TIME magazine just named its picks for America's Top 50 Authentic American Experiences. For the state of Tennessee, they chose the STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC!
Click here to read what they have to say!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
SOULSVILLE FOUNDATION, CITY OF MEMPHIS CELEBRATE "BEN CAULEY DAY" AND ESTABLISH BEN CAULEY HONORARY SCHOLARSHIP AT THE STAX MUSIC ACADEMY
Stax Records and Memphis music legend Ben Cauley. Photo by Justin Fox Burks.
Left to Right: B.J. Wade, Ben Cauley, Karla Redding-Andrews, Zelma Redding, & Deanie Parker.Last Friday, September 12th, was a very special day for all of us here at the Soulsville Foundation and for the entire City of Memphis, not to mention the music-loving world.
As many of you know, Ben Cauley was the only member of the Bar-Kays aboard Otis Redding's plane to survive the horrible crash on December 10, 1967 that also took Otis's life and that of his pilot. Since that time, Ben has been not only a Memphis music tradition and institution, but also an inspiration for generations of young musicians.
On Friday, Memphis attorney B.J. Wade and his associates at the Memphis law firm of Glassman, Edwards, Wade & Wyatt settled an unrelated class action lawsuit in Circuit Court Division VI at the Shelby County Courthouse and allocated funds from the settlement to several Memphis organizations, including the University of Memphis Shool of Law and Memphis Area Legal Services.
In addition to those, Mr. Wade, a longtime fan and friend of Ben Cauley and champion of Ben's amazing story, allocated a gift of $100,000 over the next five years to establish the "Ben Cauley Honorary Scholarship" at the Stax Music Academy. Before the court proceedings, a reception was held at the law firm's office. Attending both the reception and courtroom proceedings were Ben and his family, along with many, many friends and Stax Family members, including Zelma and Karla Redding-Andrews (Otis Redding's widow and daughter), Bar-Kays members James Alexander and Larry Dodson; Mable John, David Porter, and many others.
We are extremely grateful to Mr. Wade for making all of this possible, and to Ben for being such a hero to us and so many others. This scholarship will help countless children in the years to come as we mentor them through music education and unique performance opportunities, much as Stax Records did for Ben and his bandmates more than 40 years ago.
Thanks to all who participated, attended, and helped us celebrate what Mayors WW Herenton and AC Wharton proclaimed "Ben Cauley Day" in Memphis and Shelby County.'
BEN, WE LOVE YOU!
R&B LEGEND FRANKIE BEVERLY PAYS SPECIAL VISIT TO SOULSVILLE
Frankie Beverly (left) and Soulsville Foundation board chairman Howard Robertson at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. One of the hardest-working men in show business today, Frankie Beverly of Frankie Beverly & MAZE, paid a very special trip to Soulsville last Thursday, September 11th, to visit with students of The Soulsville Charter School and tour the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. He spent a great deal of time with the students, fielding questions from our 7th grade Soulsville Symphony Orchestra class about his career, the music industry, and even his wardrobe and the first love of his life! Mr. Beverly enouraged the children not only to attend college upon graduation but also to pay close attention to their love of music.
Mr. Beverly also presented the Stax Museum with a generous cash donation and some items of memorabilia, including one of his signature white suits made especially for him by his costume maker of some 35 years. He then toured the Stax Museum and promised he would return soon.
The following night he and MAZE delivered a knock-out sold-out performance at Memphis grand Orpheum Theater as the main entertainment headliner of the Southern Heritage Classic Annual Cultural Celebration.
Thanks, Frankie! We had a great time.
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