There’s a long tradition of such unfathomable lapses in judgment by Oscar voters, all of whom select a final winner. For decades, their choices mostly avoided contributions from rock and R&B stars, rarities like Isaac Hayes and Bruce Springsteen...

Sam Moore and Dave Prater met in Florida in 1961. They didn’t exactly set the recording world on fire until they signed with Atlantic Records four years later. When Atlantic passed them along to Memphis-based Stax Records, by then an Atlantic...

GK – Ringo Starr – Ringo made a career out of being in the right place at the right time, by being a pretty good available drummer just as three musical geniuses happened to need one. He gets by with a little help from his friends here too. LCB – Isaac...

These subtleties manifest themselves most clearly on the 'The Rakehell'. Built around bassist Karl Blau’s supple groove, it sounds almost like Parliament, chopped and screwed beyond recognition, Dylan Carlson’s freewheeling guitar scrawling over a...

There’s no denying that Ernest Tidyman’s tough, tight script; Richard Roundtree’s incredible starpower, and Isaac Hayes’ Oscar-winning score all contributed to the creation of this landmark, but the most impressive element of “Shaft” is the maestro...

Connors takes tourney: Jimmy Connors hits a backhand in his quarterfinal match with Fritz Buehning at the U.S. National Indoor Tournament at The Racquet Club of Memphis on Feb. 10, 1984. Connors won 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Isaac Hayes is back in Memphis, but...