Known as the one of the most prominent outposts of American soul music, Memphis’ black musical heyday is often defined by the commercial success of Stax Records and Royal Studios. Despite the enduring legacy of the architects of soul music who dwelled the streets of the Bluff City in the 1960s, a revolution of dance music in the late 1970s, combined with the advent of new electronic means of creating sounds, would impact the music industry globally. In Memphis, no studio, producer, instrumentalist or performer was immune.
“The Lost Generation” is a series of panels which will explore an era of Memphis music, often overlooked by music fans and critics alike. From disco, funk, blues, gospel, rock to hip-hop, these are the innovators of deep, grooves that bridge the gap and tell the story of how a city defined by soul and spirit became a city committed to the trap and the trunk.
Dexter Haygood – A stylistic descendant of Memphis-based funk outfits such as The Bar-Kays and Con Funk Shun, Xavion was a Black band that blended glam rock with remnants of soul. A group you had to see, not just hear, the group was made for the MTV era, and proved it, as one of the earliest African-American acts to appear on the network. Its frontman Dextor Haygood returned to the spotlight for a bit of redemption appearing in 2011 on television talent competition “X Factor,” bringing the same livewire energy the group was known for in the 1980s.
Perry Michael Allen – Performer, songwriter and producer Perry Michael Allen is a defining session man of synthesized soul, during the period in which Memphis began to redefine its grasp on the genre. Having previously worked with artists at Hi Records and Royal Studios, Allen’s group Kilo emerged the ashes of Stax Records’ closure in Memphis when the label briefly relaunched in the late 1970s with funk in mind. Returning to Royal’s stable of musical minds, Allen’s influence is evident across the studio’s work in the late 1970s and 1980s, shaping largely the sound of Willie Mitchell’s WayLo Records and its minimalistic sound that was devoid of horns and organs, but steeped in downhome grit.
Larry Dodson – The electrifunking soul man, also known as Larry D, is immortalized through photos and video by his outlandish outfits, over-the-top expressions, blonde hair, and of course, his onstage sidekick: an actual snake. But he’s known best on records for his belly-quaking vocal display. Though not an original member of The Bar-Kays, his decades-long membership of the group defies time and genre. And with them, Dodson is among one of the shining examples of Memphis’ changing studio dynamic between the 1960s and the 1980s, as changes in tastes and technology altered music forever.
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