Stax Collection - API Photographers inc.
Though not a Memphis native, Al Bell’s story is so entwined with Stax Records that he might as well be. Born Alvertis Isbell in Brinkley, Arkansas, he first gained notoriety as a DJ. Joining Stax in 1965, he was instrumental in reinventing and diversifying the label after its break with Atlantic Records in 1968, when the major label laid claim to all the master recordings produced by Stax up to that time. In building Stax as a self-contained business, Bell drew on lessons he had garnered in high school during the days before integration.
“Back then,” he recalls, “in an all-black school, the teachers knew what we would be facing when we walked out of those classrooms and into the streets. So they inadvertently taught us black history. What I realized was, when I looked at various ethnic groups in this country, that each one of them built their own economic base. And it was through their economic base that they mainstreamed themselves. I thought at that time, ‘Well okay, we have all these challenges here as African Americans, but we’re doing what other ethnic groups do.’”
Paradoxically, segregation led to solidarity within the black community, who created their own businesses parallel to white society. “It was segregated, so we had to build our own banks, our own insurance companies, our own restaurants, because we couldn’t go to the white-owned restaurants, banks, and insurance companies. So we were building our economic base,” he recalls. “I saw that changing when integration came into play. Because then we were leaving our institutions and trying to fit in to the white institutions. As a result of that, our economic base started declining. And it got to the point where, instead of being entrepreneurs and producers, we became employees and consumers.”
As Bell saw it, the economic development of his community would lead naturally to political change more profound than any act of Congress. “As I got older I realized, well, you don’t have any of these other ethnic groups talking about civil rights. They didn’t have to because they had their own economic base and they were getting their politicians elected. They were able to support politicians so the things that they wanted to see addressed were addressed because those politicians, being pragmatic, had to address it in order to get that vote.” After that realization, Bell’s approach to civil rights was to make his business as big as it could be.
This was largely in harmony with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with whom Bell worked and marched. One protest in particular made a strong impression on Bell.
“Racism was overt during the period of segregation. You could see it. Now you can’t see it, because it’s not in your face. But it’s in your life.”
— Al Bell
“We were marching down the streets,” he says, “and a man was calling me all kinda names. Well, that didn’t bother me. But then, as we were marching, he spit on me. And lord have mercy, outta my pocket went that switchblade knife. I broke rank. I violated a cardinal rule.”
No blood was drawn, but King spoke with Bell later that evening. “We met that night and he said, ‘You pulled a knife and went after a gentleman because he was interfering with the march.’” But then King moved on to a larger point.
“Dr. King told me, he said, ‘You know, Albert, I know what you’re about. You have a lot of Marcus Garvey* in you.’ Well, I didn’t know who Marcus Garvey was. But he said, ‘You’re about economics and all of that, and you’re out there talking to these young people about that. But I want to tell you something. What you are about, you can do, but that has to take place after I’ve done what I’ve done.’ His first step was the passive resistance movement, in order to position us where we could once again start building economically in this country.”
Photography Courtesy Al Bell Presents
In 2014, Al Bell made a return visit to Memphis and visited the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, built on the site of the former recording studio. photography Courtesy Al Bell Presents
If King was heavily invested in changing the legal landscape, he also saw how legislative victories could sour. “We had something that looked like the beginning of civil rights,” recalls Bell, “but written into the laws were amendments that had segregation in them. Racism was overt during the period of segregation. You could see it. Now you can’t see it, because it’s not in your face. But it’s in your life. You can’t move without it and you don’t know why. Well, why couldn’t I do this? Or what was wrong with my credit rating? Or, what was wrong with this or that? What was the problem? Well, it’s in the laws now.”
According to Bell, that marked a change in King’s approach. “He became concerned because he realized that all he had done did not get us in a position where we were growing economically, and he started speaking out about that,” says Bell. “He spoke about the war in Vietnam, then he started talking about our economic downfall at that time, and even made the statement that ‘I’m going to Washington to get our check.’ And that, of course, along with that Poor People’s Campaign that he was putting together, which evolved into the Poor Peoples’ march on Washington, was what gave rise to his assassination. They had to stop him. He had too many people following him. And poor people. There were more whites signing up for that than there were blacks. Well, they couldn’t allow that to happen.”
Racial politics were radically altered after April 4, 1968, but for Bell, that didn’t change the underlying logic of developing successful black businesses.
“When Dr. King was killed, I said, ‘Oh, I got to keep on stepping,’” says Bell. “And I increased my efforts. In fact, I got with Rev. Jesse Jackson and underwrote People United to Save Humanity [Operation PUSH]. And I put together the first black expo in Chicago, where we could bring in African Americans from all over this country. Come here and let America see what you’re doing, let these major corporations see what you’re doing. And they realized, oh wait a minute, there’s some great ideas, we can make money with these black folks over here. So let’s get involved. I also helped to underwrite the Black Caucus, so they could have some power and have a voice in Washington.”
Most importantly, Bell masterminded the rebirth of Stax.
“I recognized the value of the Stax that Jim Stewart had created prior to 1968. I mean, there was nothing like that. That’s what brought me here. There was nothing like that. That was masterful. That was artistry that cannot be duplicated, and it hurt me deep inside to see what had been done to us by Atlantic at that time.
He explains what made Stax special: “See, Stax at that point in time was a production company. It produced music, and what happens in this industry is, you produce the music, then you go to the larger companies and they market and distribute it. And that’s what Atlantic was doing and why Atlantic could do what they did to Stax. Well, we made up our minds that we were going to become an independent, free-standing record company. With Atlantic distributing our product, we were just a production company, making 25 or 30 cents per record sold. We needed to get into album production. Because that went from 25 or 30 cents per record sold to $2.40! We could build from there.”
And build they did, with Stax growing to a multimillion-dollar company, until strained relations with their distributor, Columbia Records, precipitated bankruptcy in 1975. Still, Bell went on to become president of Motown Records Group in the 1980s. Now back in Memphis, working in the independent music scene, Bell says the changes he’s witnessed since that time have left him hopeful.
“After 60 years in the music industry, this is the most opportune time ever. Because the Big Three major music corporations have maxed out. They were not about creating. They were about acquiring. [Today] there’s nothing to acquire. And once we get busy taking what we have and popularizing that, and beginning to create a demand, then it puts us in a position where we’re not only making a contribution but we help save the big three major companies.”
He recognizes the struggle ahead of him. “I mean, America is 20 trillion dollars in debt,” he says. “Come on! We’ve got a lot of work to do. So we need to come together. Specifically black people. We are closer together than any other ethnic group in this country. We know each other too well, and we really know how to work with each other, so if we begin to work together, we can turn this country around quicker than you can imagine.”
