JazzHQ: New Album Release 'Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos' selections on Stax / Craft / Concord #jazz

Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos selections

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/the-secret-sound-of-stax
"reveals a hidden history of soul" ~The New Yorker

"nothing short of epic...so well put together" ~KCRW The Treatment

"monumental document" ~No Depression

"who knew that in the mountain of songs Stax Records didn't put out were many as great as those they did?...sheds extraordinary light on Memphis' soul explosion...testaments to the special essence of one of music's greatest ever labels." ~MOJO

Radio partnerships with NPR World Cafe, SiriusXM, KCRW/Los Angeles, KKJZ/Los Angeles, Vocalo/Chicago, WDIA/Memphis, WEVL/Memphis, WEXT/Albany, WGCS/South Bend, WMOT/Nashville, WYXR/Memphis, and many more

Recent AmericanaFest panel with (L-R) Jared Boyd (WYXR), William Bell (songwriter), Deanie Parker (songwriter), Teiona Echols (Stax Music Academy student)

In its heyday, Stax Records was synonymous with soul music’s biggest stars – from Otis Redding and Carla Thomas to Sam & Dave and The Staple Singers. But behind their iconic hits was a talented team of songwriters. Craft Recordings celebrates the work of these unsung heroes with the collection Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos. The 7-disc box set includes 146 demos (140 previously unreleased) from Stax’s legendary roster of songwriters, including Bettye Crutcher, Homer Banks, and William Bell. From early sketches of classic ’60s and ’70s hits to never-before-heard songs with full-blown arrangements, Written in Their Soul offers fans a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of the storied Memphis label.

Compiled by multiple GRAMMY®-winning producer Cheryl Pawelski, the songs featured on Written in Their Soul fall into three categories: demos that were released by artists at Stax or its subsidiary imprints, including Volt, We Produce, and Enterprise (CDs 1–3); demos by Stax songwriters that were released by artists on other labels, such as Atlantic and Decca (CD 4); and a trove of hit-worthy recordings that were never released (CDs 5–7). Adding context to these songs are notes by Pawelski, plus a new essay by Emmy® and GRAMMY-winning writer/producer Robert Gordon (Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story) and Stax’s original Director of Publicity, Deanie Parker, who later served as the founding President and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, which encompasses the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, among other educational organizations. Ms. Parker, who joined the Stax fold in 1962, was also a songwriter at the label.

“Demo recordings are often tossed off without inhibition, just writer and tape recorder sharing an intimate space,” writes compilation producer Cheryl Pawelski. “I love all these songs as they tumbled out for the first time. They’re filled with the joy and magic of discovering something that wasn’t there moments before. Suddenly, there it is, a song filled with the hope of finding an audience, of saying something, of moving someone.” That magic is palpable throughout Written in Their Soul, which captures some of America’s best songwriters laying down their ideas (often for the first time) on tape.

A fascinating example is Henderson Thigpen’s “Woman to Woman,” which became a signature hit for Shirley Brown in 1974. The idea for the song first came to Thigpen when he heard his wife talking about two women fighting over the same man. “When two men get serious,” Thigpen recalled, “they say, ‘Let’s talk man to man,’ so I thought of these ladies saying, ‘Woman to woman, let’s hash this out.’”

Gordon and Parker point out that the “Woman to Woman” demo is notable in that it is voiced by a male artist, but written from a female perspective. This, they say, “is an expression of a great songwriter’s skill – the ability to inhabit any character, even those not of their gender. While it was a matter of economics for the songwriter to sing across gender boundaries – if the writers brought in an outside vocalist, they’d have to pay them or have a fee taken from their royalties – the real achievement is the writers’ ability to so comfortably imagine themselves as someone else.”

Not all of the demos stray far from their final versions – in fact, fans may recognize some songs immediately. Homer Banks’ demo for “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right” (written with Carl Hampton) is a prime example. Originally intended for the Emotions, the song was shelved, only to be discovered two years later by Luther Ingram. The singer-songwriter, who stayed true to Bank’s demo, turned the song into one of the biggest hits of 1972.

Gordon and Parker note that the strength of this demo gave the songwriting duo greater creative responsibilities. “The similarity between [the] demo and Luther’s final release was strong enough to push Homer and Carl into taking more control of the sessions. ‘We found other producers were literally copying the demos and having hits,’ Homer [recalled]. ‘So…we simply decided that we were going to produce!’”

Stax was also home to several female songwriters – a rarity at that time. One of the label’s first big stars, Carla Thomas, was a prolific writer who penned her debut hit, “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes),” when she was just 15. Thomas’ work is exemplified here on multiple demos – the majority of which she would record herself – as well as several unreleased songs, including “Let’s Be Sure” and “It’s Up to You.” Some of Deanie Parker’s unreleased work is also highlighted, including demos of “Spin It” and “Nobody Wants to Get Old” with Mack Rice.

Among Stax’s most prolific songwriters was Bettye Crutcher, whose songs in this collection include solo compositions as well as collaborations, including works with her hitmaking team We Three (featuring Homer Banks and Raymond Jackson). But Crutcher had plenty of challenges to overcome, explains Parker. “She realized that there were barriers, that the writers had turf, and to be a woman in that environment was extremely difficult.

Crutcher, who passed away last October, told Gordon and Parker, “These guys just didn’t want to accept a girl coming in there doing what they were doing…I really was going to have to win them with my work, they were not going to give me any edge.” Written in Their Soul offers more than two dozen demos by Crutcher – a testament to her talents and tireless work ethic. Adds Parker, “I’ve never seen anybody who could write as many songs in one sitting as Bettye – she was like a machine!”

Other highlights from Crutcher’s rich collection of work include the previously-unreleased feminist anthem by We Three, “Too Much Sugar For A Dime.” Written In Their Soul includes two versions of the song: a raw demo, performed by Homer Banks, followed by a flashier rendition by Crutcher that features a full band, backup singers, and supremely funky guitar licks by Bobby Manuel, who frequently collaborated with the songwriter.

While it is thrilling to hear the early workings of classic Stax tracks, an equal portion of Written In Their Soul is devoted to the songs that never made it out into the world. Many of these tracks are fully-realized studio recordings that were sent to publishers for copywriting purposes.

Looking back at the breadth of demos collected here, Parker marvels, “This music has lasted over fifty years, and it’s still being studied, emulated, enjoyed. It has earned the right to become a tool used to teach a new generation: Culture. Music. Arts. Man’s humanity to man. There’s so many lessons to be learned from these demos, from the Stax vault, from the songwriters at Stax…But every great song starts with something that hits you.”

Artist and Track Title

Time

March Wind - Until I Lost You