Queen Ann Hines LIVE! 

Monday, May 28, 2007 | 7:00 p.m.

Free Hors d'Oeuvres & Soft Drinks | Cash Bar

$20 General Admission

Only $5 & early entry for current Museum members! 

Coming soon to Studio A! Toni Greene in June... Stax legend William Bell in July... Eddie Floyd in October...

Stax Museum and Stax Music Academy Honor Rufus Thomas on the day that would have been his 90^th Birthday 

Today, on what would have been Stax legend Rufus Thomasâ 90^th birthday, students of Soulsvilleâs Stax Music Academy and Soulsville Charter School were treated to a history lesson on Thomas. A special exhibit was created and is in the lobby of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (in addition to permanent exhibits honoring him), and he will be remembered tonight the museumâs Last Mondays in Studio A concert with The Temprees and The Mad Lads. 

Known affectionately by millions as the âoldest teenager in the world,â Rufus Thomas was born on March 26, 1917 in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi. His long, illustrious, and colorful career began at the age of 6, when he played a frog in a school theatrical production.  In 1936 he joined the world of Vaudeville and toured the South with a group named the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After that, while working at a textile factory for 22 years, he became one of the most influential disc jockeys in the South on countryâs first all African-American staffed radio station, WDIA and is credited with discovering B.B. King in that role.   

In 1953 he began his recording career with an âanswer recordâ to Big Mama Thorntonâs hit, âHound Dogâ called âBear Catâ and released on Sun Records, the labelâs first hit. After being released from Sun, Thomas paid a visit to Jim Stewartâs fledgling Satellite Records (later named Stax), and, along with his daughter Carla, recorded that labelâs first hit, âCause I Love You.â 

An integral part of the success of Stax Records, Thomas had a number of hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s on the label, including that were tied to a then-current dance craze: âDo the Funky Chicken,â â(Do the) Push and Pull,â âThe Breakdownâ and âDo the Penguinâ. He performed at Wattstax in 1972, leading a crowd of 40,000 in the âFunky Chicken.â His smash Stax hit âWalking the Dogâ has been covered by The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, among others. 

He was the father of soul singers Carla and Vaneese Thomas and keyboard player Marvell Thomas.  

Late in his career, for years, Rufus performed at the Poretta Festival in
Italy. In 1996 Rufus and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in
Atlanta. Highlights of his career included calming an unruly crowd at the 1972 Wattstax Festival, performing with James Brownâs band, and the knowledge that, along with James Brown and a handful of others, he was a key to the emergence of funk. He was a charismatic stage presence, telling jokes and dancing, and wearing capes and brightly colored hot pants. Rufus Thomas died in 2001 at St. Francis Hospital in
Memphis.

The winner receives two tickets to the red-carpet premiere event for BLACK SNAKE MOAN at the Peabody Place Muvico 22 in Downtown Memphis on Thursday, February 22, followed by a catered VIP After-Party at the Gibson Lounge. Craig will be there. Will you?..

This world premiere event is invitation-only--no public tickets will be sold, and this is your only way in! Bid now and be the first to see this thrilling new film starring Justin Timberlake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Christina Ricci!

 
NEW YORK, January 22, 2007 â The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau marks a soulful milestone in 2007 and is inviting America to the party. The city, a breeding ground for some of the greatest sounds in popular music, today launched a national campaign celebrating 50 years of soul music and spotlighting the cityâs extraordinary musical roots.

âMemphis Celebrates 50 Years of Soulâ underscores the cityâs role as both a contemporary and historical center of American music. The anniversary coincides with the founding of legendary music label Stax Records and Royal Studio, home to Hi Records. Both Stax Records and Royal Studios were instrumental in shaping the Memphis soul sound and the careers of such legendary figures as Booker T & the MGs, Al Bell, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Mable John, Ann Peebles, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, the Staple Singers, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and many, many more.

âI am thrilled to be celebrating this important milestone,â said Isaac Hayes. âI was part of Memphis soul from almost the beginning, and as the story continues I am proud to help honor Memphisâ many remarkable achievements and those yet to come.â

âMemphis Celebrates 50 Years of Soulâ will spotlight a broad-range of music-related landmarks in Memphis including the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studios, Graceland, Ardent Studios, the Rock ânâ Soul Museum and the Gibson Guitar Factory.

âA musical and cultural movement started in Memphis 50 years ago and changed the world,â said Kevin Kane, President of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau. âWe look forward to welcoming fans of soul, rhythm and blues and rock to experience the city that gave birth to popular music.â

Located at the original site of Stax Records, The Stax Museum of American Soul Music pays tribute to all of the artists who recorded there with a rare and amazing collection of more than 2,000 interactive exhibits, films, artifacts, items of memorabilia, and galleries designed to keep Stax alive forever.

âMemphis has stood at the crossroads of popular music, merging influences from blues to rock and soul,â said legendary songwriter, producer and guitarist, Steve Cropper. âNo student of contemporary music can ignore the influence and importance of this city and its unique sound.â

For more information on the year and upcoming events, please bookmark www.StaxPodcast.com and visit www.memphissoul50.com.

Complimentary Hors D'oeuvres & Soft Drinks...Cash Bar
$20 General Admission and FREE to all members of th Stax Museum!

Thanks to our sponsors Comcast and Andrea Zucker Photography.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music will host a very special photography exhibit from November 12, 2006 - January 29, 2007: Milt Hinton: All That Jazz Behind the Scenes Photographs of 20^th Century Jazz. The exhibit, on loan from the New York City-based Milton J. Hinton Photographic Collection, will include 50 Hinton photographs of the most important jazz figures in history, including Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk, Memphis' own Mulgrew Miller and Aretha Franklin, the aforementioned Billie Holiday, and dozens of other legendary performers who helped shape the American art form.

The Stax Museum will host an opening reception for the exhibit on Sunday, November 12, 2006 from 2-5 p.m. with complimentary hors d'oeuvres and soft drinks, a cash bar with Mimosas and Bloody Marys, special guests, and live jazz. Admission is $9 to the general public and free to Stax Museum members.

GoodSearch.com is a new search engine that donates half its revenue (about a cent per search) to non-profit organizations designated by its users.  You use it just as you would any search engine, and itâs powered by Yahoo!, so you get great results. 
It works like this: go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Soulsville as the charity you want to support. Then search for whatever you want. That's all. Easy.

500 people searching four times a day will raise about $7,300.00 in a single year-- without anyone spending a dime.  These funds will be used to support the great new exhibits and live music events at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the music education programs, unique performance opportunities, and valuable mentoring resources for at-risk youth at the Stax Music Academy.

You can also make Goodsearch.com your homepage by visiting www.goodsearch.com/MakeHomepage.aspx, and add Goodsearch.com to your browser's toolbar by visiting www.goodsearch.com/toolbar.

Tell everyone you know--and start your soul searching today...