Tim Sampson, a lifelong resident of Memphis, is the Communications Director for the Soulsville Foundation. The nonprofit organization operates the STAX Museum of American Soul Music, STAX Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School. Tim has been involved with the foundation since day one. He is particularly passionate about providing a better life through the power of music to Memphis’ youth living in poverty or at high risk. Tim is also the founding editor of The Memphis Flyer newspaper, former editor of Memphis Magazine, and author of the book All Mimes Must Die.
LEG: The STAX Museum of American Soul Music turned 16 this month. It is celebrating its birthday and this 200th birthday of the epicenter of American music, Memphis, Tennessee, with “BiSOULtennial,” a contest that allows fans worldwide to vote on their favorite Memphis soul songs recorded between 1957 and 1975. To kick things off can you tell us one of your most favorite soul songs of that time period and why is that song is special to you?
TS: Well, I have a LOT of favorites. One is “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers. It is poignant to me because former STAX Records owner Al Bell wrote that song sitting on the hood of an old school bus on the day of his murdered brother’s funeral in Arkansas. He says it just came to him through some other force. It embodies grief and hope at the same time and speaks to the issues of the day back then. I think it is just as pertinent today as it was then. Another is “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding, especially his live performances of the song. The amount of passion and energy he put into those performances, especially the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival are absolutely unparalleled and I can’t imagine anything like that happening today. Everyone from Bing Crosby to Barbra Streisand has recorded that song but Otis Redding’s is the only version anyone really knows.
LEG: Being part of the Soulsville Foundation from the start, what are some of the trips, shows, or events that your students have participated in that you are most proud of?
TS: There are two in particular. In September 2016, the STAX Music Academy was invited by the Smithsonian Institute to perform for three days on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the grand opening festival of their new African American Museum of History and Culture, with President Barack Obama cutting the ribbon. With the White House on one side of the stage and the Washington Monument on the other and the new, largest African American museum in the world in the background, the students performed amazing sets that included a lot of STAX “message” music, the very music that the white business community tried to erase from Memphis’ and America’s psyche when they forced the company into involuntary bankruptcy in the 1970s. So the fact that these young African American singers and musicians were there on that Mall giving it everything they had was very moving and, frankly, they stole the show!
video provided by USA Today
Another was in summer 2017, when the students went a concert tour of France and Europe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the STAX/Volt 1967 Tour. I have never seen crowds react the students that way with such an outpouring of love and support. We sold out some venues and played festivals alongside Mavis Staples and actually opened for William Bell. It was absolutely life changing for all of us on that trip.
LEG: As a life-long resident of Memphis can you tell us your favorite part of living in a city with so much musical history?
TS: I think it’s just that being in a place from where all American music stems is exhilarating for a music buff. And it’s not just the music itself but also the stories of how the music was made and the culture that exists here surrounding music is phenomenal. Just the STAX story alone is one of the most important in American history. Then you have Sun and Hi and American Sound Studios. It’s all just fascinating.
LEG: What is your most memorable story associated with the STAX? What is your favorite exhibit or piece of memorabilia on display in the Museum?
One day during the museum’s 10th anniversary we were having a huge outdoor festival with a lot of former STAX artists here and journalists from all over the world. It got rained out on the day it was to happen with the rain date set for the next day, but most of the journalists were leaving and needed to get their interviews with the STAX artists. So we planned a lunch event in the STAX Music Academy and along with their interviews we were going to have the STAX Music Academy do “a song or two” for them. They ended up doing a full set in their band suite with all of the journalists and STAX artists in the room and it was really the first time the artists had seen the students perform up close and personal. EVERYONE was in tears and jumping out of their seats. Al Bell got up and spoke and told the students they had just released 50 years of pain he’d been walking around with for 50 years and all of the STAX artists there that day knew that their legacy was intact and that what they did in the 1960s and 70s had real meaning.
My favorite exhibit in the museum is the Hall of Records, where approximately 300 albums and 900 singles recorded at STAX are on display. It’s like an art gallery to me and speaks to the boldness of STAX that such a variety of music was recorded there.
LEG: What itinerary would you recommend to a person visiting Memphis for the first time?
TS: Well, of course, a trip to the STAX Museum would be in order! Actually, a trip to the National Civil Rights Museum followed by a soul food lunch at the famous Four Way Restaurant and then a visit to the STAX Museum is a good experience. Elvis fans would of course want to visit Graceland and his fans and others would visit Sun Studios. And the Smithsonian’s Rock N Soul Museum is great and tells the story of all Memphis music. It’s at the foot of Beale Street and while Beale Street is a little touristy, it is also very cool and you never know what musicians you might see in the clubs. Away from the tourist attractions, Wild Bill’s is one of the last of the Memphis neighborhood juke joints. And for the very adventurous, there’s a tiny club near STAX named the Big S Grill, often referred to as “The Big Ass,” which is the most authentic Memphis experience I know of. It’s a tiny shack with mirrored walls and red light bulbs and is very smoky and has the best jukebox I’ve ever seen. The owner, Mr. Sam, is in his nineties and is there in his seat at the bar every night with his daughter running the place and they are as friendly as it gets. They serve only beer in giant bottles but you can also BYOB if you like and get a “set up” of ice in a Tupperware bowl with tongs.
LEG: The legendary STAX sound was based in black gospel, blues, country, and earlier forms of rhythm and blues which became known as southern soul music. Are there any musicians today that you think have a similar sound and display the qualities and talents as the pioneers of that time?
TS: There’s a singer in England named Beverley Knight who I love. She definitely has the soul vibe and actually came to Memphis some years ago to record an album at Royal Studio, where Al Green and Ann Peebles recorded all that great Hi Records music. She’s phenomenal. I also like Leon Bridges and Wendy Moten.
LEG: Many of the original STAX artists sang about their lives, struggles, and challenges that they faced at the time. What has been one of your biggest challenges either in your personal life or professional career and how did you overcome it?
TS: When I was in my thirties and editor of MEMPHIS magazine, my parents both died within nine months of each other and it was pretty horrific and I actually suffered from a little PTSD. I really didn’t care about much of anything, including the magazine, so I left to take a job at a very small PR firm a friend of mine had started. The first week I was there, we got a call from someone who wanted to build a museum and school at the original site of STAX Records and so began this amazing trip I’ve been on ever since.
LEG: The Lakeside brand we’ve developed represents doing what you love, working hard but playing hard, and appreciating those moments and places of relaxation and reflection life has to offer. What do you do for enjoyment when you’re not working?
TS: I cook. I love to chop and make sauces and stocks that take all day long. I love to get things from the farmer’s market, like pounds and pounds of fresh tomatoes, and see what I can come up with because I’m not a recipe guy. Then I have a good friend over and we inevitably end up listening to music all day while I cook and we eat. My other passion is traveling and I do so every chance I get. In the past year I’ve managed to make it to Cuba, England, France, and Baltimore, one of my favorite cities
The Memphis biSoultennial Countdown starts now!
Help the Stax Museum of American Soul Music celebrate Memphis’ 200th birthday by choosing the top ten, all-time Memphis soul classics.
Listen to the full Spotify Playlist and submit your Top 10!
The TOP TEN will be unveiled at the STAX Museum on Thursday night, August 15
Listen to our Top 10 below!
