, 966 00:51:43,561 --> 00:51:48,066 "Be cool. They came to off you. Be cool." 967 00:51:48,149 --> 00:51:51,236 I said, "What?" He said, "They came to off you, Al." 968 00:51:51,528 --> 00:51:53,154 I said, "Whoa. 969 00:51:54,030 --> 00:51:55,990 I'm facing death out there?" 970 00:51:56,032 --> 00:51:59,160 -[solemn string music playing] -[clock ticking] 971 00:52:00,161 --> 00:52:04,708 I turned around, and I start walking down the halls 972 00:52:04,749 --> 00:52:08,837 and back toward Studio B 973 00:52:09,379 --> 00:52:11,548 and the master tape vault, 974 00:52:12,716 --> 00:52:14,801 and showed them how to open the vault, 975 00:52:14,884 --> 00:52:16,386 and let them in. 976 00:52:16,761 --> 00:52:20,306 [solemn music continues] 977 00:52:24,060 --> 00:52:28,481 [Parker] Everything significant 978 00:52:28,565 --> 00:52:30,358 that we achieved 979 00:52:30,442 --> 00:52:32,861 was in those masters. 980 00:52:36,197 --> 00:52:38,575 [music fades] 981 00:52:39,617 --> 00:52:43,621 I remember calling up top business people. 982 00:52:43,955 --> 00:52:46,291 I thought, look, I'm a white guy, 983 00:52:46,332 --> 00:52:48,460 and I knew a few people that owned certain things, 984 00:52:48,543 --> 00:52:50,211 I thought, maybe they'll listen to me. 985 00:52:50,295 --> 00:52:53,256 And I remember going to several people and saying, 986 00:52:53,298 --> 00:52:56,676 "Look, Stax is an institution. 987 00:52:56,760 --> 00:52:59,054 Why don't we save it?" 988 00:52:59,137 --> 00:53:00,722 And nobody cared. 989 00:53:00,805 --> 00:53:03,516 People with all the money in the world, 990 00:53:03,600 --> 00:53:06,186 who could have done something, 991 00:53:06,269 --> 00:53:07,729 two or three of 'em could have got together, 992 00:53:07,812 --> 00:53:10,273 not even missed the money, and-and saved it. 993 00:53:10,315 --> 00:53:11,483 But no one was interested. 994 00:53:11,566 --> 00:53:14,486 I couldn't get anybody interested. 995 00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:18,531 [mournful string music playing] 996 00:53:25,413 --> 00:53:28,583 -[rustling] -[banging] 997 00:53:40,261 --> 00:53:42,347 [Carla] I went there one day. 998 00:53:44,724 --> 00:53:46,351 It was rubble. 999 00:53:47,852 --> 00:53:50,647 I parked right in front, 1000 00:53:51,523 --> 00:53:54,734 climbed up on them bricks which was, like, 'bout here, 1001 00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:59,864 all along, and laid down on them like this. 1002 00:54:00,407 --> 00:54:02,867 Just laid down on the bricks. 1003 00:54:04,369 --> 00:54:07,622 [mournful music continues] 1004 00:54:11,751 --> 00:54:13,461 [Hayes] That was like... 1005 00:54:14,129 --> 00:54:16,297 demolishing a pyramid. 1006 00:54:17,549 --> 00:54:20,343 So much... so much blood, sweat, and tears 1007 00:54:20,385 --> 00:54:21,845 went into that company 1008 00:54:21,886 --> 00:54:23,722 from so many of us. 1009 00:54:28,059 --> 00:54:29,769 [Manuel] When it ended, 1010 00:54:30,395 --> 00:54:33,648 my thought was all the unfinished music, 1011 00:54:33,732 --> 00:54:36,317 you know, all what could have been. 1012 00:54:36,401 --> 00:54:39,738 Think of the great music that we could have produced 1013 00:54:39,821 --> 00:54:41,406 to share with the world. 1014 00:54:41,448 --> 00:54:45,744 I mean, you destroy art like that... 1015 00:54:47,370 --> 00:54:49,164 that's... that's a sin. 1016 00:54:49,247 --> 00:54:52,334 [mournful music continues] 1017 00:54:54,753 --> 00:54:56,254 [music fades] 1018 00:54:56,338 --> 00:54:58,715 [car engine rumbling] 1019 00:55:00,675 --> 00:55:03,511 [Bell] After the close of Stax, 1020 00:55:05,597 --> 00:55:09,726 I would drive and park across the street 1021 00:55:10,143 --> 00:55:12,562 and look at that vacant lot 1022 00:55:14,022 --> 00:55:16,900 and see the weeds there, 1023 00:55:17,984 --> 00:55:19,694 building gone... 1024 00:55:22,197 --> 00:55:23,907 and I would cry. 1025 00:55:26,242 --> 00:55:29,079 [wind whistling] 1026 00:55:30,455 --> 00:55:32,123 [director] Do you think people understand 1027 00:55:32,165 --> 00:55:34,668 how much a sacrifice 1028 00:55:34,751 --> 00:55:37,504 this kind of latter part of the story was for you? 1029 00:55:37,587 --> 00:55:39,214 They have no earthly idea. 1030 00:55:39,297 --> 00:55:40,757 They have no earthly idea. 1031 00:55:40,840 --> 00:55:43,093 And people that I love 1032 00:55:43,134 --> 00:55:45,470 and that are a part of Stax, and I know they don't. 1033 00:55:45,553 --> 00:55:48,056 That I was gonna be going to jail if they'd convicted, 1034 00:55:48,139 --> 00:55:51,893 had been successful in that, for two life times, 140 years? 1035 00:55:52,435 --> 00:55:54,729 [sighs] That's what I've been through. 1036 00:55:57,482 --> 00:56:00,819 [mournful string music begins again] 1037 00:56:03,488 --> 00:56:05,615 [Stewart] Al was acquitted. 1038 00:56:06,282 --> 00:56:08,410 By the time that was over, you know, 1039 00:56:08,493 --> 00:56:10,954 he had to move out of Memphis. 1040 00:56:11,538 --> 00:56:14,124 He just couldn't take the city anymore 1041 00:56:14,165 --> 00:56:19,504 'cause he... how he felt on what they had done to him. 1042 00:56:20,630 --> 00:56:22,090 [director] What about you? 1043 00:56:22,173 --> 00:56:24,175 Well, we lost... lost our home 1044 00:56:24,217 --> 00:56:26,594 and then... [clears throat] 1045 00:56:27,012 --> 00:56:30,765 ...and the bank finally, you know, took it. 1046 00:56:30,849 --> 00:56:32,475 And, um... 1047 00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:38,148 So it was... it was kind of rough for a while. 1048 00:56:39,024 --> 00:56:42,819 But, you know, I consider myself quite lucky, in all. 1049 00:56:42,861 --> 00:56:46,156 I loved to get up every morning and go to work. 1050 00:56:46,573 --> 00:56:50,493 [bright piano opening of "Gee Whiz" playing] 1051 00:56:50,535 --> 00:56:56,124 ♪ Gee whiz ♪ 1052 00:56:56,207 --> 00:56:57,334 [applause] 1053 00:56:57,375 --> 00:57:01,087 ♪ Look at his eyes ♪ 1054 00:57:01,921 --> 00:57:05,133 ♪ Gee whiz ♪ 1055 00:57:05,216 --> 00:57:09,721 ♪ How they hypnotize ♪ 1056 00:57:10,555 --> 00:57:12,932 ♪ He's got everything... ♪ 1057 00:57:13,016 --> 00:57:15,727 [Stewart] The people who gave their hearts 1058 00:57:15,769 --> 00:57:18,980 and minds and soul to that company, 1059 00:57:20,565 --> 00:57:22,734 they made Stax Records. 1060 00:57:25,028 --> 00:57:27,572 ♪ Oh, oh ♪ 1061 00:57:27,655 --> 00:57:30,784 ♪ Gee whiz ♪ 1062 00:57:32,535 --> 00:57:35,705 ♪ He's all the joy ♪ 1063 00:57:37,248 --> 00:57:38,500 ♪ Gee whiz ♪ 1064 00:57:38,583 --> 00:57:40,126 [Stewart] Bettye Crutcher, 1065 00:57:41,920 --> 00:57:43,922 David and Isaac, 1066 00:57:44,589 --> 00:57:46,925 Rufus and Carla, 1067 00:57:48,426 --> 00:57:50,053 Booker T., 1068 00:57:51,262 --> 00:57:52,430 Otis. 1069 00:57:52,472 --> 00:57:56,434 ♪ I hope I'm not his decoy ♪ 1070 00:57:56,518 --> 00:57:59,479 [Stewart] I merely gave them the tool 1071 00:57:59,562 --> 00:58:03,191 for them to express themselves. 1072 00:58:03,274 --> 00:58:05,026 ♪ Oh ♪ 1073 00:58:05,110 --> 00:58:06,611 ♪ Our love ♪ 1074 00:58:06,653 --> 00:58:08,947 [music ends abruptly, echoes as it fades] 1075 00:58:10,031 --> 00:58:12,784 [Stewart] There was real soul there. 1076 00:58:13,785 --> 00:58:16,121 ["Gee Whiz" begins again] 1077 00:58:16,204 --> 00:58:18,748 ♪ I hope our love will ♪ 1078 00:58:18,790 --> 00:58:21,418 ♪ Grow and grow ♪ 1079 00:58:21,459 --> 00:58:23,003 ♪ 'Cause... ♪ 1080 00:58:23,086 --> 00:58:29,968 We were trying to be that example of the American ideal. 1081 00:58:31,469 --> 00:58:33,471 Those with the power, 1082 00:58:33,513 --> 00:58:38,184 they wanted Stax Records to be erased. 1083 00:58:38,977 --> 00:58:42,063 But for years, people would come to Memphis 1084 00:58:42,147 --> 00:58:43,398 from all over the world 1085 00:58:43,440 --> 00:58:45,442 and they would pick up anything they could find 1086 00:58:45,483 --> 00:58:46,735 on that corner. 1087 00:58:46,818 --> 00:58:49,487 A pebble, a piece of broken glass, 1088 00:58:49,529 --> 00:58:51,489 whatever they could get 1089 00:58:51,531 --> 00:58:53,241 that they thought might have been a part 1090 00:58:53,324 --> 00:58:55,035 of that old Stax building, 1091 00:58:55,785 --> 00:59:00,498 because they were that excited and that much in love 1092 00:59:00,540 --> 00:59:04,544 with the music that was created at Stax Records 1093 00:59:05,378 --> 00:59:07,672 in Soulsville, USA. 1094 00:59:07,714 --> 00:59:13,636 ♪ Gee whiz ♪ 1095 00:59:13,678 --> 00:59:18,683 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 1096 00:59:18,767 --> 00:59:21,853 [music ends with triumphant musical flourish] 1097 00:59:21,936 --> 00:59:24,689 [flourish fades] 1098 00:59:24,731 --> 00:59:28,985 ["Nothing Takes the Place of You" by Isaac Hayes playing] 1099 00:59:49,881 --> 00:59:54,719 -♪ Each new day ♪ -♪ Each new day ♪ 1100 00:59:54,803 --> 00:59:59,015 ♪ Finds me so blue, yeah ♪ 1101 01:00:01,851 --> 01:00:07,023 ♪ Because nothing, oh, nothing ♪ 1102 01:00:07,065 --> 01:00:12,987 ♪ Takes the place of you ♪ 1103 01:00:14,864 --> 01:00:17,992 ♪ I read your letters ♪ 1104 01:00:19,869 --> 01:00:23,039 ♪ Oh, one by one ♪ 1105 01:00:25,875 --> 01:00:29,045 ♪ And I still love you ♪ 1106 01:00:31,464 --> 01:00:36,344 ♪ When it's all said and done ♪ 1107 01:00:37,887 --> 01:00:40,432 ♪ Oh, my darling ♪ 1108 01:00:40,473 --> 01:00:43,810 ♪ Oh, my darling, my darling ♪ 1109 01:00:43,893 --> 01:00:48,189 ♪ I'm so blue, yeah ♪ 1110 01:00:48,273 --> 01:00:49,899 ♪ Blue ♪ 1111 01:00:49,941 --> 01:00:52,819 -♪ Because nothing ♪ -♪ Because nothing ♪ 1112 01:00:52,902 --> 01:00:55,822 ♪ Oh, nothing ♪ 1113 01:00:55,905 --> 01:00:59,075 ♪ Takes the place of you ♪ 1114 01:01:05,123 --> 01:01:07,000 ♪ As I ♪ 1115 01:01:07,917 --> 01:01:11,087 ♪ As I write this letter ♪ 1116 01:01:12,297 --> 01:01:14,090 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 1117 01:01:15,133 --> 01:01:18,261 ♪ It's raining, raining, raining ♪ 1118 01:01:18,970 --> 01:01:24,809 ♪ It's raining on my windowpane ♪ 1119 01:01:26,811 --> 01:01:29,105 ♪ Ah, and ♪ 1120 01:01:31,649 --> 01:01:34,986 ♪ And I feel the need ♪ 1121 01:01:35,028 --> 01:01:37,113 ♪ Oh, the need of you ♪ 1122 01:01:38,406 --> 01:01:42,369 ♪ Because, see, without you, oh, without you ♪ 1123 01:01:42,452 --> 01:01:43,828 ♪ Where are you? ♪ 1124 01:01:43,870 --> 01:01:49,125 ♪ Oh, nothing, nothing, nothing seems the same ♪