Originally published on September 12, 2008

Al Bell

Stax
Co-Owner

Stax co-owner has seen the best and worst of the record industry—and now he is determined to return core values

Celebrating his 50th anniversary in recorded music, Al Bell continues to help shape the American music scene. Having started as a DJ, he is best-known as one of the key figures and co-owner of legendary Stax Records during the latter half of the label's existence. He doesn't sing, dance or play a musical instrument, but his gift is hearing and feeling the music.

Beginning your career: In high school I was president of the Audio Visual Aid Society. That was the school organization that had all the motion picture projectors and record players. Students started asking for record hops after the football and basketball games. Once the principal agreed, after the games I would put a table up on the stage with a record player and play music. I started to appreciate how I could control the audience by the tempo of the music. Our first black station opened up in Little Rock, KOKY. I asked one of their jocks and the station manager to be judges in a talent show. After the show, the station manager said he'd like me to come by the station Friday after school. So I went by the station and he said I had a gift for gab and he wanted to make a disc jockey out of me. By Sunday morning I was on the air playing gospel music. After I graduated and was in my freshman year in college, they gave me the morning show.

Learning the music business: We had one record shop in [Little Rock] and it dawned on me that people are spending money to get me to play these records; they must be making money some way. So I started going by the record store to see what people were buying to give me an idea of what to play. I started asking questions about where they were getting their records and they told me about the wholesalers in Memphis. Eventually, I came to work at WLOK/Memphis and started a label. I was recording in Memphis and ran into Red Matthews. He took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about the business.

Joining Stax Records: Stax was a studio and the label Stax Records was distributed by Atlantic Records. [Songwriter/producer] David Porter would visit me at WLOK and talk about the records they released. The first time I walked into the studio, I saw two white guys and two black guys making this music that sounded the way that Stax music sounded. It blew my mind. I got an offer to go to WUST/ Washington, D.C., and mentioned it to David. He said to take the job and our records, since they weren't being played in other areas of the country. I did morning and afternoon drive, then started my second label. I developed a relationship with Jim Stewart, founder of Stax. He would send me the records so I could listen and give him my comments. One day Jim called and said, "We're $90,000 in the hole and about to go under. Atlantic isn't promoting our records and we need attention. All of the disc jockeys know and respect you, and I wish you would consider coming to Memphis to work in promotion." He and his sister agreed to give me equity in the company if I could help turn it around. In about nine months we had [made] a million-and-a-half dollars.

Restructuring the company: In the contract, there was language that said if Atlantic merged with someone, Stax would be free to remove themselves from that agreement. When Atlantic merged with Warner and Elektra to form WEA, Stax opted not to go along. When we realized the masters belonged to Atlantic, we had nothing. Then an angel came along that created a miracle: Clarence Avant. He was a friend and put together a business plan and sold the company to Gulf & Western. Jim got his stock out, I got stock, and we got funding needed to operate. It allowed us to grow from a production company to a free-standing independent record company. All of a sudden we were resurrected, and the rest is history.

Current projects: In February I was talking to some investment bankers and financial people about a new paradigm I had been working on for the music business. These guys said it would work because I was dealing with my greatest asset—something that has a track record—me. They said I should put forth a business using "Al Bell Presents," which I'll be formally announcing in about 60 days.

State of the music industry: It's troubling. Major companies developed a cookie-cutter approach to creating music. That allowed them to mass-merchandise product to big-box retailers to realize projections and keep stockholders happy, but what they didn't take into consideration is what was happening on the Internet. Instead of buying what got to be a $14, $15, $16.98 CD that only had one or two great songs on it, people could go on the Internet, download it and not have to purchase full-length CDs. Without being consciously aware, they were destroying the art and creativity of our business, placing the emphasis on commerce.

Career highlight: I'm proud of everything we did at Stax. I looked for unique artists and tried to find writers that wrote to that artist's God-given gift. On a personal level, I was able to sign the Staple Singers.

Most influential individual: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller of the Rockefeller family, who chose to live in Arkansas. My father became a landscaping contractor. Rockefeller was into real estate development and many other things, and my father would send me to take invoices up to the ranch. While I was there, Mr. Rockefeller would spend time talking to me. Of the many things he taught me, the thing that influenced me most was a piece of wood he burned part of a poem into with a magnifying glass. I studied the poem, and that has influenced me to this day. It is written by Edgar A. Guest, titled "It Couldn't Be Done."

Advice for the music industry: Let us become artistic, creative, innovative. Realize the industry has changed in terms of delivery of product and how we market to the consumer. Let us go back to making and recording great product, unique artists and songs and treat it as art. Take the time to merchandise and market that unique artist and great song to the consumer.

Liner Notes
Profile: Al Bell
Title: Al Bell Presents executive
Favorite radio format: "AC or oldies."
Favorite TV show: "Every Sunday, I try to watch Pastor Fred Price in Los Angeles. And until recently, 'Meet the Press.' "
Favorite song: "Wish I Knew Why I'm So in Love With You"
Favorite movie: "Tea and Sympathy"
Favorite book: "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"
Favorite restaurant: "I married a woman who is one of the greatest cooks on this planet, so she's my favorite restaurateur."
Beverage of choice: "It varies between Sprite, 7-Up and Mountain Dew."
Hobbies: "The one I love and unfortunately I can't do much is fishing, whether it's salt water or freshwater or backwater, whatever."
E-mail address: iambusy@alpine-records.com

'Major companies developed a cookie-cutter approach to creating music. That allowed them to keep stockholders happy. But without being consciously aware, they were destroying the art and creativity of our business.' —Al Bell