WATTSTAX

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC ANNOUNCES SPECIAL EVENTS IN CONJUCTION WITH RELEASE OF “WATTSTAX – THE SPECIAL EDITION.”

Fund-raising reception, screening, and opening of Wattstax photography exhibit to feature a special evening with Isaac Hayes, Al Bell, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Chuck 

MEMPHIS, SEPTEMBER 1, 2004 – The Stax Museum of American Soul Music announced today that it will host a very special event in conjunction with the release of Wattstax – The Special Edition, available on home DVD from Warner Home Video on September 7, 2004. This new edition of the acclaimed 1973 documentary was digitally remastered by the Saul Zaentz Film Center in Berkeley and contains footage that was lost for some 30 years, as well as new audio commentaries by such luminaries as Al Bell, Isaac Hayes, the film’s director Mel Stuart, and others who were present for the landmark Wattstax concert and for the filming of the documentary, which focuses not only on the Wattstax concert, but of everyday life on the streets for African-Americans in South Central Los Angeles at the time. A modern perspective on the film’s relevance today is provided in commentaries by Chuck D and Rob Bowman, author of Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records.

On September 20 th, A reception for a limited number of guests at 6 p.m. will kick off the night’s events at the Stax Museum. During the reception, the museum will unveil its new exhibit, “Wattstax: It Remains to be Seen.” This exhibit consists of some 50 large-format color and black-and-white photographs, many of which were “lost” with the film footage for 30 years and are being reproduced and shown for the first time. The exhibit is designed to tell the story of the concert, the magnitude of the event, the filming of the documentary, and the documentary’s restoration by the Saul Zaentz Film Center in Berkeley, California. Memorabilia such as original press releases from the event, flight and limousine rosters, original planning notes, the original invitation to the film’s 1973 Los Angeles debut, and other materials will be on display as well. Accompanied by informational text panels, the images range from Zsa Zsa Gabor posing with the Bar-Kays, to Rev. Jesse Jackson in a dashiki holding his fist in the air as a symbol of black empowerment to a section of the exhibit that takes visitors “inside the concert” with images of the performers, including Rugus and Carla Thomas, The Staple Singers, the Bar-Kays, Albert King, and numerous others. The Stax Museum has obtained ownership of the photographs from the Saul Zaentz Film Center, and will offer it as an internationally traveling exhibit after it comes down at the Stax Museum Gallery in January 2005.

Following the reception, Isaac Hayes, Al Bell, Chuck D, and Jesse Jackson will address the audience with comments and insight into the Wattstax concert and documentary, sharing memories and thoughts on the event’s significance then and now. After the screening of the 103-minute film, they will answer questions from the audience.

Tickets to the fund-raiser for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and adjacent Stax Music Academy are $75 per person or $100 per couple. Because the documentary will be screened in the museum’s intimate Studio A, where all of the music from the Wattstax concert was previously recorded on vinyl, seating is limited. Tickets are being made available to Stax Museum members on a first come first served basis until September 10 th, at which time they will be made available to the general public.