Sixty years ago this summer, Stax Records’ top artists took over the 5-4 Ballroom in South Los Angeles for a two-night run billed as the Stax Revue. This whirlwind visit marked a major moment for the young Memphis soul label, bringing acts like Rufus & Carla Thomas, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, The Mar-Keys, The Mad Lads, Wilson Pickett, and William Bell to a Los Angeles audience for the first time. The shows on August 7th and 8th, 1965, happened just days before the Watts Rebellion, adding a tense backdrop to this historic engagement.
The concert audio sat in the vault for decades, with some highlights first released in 1991 as Stax Revue Live At The 5/4 Ballroom. Now, Craft Recordings presents Stax Revue: Live in ’65! — a deluxe set that not only captures the LA shows but also includes a rare Memphis performance from earlier that summer at Club Paradise. That hometown set features David Porter, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, The Astors, and Wendy Rene.
This expanded edition also adds previously unreleased gems from both cities, including a fiery “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett, an extended jam on “The Dog” by Rufus Thomas, a standout set from David Porter, and a high-energy take on “Boot-Leg” from Booker T. & The M.G.’s, available now as an advance single.
Dropping August 8th on 2-LP, 2-CD, HD digital, and standard digital, Stax Revue: Live in ’65! features remastered audio by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Joe Tarantino. The LP lacquers were cut by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl. The physical releases also include fresh liner notes from GRAMMY-winning author Lynell George and the set’s GRAMMY-nominated producer Alec Palao.
1965: When Stax Took Its Soul Train to Los Angeles — And History Was Watching
1965 was the year Stax Records went from Memphis upstart to serious player. Founded just a few years earlier by Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton, the label was already stacking hits with Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and the usual suspects. A slick distribution deal with Atlantic Records kicked the label into a higher gear, while songwriting power duo David Porter and Isaac Hayes were cooking up what would become soul classics. By year’s end, Stax was a bona fide household name with chart-toppers spilling out from Sam & Dave to William Bell and Eddie Floyd.
Riding that wave, Stax booked its first Los Angeles revue at the 5-4 Ballroom, a legendary spot in South LA with a history as complicated as the city itself. The lineup? Rufus Thomas, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, William Bell, Carla Thomas, The Mar-Keys, The Mad Lads, The Astors, plus Atlantic’s Wilson Pickett. The two-night run on August 7th and 8th was part of KGFJ radio’s “Summer Spectacular,” emceed by the unforgettable DJ The Magnificent Montague, whose ominous catchphrase “Burn, Baby, Burn” would soon take on a whole new meaning.
The 5-4 Ballroom was no stranger to racial tension—it started as a segregated joint and only later opened to Black audiences and performers, hosting legends like Billie Holiday and Nat “King” Cole. Just days after the Stax Revue, the Watts Rebellion exploded nearby, turning the city upside down.
Yet, despite the storm on the horizon, the shows were a rare moment of unity and soul power. “Stax was its own revolution—a small but mighty label delivering music that soothed and fired up a country dealing with some serious daily battles,” says Lynell George. Producer Alec Palao calls the recordings “verité snapshots”—raw, alive, and dripping with the moment’s urgency.
For many artists on stage, this was their first real shot outside Memphis, and the packed, sweaty crowd was both thrilling and terrifying. “They’d never played a gig this big or this sophisticated,” Palao notes. George sums it up: “The audience finally got to meet the faces behind the voices they’d been worshipping on record.”
The Bottom Line
Stax Revue: Live in ’65! finally delivers the long-shelved, historic Stax concerts from Los Angeles and Memphis in a deluxe, newly remastered 2-LP, 2-CD, and digital package. Featuring William Bell, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, David Porter, and more, this set digs up rare performances and fresh liner notes that bring the heat decades later. Pre-order now for the August 8 release—because vintage soul this raw doesn’t come knocking twice.
Where to pre-order: $32.99 at Amazon (ships August 8, 2025)
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