Sittin’ On the Dock of Broadway? Concord Music Group Sets Plans for Stax Records Musical

Look out, Motown, because Stax Records has its eyes set for Broadway as well! According to The Los Angeles Times, Concord Music Group intends to launch a musical telling the story of the Memphis record label that, in the 1950s and 60s, delivered the music of Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the M.G.s and more. The show, which is aiming to open on the Great White Way sometime in 2016, will feature a book by Matthew Benjamin and would likely feature music from the record label.

The new tuner is being produced by Concord Music Group and Stuart Benjamin, who produced the 2004 film Ray, based on the life and career of Ray Charles. In 2010, Benjamin attempted to bring Charles’ story to the Broadway stage with Unchain My Heart, which eventually delayed its opening and was subsequently canceled.

Stax Records was originally founded in 1957 under the name Satellite Records by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Some of their greatest hits include Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes, Shirley Brown’s “Woman to Woman” and Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.”