Sir Mack reigned at top of Stax
Just about every singer name-checked in Arthur Conley's electric 1967 dance hit "Sweet Soul Music" is dead: James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Lou Rawls for starters. Conley's hit was produced by the late Otis Redding. Even Conley died of cancer in 2003. But Sir Mack Rice -- a Detroit singer and songwriter, and a cornerstone of the famous Stax Records in Memphis, Tenn., celebrating its 50th anniversary this year -- is still singing and writing, keeping up the heartbeat of '60s and '70s soul music.
He wrote the now-ubiquitous "Mustang Sally" for Pickett. While a staff writer at Stax, he co-wrote "Respect Yourself" for the Staple Singers and "Cheaper to Keep Her" for Johnnie Taylor. "Cadillac Assembly Line" was a semi-autobiographical hit Rice penned for the late blues guitarist Albert King.
Rice, 73, makes a rare Chicago appearance in a tribute to King -- part of the city's "Winter Delights" series -- on Saturday at the Cadillac Palace. He will be backed by the Platinum Band, the fine Chicago-based group that played behind the late Tyrone Davis and now has been inherited by Otis Clay. Big Time Sarah opens the show, followed by guest spots from Lurrie Bell, Melvin Taylor and Carl Weathersby, who played rhythm guitar with King.
"Writing songs in the 1960s was about the feel," Rice said earlier this week while driving his red Hummer around his native Detroit. "That was the feeling we had at Stax -- it was hard-core R&B. We liked Motown, but we didn't like Motown's music per se. In Memphis, we competed with Al Green and Willie Mitchell [at Hi Records]. At the time, their stuff sounded lightweight. Now I love to listen to their records. But Otis [Clay, now based in Chicago] is the last soul singer out here."
"I had sung with a group called the Scalders in high school," Rice said. "I left them when I was drafted in the Army. When I got out, my mother told me about an ad in the paper looking for new members for the Falcons. They were losing two white guys to the Army." The Falcons had hits such as "I Found a Love" and "You're So Fine."
Stax guitarist Steve Cropper and Floyd visited Detroit to push Floyd's 1966 hit single "Knock on Wood." Thanks to Floyd's efforts, Rice met them at the record distributor's office. Rice had just penned "Mustang Sally" and recorded its demo for Mercury Records in Chicago. "Mustang Sally" was covered by the Young Rascals before Pickett's version went gold in December 1966 -- countless artists have since recorded and performed the song -- and Cropper and Floyd invited Rice to write in Memphis. Born Bonny Rice, he was "knighted" as "Sir Mack" by Mercury producer Andre Williams after the success of the song.
"I was one up on them with 'Mustang Sally,' " Rice said. "I loved Stax. There will never be another company like Stax. All the labels now are technical and tight. Stax was loose. We had a guy come in as a janitor, and he would become an engineer. Larry Nix was working in the mail department. Now he has his own mastering company in Memphis [out of Ardent Studios, where Nix went on to work with Big Star and others].
"Stax was full of Cinderella stories like that. We had a brotherly white-black love."
"[Stax co-founder] Jim Stewart had the best office in the company," Rice recalled. "It was upstairs. I used his office. The Bar Kays used to hang there. There were zebra couches and a bathroom in the office. Luther [Ingram] and I were talking about life. One of us -- I don't know which one -- said, 'A man has to respect himself.' The other one said, 'That's a damn good title, let's write it.' "
Meanwhile, Rice said, Ingram went downstairs to sing behind Isaac Hayes, who was recording his "Black Moses" album. "I guess Luther forgot about me. He never came back. With that title, I started playing chords with my guitar. I wrote that song in 30 minutes. The words just kept coming. Good songs don't take long to write."
Rice played "Respect Yourself" for Stax songwriter Bettye Crutcher. She told Rice he should immediately get the song to Stax producer Al "The Doctor" Bell. "She said it would be a great song for the Staple Singers," Rice said.
The Staples recorded "Respect Yourself" at Ardent Studios in Memphis with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Keyboardist Barry Beckett and drummer Roger Hawkins played on the downbeat, which tempered Rice's original composition. Bell's template for this treatment was "Express Yourself," a 1970 hit by the silky Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.
"I was so happy they did that," Rice said. "They also slowed down 'Cheaper to Keep Her.' A good producer knows how to look at material that's best for their artist. I'm not a good producer."
The city's snowy "Winter Delights" week won't deter Rice, who said he will likely drive his red Hummer to Chicago.
"I don't drive black cars, I don't drive white cars," he said. "Those are funeral cars. My Mercedes is even in the red family," and the venerable soul songwriter hummed another familiar melody.
Stax Records commemorates its 50th anniversary this year, and the Concord Music Group is dipping into the vault in Motownesque proportions. Here's the lowdown on commemorative releases and events this year:
• A 50-song double CD "box set" titled "Stax 50: A 50th Anniversary Celebration" will be released March 13.
There's nothing new here, although new sequencing makes for a great house party. For example, the second disc kicks off with "Time Is Tight" by Booker T. & the MG's, followed by the Emotions and then Isaac Hayes' sultry booty call "Walk on By."
Of course, all this is unnecessary for those of us who forked over big bucks for "The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles," released by Fantasy Records in three magnificent box sets during the mid-1990s. The final chapter alone (1972-75) included 10 discs featuring more than 200 singles.
But Concord has reactivated Stax. The Los Angeles-based label will be signing new artists and has brought back Hayes as its first returning veteran.
• Chicago's Black Ensemble Theater presents the world premiere of "Memphis Soul (The Music of Stax Records)," opening March 18. Call (773) 769-4451.
• A Stax Revue consisting of Booker T. & the MG's, Eddie Floyd and William Bell will appear March 15 at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas.
• In July, a Stax documentary will air on PBS and promises to be more in-depth than the 2003 concert documentary "Soul Comes Home," which was released in conjunction with the opening of the Stax Museum in Memphis, Tenn.
• Finally, if you're heading to Memphis in the near future, check out "Last Mondays in Studio A" at the Stax Museum, 926 E. McLemore. Sir Mack Rice will appear with the Bo-Keys (who appear in the upcoming Craig Brewer film "Black Snake Moan") at 7 p.m. Feb. 26, and the Temprees will perform at 7 p.m. March 26. Tickets are $20 ,with complementary hors d'oeuvres and soft drinks. Visit www.staxmuseum.com for more information.
Dave Hoekstra