Stax Revue - A Lesson in Becoming a Legend

I must admit, I love my life. I have been fortunate to know what I've wanted to do and be for a long time. Most importantly, I am pursuing my love. Most recently, I had the honor of sharing the stage with the Legendary Stax Records artists William Bell and The Soul Children in Holland and Finland. If I have but one thing to take from the experience, I must say that loving and being passionate about music is a must.

To be a star, one must embody the notion that one is. When you believe it, you live it in every way. That is what I saw in William Bell and J. Blackfoot (probably one of the most underrated soul stars on the legendary Stax roster). I really spent a lot of time around J. Blackfoot and Norman West (the other half of the Soul Children) . Foot (as he is affectionately known) and Norman West, along with two newer members, heated the stage every night. Most memorable was Foot's command of the stage and band. They were filled with antics and anecdotes. They filled my mind with stories of a history past of a young Stax in it's prime with all that good southern talent in Memphis, TN. Foot and Norman had the voices, the clothes, the Cadillacs, women and the confidence to ease their charisma into the music. To this day, it is ever present. There's a gritty sweetness with the most soulful combination of singers singing backgrounds as leads in their music and more importantly, the connection they have to performing their songs night after night is stellar. I don't mean to leave William Bell out, because his suave cool confidence, soulfully beautiful voice, along with his command of a stage is amazing.

I walked away wanting to be better than I am. They all showed me the show starts the moment you wake up until you get off the stage. Each one of them were sticklers for getting the sound right, the band playing the music as it should be played, making sure all eyes were on them at all times when on the stage, and lastly continuing to perservere despite obstacles. We were accompanied by Total Package (William Bell's band) out of Atlanta and they did us well every night. Thanks guys for everything. All I can say is it was wonderful to be able to watch, talk to, laugh with, perform with, and learn from such classy legends as these.


As I grow I want to become a legend like them.