On a mission

Novella Smith Arnold has been, as Jake and Elwood might say, "on a mission from God."

She's gotten the autographs of eighteen legendary Stax Records artists, producers, and recording engineers on a handsome new Gibson ES-335 guitar. It's in connection with SIMposium 2007, a national conference of CIOs and information technology (IT) leaders being held in Memphis next month.

In honor of founder Jim Stewart, and in celebration of Stax's 50th anniversary, the guitar is being auctioned online to benefit the students of Stax Music Academy studying the use of technology in music production and management. The sponsor is SIM Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Society for Information Management.

The cherry-red Gibson bears the documented autographs of legends in the recording industry: Jim Stewart, Al Bell (owner of Stax in the 1970s), John Fry (founder of Ardent Recording Studios), and "Papa" Willie Mitchell (Hi Records, Al Green's producer). Also mastering engineer Larry Nix; engineer/producer Terry Manning.

Stax artists who have signed the guitar include: Academy Award-winning superstar Isaac Hayes; his former songwriting partner David Porter ("Soul Man"); soul men Steve Cropper and "Duck" Dunn (Booker T. and the MGs, The Blues Brothers); James Alexander and Larry Dodson (The Bar-Kays); keyboardist Lester Snell; guitarist Bobby Manuel; keyboardist Marvell Thomas (son of Rufus); guitarist Charles "Skip" Pitts (wah-wah on "Shaft"); singer-songwriter Don Nix; Stax songwriter and Soulsville founder Deanie Parker.

• Click here for the photo story of the guitar signings.
• Click here to go to the auction site.
• Click here for biographical info on the guitar signers.
• Click here for the press release (PDF).
• Click here for a Memphis Daily News story.

SIM members and SIMposium 2007 registrants and sponsors can bid. If you are not a SIM member, you can still register for the conference. Check with your company's CIO or IT department to find who in your organization is already attending SIMposium 2007 and could bid on your behalf. If they're not registered, perhaps they ought to do so for the professional benefits. Note: Pre-conference registration (giving you the login ID to bid) closes Monday, October 1; after that you must wait a week and register on-site.

Society for Information Management / SIM International is an association of senior information technology (IT) executives, prominent academicians, select consultants, and other IT thought leaders built on the foundation of local chapters, who come together at the SIMposium conference each year to share and enhance their intellectual capital for the benefit of members and their organizations.

For more information about the guitar signings and/or to obtain photos for publication, contact the webmaster of this site (link in in the sidebar).

Photo: Four of the guitar signers appear together in this photo of the rehearsal for the Stax 50th Anniversary concert at the Memphis Orpheum, June 22. Left to right: Lester Snell (partially obscured), Skip Pitts, Isaac Hayes, and Bobby Manuel. They're playing the theme from Shaft.

The Story of the Stax-Studded Guitar, Part 2

(This is a continuation of the story, told in photos and her words, of how Novella got the autographs of 18 Stax Records-era living legends on a new Gibson guitar. To begin with Part 1, click here.)

Click here to see the complete photo story.

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James Alexander
Larry Dodson
The Bar-Kays

August 23. The Bar-Kays came to my house to sign. Most of the original band were lost with Otis Redding in a plane crash in 1967. Bass player James Alexander missed the flight. He and and the sole survivor, Ben Cauley, rebuilt the band. Larry Dodson (right) joined as lead singer in 1970. They just released their 30th CD.

Don Nix
Singer-songwriter

August 27. My husband went back to Ardent for two more autographs. Don Nix has had a long career as sax player for the Mar-Keys, songwriter, musician, and author. He signed, and gave us a copy of his latest CD, "I Don't Want No Trouble" (2006).

John Fry
Founder of Ardent Studios

While there, Mike also got John Fry's autograph. Ardent celebrated its own 40th birthday last year. It should always be remembered that Ardent's history is interwined with Stax's. When Stax got too busy for its own studio, a lot of the recording work went to Ardent, including landmark albums like Hot Buttered Soul.

Deanie Parker
Founder of Soulsville

August 29.We found Deanie Parker in her offices at Soulsville, the parent organization over the Stax Museum, Music Academy, and Charter School.

Bobby Manuel
Guitarist

August 31. A return trip to Ardent for two more signatures. Bobby Manuel was originally a Stax engineer, but became one of the most often-used session guitarists. Check the back of your Stax albums, and see if he isn't there. Today, he became the second person to play this guitar.

Marvell Thomas
Keyboardist

Not as famous as his sister Carla or father Rufus, Marvell Thomas, like Bobby, is session musician who is a Stax institution. Check your albums again. (And boy, can Marvell tell you stories.)

Charles "Skip" Pitts
Guitarist

September 5. After some crossed signals, we finally met up a long-time Isaac Hayes guitarist, Skip Pitts, who's also played for Rufus Thomas, Soul Children, and others. He's perhaps best known as the "wah-wah guitar" on Theme from Shaft.

Al Bell
Owner of Stax Records (1970s)

September 8.Jim's Stewart's right hand business guy from 1965. More than once, Al Bell was instrumental in bringing Stax back from ashes to even greater glory. He helped Jim buy the company back from Gulf+Western and CBS, ending up owner until the end in 1975.

Al lives in Little Rock, so it was a matter of catching him on a trip to Memphis. That's his beautiful wife and my longtime friend, Lydia.

Isaac Hayes
Superstar

September 12. At long last Isaac! He'd just come back from a trip to Atlanta, and was at Studio Center on Union Ave., recording spots for Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW). With him was MLGW communications director Gale Jones Carson (seen in the last photo). We pulled him out of the studio and sat him down in the waiting room to sign. I stole a kiss.

David Porter
Songwriter

With Isaac signing, we had to have David Porter, his songwriting partner from way back. After leaving the studio I called David. He was out in his car. Cellphone to cellphone, we triangulated down to a parking lot near Mt. Moriah Road and Park Avenue. He signed the guitar on the back of my PT Cruiser.

The Hayes/Porter team wrote 200 songs for Stax artists and groups, including "Soul Man," which was a Sam & Dave hit long before it was the Blue Brothers anthem.

Novella Smith

With the guitar finally complete, now I can sign it.


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