Favorite performances by the show-stopping gospel-soul star Rance Allen are featured in the disc programmed by Deanie Parker, head of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis and a one-time Stax artist (and publicist) herself. Former Stax vocalist Mable John selected her favorites by Memphis Queen Carla Thomas, while Carla's father, the irrepressible Rufus Thomas, is profiled by Roger Armstrong, whose adventurous Ace label has reinvigorated the careers of many a classic soul artist in the UK.
Rounding out the new series are discs by Little Milton (compiled by blues historian Lee Hildebrand), Albert King (longtime Fantasy executive and reissue producer Bill Belmont), and the Staple Singers (Concord catalog A&R director Cheryl Pawelski).
The STAX PROFILES CDs, the first catalog series to draw on the legendary r&b label's riches since coming under the ownership of the Concord Music Group in late 2004, will be released 4/25.
Adding to the timeliness of the STAX PROFILES releases are the upcoming celebrations and events surrounding Stax's 50th Anniversary in 2007. The year will serve to commemorate and honor all the elements that defined Stax Records - history, community investment, racial diversity, social awareness, collaborative creativity, Southern identity, and, of course, MUSIC. Ground Zero for anniversary events will be Memphis, where Deanie Parker and the Stax Museum are already gearing up (http://www.soulsvilleusa.com).
Specialty Records, another vintage r&b label with a glorious past, will mark its 60th anniversary this year when six SPECIALTY PROFILES discs are released in August. Founded in Hollywood in 1946 by Art Rupe, Specialty bridged the gap between swing and rock 'n' roll with jump blues practitioners like Roy Milton and hitmakers such as Lloyd Price, whose “Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (the label's first New Orleans session) was the top r&b record of 1952. While recording for Specialty, Sam Cooke & the Soul Stirrers turned the gospel world on its ear, and Percy Mayfield, the Poet of the Blues, emerged as that idiom's greatest songwriter. Larry Williams broke through with singles such as “Dizzy, Miss Lizzy," “Bony Moronie," and “Short Fat Fannie" that would later be covered by the Beatles, the Who, George Jones, and many others.
The Specialty work of these artists - and that of bluesman John Lee Hooker - will be Profiled for 8/12 release.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
