On Wednesday August 1st, PBS will air a Great Performances special on the landmark musical experience created in Memphis at Stax Records. (And yes, I know that both my posts here so far on MCB have been about Stax and their 50th Anniversary, but the music is some of the finest ever made and I truly encourage both those in the know and those unfamiliar to explore the achievements made on modern American music.)

The special is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and was produced in part by Robert Gordon, whose definitive book “It Came From Memphis” should be on your bookshelf. And the title given this special program expresses much of the musical and personal philosophies of the creators of the soul sounds of Memphis - ‘Respect Yourself”.

More information on the special and an essay from Gordon can be read here.

There’s also a huge 3-volume collection of Stax/Volt singles released in the early 1990s which is jammed with some of the best from the studio (Scroll down to see volumes two and three).

For my money, American music today owes a huge debt to the works created in Memphis, Nashville and Bristol, and gives Tennessee a very unique distinction.