"Great Performances" Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story (2007)

Directors:

Robert Gordon
Morgan Neville

Writers:

Mark Crosby
Robert Gordon
(more)

TV Series:

"Great Performances" (1970)

Original Air Date:

1 August 2007 (Season 35, Episode 25)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Musical

Tagline:

Soul Music.

Plot:

Spectacular rise & disgraced collapse of Memphis' socially-conscious, neighborhood-based Stax Records...

Plot Keywords:

Live Performance | Two Word Title | Manhattan New York City | New York City

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Narrator (voice)
Jim Stewart
Estelle Axton
Deanie Parker	...	Himself
Rufus Thomas	...	Himself
Carla Thomas	...	Herself
Booker T. Jones	...	Himself
Robert Talley	...	Himself - Studio Musician
Rickey Vincent	...	Himself
Don Nix	...	Himself
Steve Cropper
Donald Dunn	...	Himself (as Donald 'Duck' Dunn)
Wayne Jackson	...	Himself
Jerry Wexler	...	Himself
William Bell	...	Himself
Marvell Thomas	...	Himself
Tom Dowd	...	Himself - Engineer
Samuel Kyles	...	Himself (as Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles)
Al Bell
Al Jackson Jr.	...	Himself (archive footage)
Otis Redding	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Porter Thomas	...	Himself
Isaac Hayes
Sam Moore
Jack Ashford	...	Himself
Mavis Staples
Eddie Floyd	...	Himself
Zelma Redding	...	Herself
Henry Loeb	...	Himself - Former Memphis Mayor
Bayard Rustin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mable John	...	Herself
Eddie Braddock	...	Himself - Promotions Director
Johnnie Taylor	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bettye Crutcher	...	Herself
Willie Hall	...	Himself
Jesse Jackson
Dino Woodard	...	Himself - Stax Security
Melvin Hardin	...	Himself
Hubert McPherson	...	Himself
Mack Rice	...	Himself
The Bar-Kays	...	Themselves
Luther Ingram	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rance Allen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Wynn Smith	...	Himself - Union Planters Bank
Tim Whitsett	...	Himself - Stax Records
Logan Westbrooks	...	Himself
Bono	...	Himself
Jermaine Dupri	...	Himself
Elivs Costello	...	Himself
Chuck D.	...	Himself
Angie Stone	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jellybean Benítez	...	Himself
Roebuck 'Pops' Staples	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Robert Gordon
Morgan Neville

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Mark Crosby
Robert Gordon
Morgan Neville

Produced by
Rob Bowman	....	consulting producer
Gretchen Cook	....	associate producer
Cara Cosentino	....	coordinating producer
Mark Crosby	....	producer
Robert Gordon	....	producer
Stephanie J. Henderson	....	line producer
David Horn	....	executive producer
Jordan Kessler	....	consulting producer
Morgan Neville	....	producer
Dylan Robertson	....	supervising producer
Bob Sarles	....	consulting producer
Rupert Smith	....	producer
John Walker	....	producer

Cinematography by
David Leonard

Film Editing by
John Olivio
Alexis Spraic

Art Department
Will Duke	....	additional graphics
Scott Grossman	....	graphics
Eric Manche	....	additional graphics

Sound Department
Andy Black	....	audio
Mike Iacopelli	....	audio
Josh Jacobs	....	production sound mixer
Michael Kowalski	....	audio editor
Skip McQuinn	....	audio
Jesse Nichols	....	audio

Camera and Electrical Department
Stewart Holmes	....	camera operator
Joe Incardona	....	camera operator
René Kooyman	....	camera operator
Randy Paige	....	camera operator
Bert Shannon	....	camera operator
Dan Treharne	....	camera operator
Dan Treharne	....	grip

Editorial Department
Gregory Gray	....	assistant editor
Stephanie Hernstadt	....	assistant on-line editor
Christina Keating	....	second assistant editor
Samuel Mudge	....	assistant on-line editor
Ambika Samarthya	....	post-production assistant

Transportation Department
Pat Rainer	....	travel coordinator

Other crew
Jessica Berman Bogdan	....	footage clearance (as Jessica Berman-Bogdan)
Peter Guralnick	....	production consultant
Cidney Kirk	....	production assistant
Andria Lisle	....	production coordinator
Shola Lynch	....	production consultant
Scott McAdams	....	production assistant
Bill O'Donnell	....	director of program development
Deanie Parker	....	production consultant
Morris Perry	....	production assistant

Fred Rose
Barbara Walsh

Directed by
John Doyle
John Glenmeister		(episode "Man Who Married a French Wife, the")
Nick Havinga		(episode "Girls in Their Summer Dresses") (episode "Monument, The")

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marion J. Caffey		creator
Daniel Ezralow		creator
Josh Groban		creator

Production Companies

• Tremolo Productions

Distributors

• Concord Music Group (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Tremolo Productions

Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story is one fascinating doc

Quick, what recording studio became known as "Soulsville, U.S.A"? Stax Records. Founded by Caucasians Jim STewart and Estelle AXton, this Memphis-based company showcased some of the most soulful musicians on the planet and was colorblind concerning equal employment of black executives like Al Bell. Among the great songs chronicled here: "Last Night"-The Markeys, "Green Onion"-Booker T and the MGs, "Knock on Wood"-Eddie Floyd, "Soul Man"-Sam and Dave, original version of "Respect"-Oits Redding, "Shaft"-Issac Hayes, "Respect Yourself"-The Staple Singers, and many more from some of those artists. From the '60s through the '70s, Stax's rise and fall is chronicled by many of that label's participants I've mentioned with the bittersweet nostalgia that colors how unique that era truly was. And how fortunate we now are to have a museum and training institute built in Stax's honor. All in all, a very interesting documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. Personal note: I was fascinated to learn that a cherished hit from my childhood, Rick Dees' "Disco Duck", was produced by Ms. Axton after the company she co-founded closed.