Angie Stone was surrounded by music greatness.
Behind her - in photo form - were some of the greats of music. There were giant images of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers.
And in front of her? The real Isaac Hayes was there, plus many others who have shown great soul and some (members of the Television Critics Association) who may be relatively soulless. It was a sign of good news: Stax Records is back, both in old memories and in new songs.
This was the second day of the PBS portion, launching the three-week TCA tour. Certainly, we don't expect it all to dazzle. Only at PBS would we hear someone discuss "the alarming disappearance of honey bees."
But at its best, PBS can stir. We heard Carol Burnett discuss her memories of laughter. We heard Quentin Aanenson (86 and a centerpiece of Ken Burns' stunning "The War") discuss his memories of World War II deaths. We heard of an impressive project that will put all six Jane Austen works onscreen beginning in January.
And we heard the memories behind "Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story." The film, airing Aug. 1, tells of the record label that rose in Memphis, merging blacks (mostly) and whites (occasionally) to make music that was great (often).
In a hotel room that morning, we met Hayes. We were expecting Shaft; we found a gentle-voiced man, searching for words as he described the grandmother who raised him and lived to age 105.
And at night, we heard how the Stax label is being revived, both with re-releases and new records.
Stone is working on a Stax album that will come out in September. She was singing here in the toughest of situations, dealing with a bunch of TV critics. When she did call-and-response tunes, we had no idea we were supposed to respond. When she asked us to clap, she was bringing in one of life's worst rhythm sections.
Then she leaned into a Stax classic, Shirley Brown's "Woman to Woman," and soared. A moment later, she sang a new song she's written.
Stone meant the song about her own life, but it also relates to the troubles at Stax and the tragedies of the war: "That's why God gave us memories/To lead us to our victories." Right now, PBS seems to be gathering some vital memories.
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