Jim Stewart, Co-Founder of Memphis' Iconic Stax Records, Dies at 92

Photo Courtesy Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Jim Stewart, the co-founder of Memphis' music label Stax Records, which introduced Southern soul music to the masses and served as the launching pad for some of the genre's biggest stars, including Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding, is dead. 

The record executive and producer "died peacefully, surrounded by his family," on Monday, according to a statement released by the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. He was 92.

A native of Middleton, Tenn., Stewart moved to Memphis after graduating from high school in 1948. He eventually found work as a bank clerk, before being drafted and serving two years in the Army.

We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Stax Records founder Jim Stewart. Mr. Stewart passed away peacefully earlier today, surrounded by his family.

📸: Bill Carrier Jr., Courtesy of Concord pic.twitter.com/XDgM4Neuqt

— Stax Records (@StaxRecords) December 6, 2022

He resumed his job in the bank when he returned to Memphis, while also launching his music career as a part-time fiddle player for a local country music group named the Canyon Cowboys. By 1957, Stewart had started a label, Satellite Records, to distribute country and rockabilly music.

Following the success of "Cause I Love You," a hit by Memphis DJ Rufus Thomas and his 16-year-old daughter Carla, Stewart moved away from country music and began focusing on R&B.

He and his sister Estelle Axton, who mortgaged her home to help him buy recording equipment and co-founded the studio, used the first two letters of their last names to create a portmanteau and renamed the studio Stax, after finding out there was another Satellite Records following the label's initial success.

Jim Stewart, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame record executive and producer who co-founded Memphis soul label Stax Records, has died at age 92. The timeless 1962 instrumental "Green Onions" by Booker T & the M.G.'s was Stax's first charting LP. #RIPJimStewart https://t.co/9ZYpAnAXDC

— Sean Walters (@sean_write) December 6, 2022

According to reporting by Bob Mehr of The Commercial Appeal, "for a decade and a half before being forced into involuntary bankruptcy in 1975, Stax cranked out some 800 singles and 300 albums, placing more than 167 hit songs in the Top 100 on the pop charts, and a staggering 243 hits in the Top 100 R&B charts, picking up eight GRAMMYs and an Academy Award (Isaac Hayes for "Theme from Shaft") along the way."

Mehr added, "Musically, the influence of Stax Records is still vivid today in R&B, soul, rock, pop, jazz, hip-hop, and gospel music. Stax songs have been covered by the likes of Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, the Black Crowes, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Cher, and numerous other bands and artists."

Stewart was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. 

Houston Police Arrest Suspect in Shooting Death of Takeoff

Patrick Xavier Clark Booking Photo Courtesy HPD

The Houston Police Department held a press conference on Friday afternoon to announce the arrest of a man in connection to the killing of Takeoff.

HPD Chief Troy Finner said Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, is charged with the murder of the Migos rapper, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball.

Takeoff died at the age of 28 after being shot outside of a downtown Houston bowling alley last month.

“We lost a good man,” Finner said, adding that he talked to Takeoff’s family, and thanked them for their patience as the department worked through facts and the investigation ahead of an arrest.

Clark was arrested on the east side of Houston, Texas, Thursday evening. Another man, Cameron Joshua, 22, was charged with the unlawful carrying of a weapon.

At this time authorities have not connected him to the murder.

"We believe Cameron Joshua has been appropriately charged in this case," Prosecutor Matt Gilliam said.

Mayor Sylvester Turner & Chief @TroyFinner provides an update in the fatal shooting of Kirsnick Khari Ball (Takeoff). https://t.co/0YAEbw91tR

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) December 2, 2022

Police responded to reports of a shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling at around 2:30 a.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered one man dead (from a gunshot wound to the head or neck) and two other people injured.

Later authorities positively identified the victim as Takeoff. He was the youngest member of the chart-topping group he formed with his uncle Quavo and cousin Offset.

Takeoff, second from right, was shot and killed Tuesday morning in Houston.

Formed in Atlanta in 2008, Migos had been one of hip-hop's most successful acts. The group has sold over three million albums and received two Grammy Award nominations.

Takeoff also found success outside the group. His solo album, “The Last Rocket,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2018. Recently, along with Quavo, he released “Only Built for Infinity Links,” which peaked at No. 7.

Watch: Detroit Inmates Facing Increased Prison Time After Shooting Rap Video In Prison

Screengrab of "In Dis Cell" YouTube video posted by "Da Hub."

They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. For two Detroit-based wannabe rappers, whether or not that proves to be true remains to be seen.

Either way, it looks like they will have plenty of extra time to think about it.

The inmates at the Macomb prison unit in suburban Detroit, have been separated and segregated from the general population after it was discovered they filmed a video at the facility.

Authorities made the moves after guards found a YouTube link written on a piece of paper during a routine search and discovered a rap video titled "In Dis Cell" — filmed in the prison — when they tried the link.

“The prisoners who were in the video certainly made no attempts to hide or disguise who they were, so staff was able to recognize them and go to their cell and confront them about this,” Chris Gautz, the spokesman for Michigan’s Department of Corrections, told Fox 2.

Now thanks to the two cell phones shown in the video, which Gautz said the men shot back in September before posting it to YouTube on Nov. 3rd, the inmates are facing additional prison time.

Possession of a cell phone in prison is a crime.

"Because while you can make rap videos with them, that’s one thing you can do with a contraband cell phone," Gautz said. "But you can also effectuate an escape, you could put out a hit on another staff member, another prisoner, a member of the public. You could harass witnesses, you could intimidate your victims.

"There’s a whole number of things untoward that you can do with contraband cellphones."

Watch the "In Dis Cell" video below: