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MILESTONE R&B SONGS ON THE LEGENDARY STAX LABELStax was the legendary l960's & 1970's Southern soul & R&B label headquartered in Memphis and owned by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Its greatest star was Otis Redding and the company's house band was Booker T. & The MG's, who were recognized with a special Grammy in 2007. Among Otis Redding's most memorable recordings was his version of the 1933 EMI-published standard, TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS which became a Top 5 R&B single in early '67 on Stax's subsidiary label, Volt. Otis also cut a superb version of Smokey Robinson's MY GIRL and, tho' it never charted here in the U.S., it became a major hit in the UK in 1965. The majority of EMI-published hit songs on Stax emanate from the period when Detroit producer Don Davis began working with the late R&B singer Johnnie Taylor, whose hits include a remake of George Clinton's I WANNA TESTIFY, LOVE BONES, I AM SOMEBODY. a cover version of Jimmy Hughes' STEAL AWAY, plus two of Don's own compositions: I BELIEVE IN YOU (YOU BELIEVE IN ME) and JODY'S GOT YOUR GIRL AND GONE. Don Davis's other outstanding work for Stax came when he linked up with Detroit vocal group, The Dramatics, and the outstanding songwriter, Tony Hester. WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET remains as powerful today as it was back in '71, and the highly atmospheric IN THE RAIN rose to #1 on Billboard's R&B chart and proved without a doubt what a powerful lead singer The Dramatics had in Ron Banks. |
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