Lorraine Hotel and Stax recording studio

Lorraine Hotel and Stax recording studio

Another tour of Memphis was to the Lorraine hotel, where Martin Luther king was shot, and the civil rights museum. It was definitely a somber tour reminding us all of the terrible days of segregation. We toured the museum and the hotel room King stayed in.

From there we went to another recording studio called Stax records. This studio was started by Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle in Jim’s father-in-law’s garage in the late 50’s. After he started getting some artists they leased a run down movie theater for their studio. He was more into what I call the beginning of disco music with Ike and Tina Turner, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave and others. He also discovered Otis Redding and the Staple Singers.

The hotel where Martin Luther King was shot

The balcony where King was when he was shot
Looking out from King’s room
The boarding house where James Earl Ray shot King from
Outside Stax recording studio
Stax record’s history
The recording board at Stax
A sampling of the records produced at Stax
Academy Award won by Isaac Hayes for the theme to the movie Shaft. First African American to win a music Academy Award
Ike and Tina Turner memorabilia
Isaac Hayes’ Cadillac
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