Memphis soul, also known as Memphis Sound, is stylish, funky, uptown soul music that is not as hard-edged as Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn lines, organ, bass, and a driving beat on the drums. Many of the songs in this style were performed by vocalists backed by the house bands for Stax and Hi Records. The Memphis soul sound was different from the Motown Sound from Detroit Michigan. After the rise of disco in the late 1970s, Memphis soul declined somewhat in popularity.

Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton converted an old movie theater into a recording studio at the corner of McLemore Avenue and College Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Shortly after, former WDIA disc jockey Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla recorded the label's first hit, "Cause I Love You." Soon after, the Mar-Keys, a local R&B group that included Estelle's son, recorded "Last Night."

For the next 14 years, Stax Records launched the careers and recorded hits for the likes of Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, Booker T. and the MGs, Sam & Dave and Isaac Hayes. Of the approximately 800 singles and 300 LPs recorded at Stax, there were 166 Top 100 songs in the pop charts, and 265 Top 100 hits in the R&B charts, nine of them Grammy winners.

Curtis Ousley (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. He was adopted, alongside with his adopted sister, Josephine Ousley Allen. They both grew up in Texas, together. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer. Adept at tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, he was best known for his distinctive riffs and solos such as on "Yakety Yak", which later became the inspiration for Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax" and his own "Memphis Soul Stew".

King Curtis started playing saxophone at the age of twelve in the Fort Worth area. Josephine, took interest in him, knowing that she was also into music and singing as well. He took interest in many musical genres including jazz, rhythm and blues, and popular music. As a student pursuing music he turned down college scholarships in order to join the Lionel Hampton Band. During his time with Lionel Hampton he was able to write and arrange music and learn guitar. In 1952 Curtis decided to move to New York and became a session musician, recording for such labels as Prestige, Enjoy, Capitol, and Atco. He recorded with Nat Adderley and Wynton Kelly,Buddy Holly and Andy Williams.

Rufus Thomas, Jr. (March 27, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian from Memphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the father of soul singer Carla Thomas and keyboard player Marvell Thomas. A third child, Vaneese, a former French teacher, has a recording studio in upstate New York and sings for television commercials.

Born a sharecropper's son in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, Thomas moved to Memphis with his family at age 2. His mother was “a church woman.” Thomas made his artistic debut at the age of 6 playing a frog in a school theatrical production. Much later in life, he would impersonate all kinds of animals: screeching cats, funky chickens and penguins, and mournful dogs. By age 10, he was a tap dancer, performing in amateur productions at Memphis' Booker T. Washington High School.

Albert Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together". In 2005, Rolling Stone named him #66 in their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of All Time'. The nomination stated that "people are born to do certain things, and Al was born to make us smile." The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Green in 1995, referring to him as "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music." Green has sold more than 20 million records.

Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas. He was the sixth of ten children born to Robert and Cora Greene. The son of a sharecropper, he started performing at age ten in a Forrest City quartet called the Greene Brothers; he dropped the final "E" from his last name years later as a solo artist. They toured extensively in the mid-1950s in the South until the Greenes moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, when they began to tour around Michigan. His father kicked him out of the group because he caught Green listening to Jackie Wilson.

Matthew Shafer (born June 6, 1974) is an American rock musician known as Uncle Kracker. His singles include "Follow Me", "Smile", and "Drift Away". His music was more rap rock-based at the start of his career before turning in a more rock influenced direction on later releases.

Shafer was born in Mississippi but raised in Harrison Township, Michigan. In 1987, with his brother Mike Shafer, he visited a nightclub in Clawson, Michigan where a turntables competition was occurring. His older brother was competing against a then-unknown musician, Kid Rock. Shafer then spent a lot of time with Kid Rock, and they became "best friends". In those times, he was mainly rapping. He went to L'Anse Creuse High School. In 1994, Kid Rock asked Shafer to play turntables for his band called Twisted Brown Trucker. Shafer knew nothing of using turntables, but since his brother was an experienced DJ, he agreed. He only performed at live shows at the time, until he began recording for Rock's album, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp; Shafer was a featured vocalist on some of the tracks. He then began working on a solo album, but he continued being the DJ for Kid Rock. Upon the release of Rock's multi-platinum album, Devil Without a Cause, Shafer decided that it was time to release his first solo album, Double Wide, adopting the stage name Uncle Kracker from his favorite snack producer, the Kraft Cracker Company of Flint, Michigan.