Reborn Stax Records to Celebrate Wattstax's 35th Anniversary

Posted on Jul 19th 2007 3:00PM by Gaylord Fields
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On August 20, 1972, more than 100,000 music fans, paying a mere dollar for admission, packed the Los Angeles Coliseum for the legendary Wattstax festival. Referred to as the "black Woodstock," the gathering featured riveting live performances by soul luminaries including Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Little Milton and Johnnie Taylor, as well as appearances by Richard Pryor and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of this milestone in black music, the newly reconstituted Memphis soul label Stax Records is honoring its own legacy by expanding the original double-LP release into a 3-CD collection featuring 47 songs, including live versions of 'Respect Yourself,' 'I'll Take You There,' 'Theme from Shaft,' 'Knock On Wood' and 'Steal Away,' to be released on Aug. 28. A film version of the concert was released theatrically not long after the original event; it was recently reissued on DVD.