Wattstax

Wattstax
source
Name	Wattstax
Date	August 20, 1972
Venue	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Location	Los Angeles, California
Attendance	100,000
Organizer	Stax Records
Genre	Soul, R&B, Gospel

Wattstax Wattstax was a 1972 benefit concert and cultural event held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that brought together artists, activists, and community leaders to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots and to support causes associated with Stax Records, Soul music, and civil rights activism. The event featured performances by major artists associated with Stax Records, speeches by community organizers, and a concert film documenting the day, intersecting with wider movements involving figures from Motown, Gospel music, Black Power, and the broader African American cultural renaissance of the early 1970s.

Background and planning

The concert was conceived by executives at Stax Records including Al Bell and organizers who connected to community leaders in Watts, South Los Angeles and activist networks associated with Congress of Racial Equality and local chapters of NAACP. Planning involved coordination with venue officials at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, promoters linked to Bill Graham-era rock promotion practices, and media partners connected to outlets such as Rolling Stone, Jet (magazine), and Ebony (magazine). Fundraising and programming drew on relationships with artists on the Stax roster and affiliated musicians who had worked with producers like Isaac Hayes, David Porter, and arrangers from studios tied to Memphis, Stax House Band sessions. Logistics required negotiation with municipal agencies in Los Angeles County and unions representing stagehands who had worked at events linked to Newport Jazz Festival and Monterey Pop Festival.

The 1972 benefit concert

Held on August 20, 1972 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the concert assembled an audience estimated at 100,000 and involved stage management practices familiar to productions at Fillmore West, Madison Square Garden, and stadium shows promoted by companies like Bill Graham Presents. The event combined musical sets with speeches referencing the aftermath of the Watts riots, the political climate shaped by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and contemporaries in the era of Black Power politics like Stokely Carmichael and community leaders associated with Los Angeles politics including connections to municipal figures in Mayor Tom Bradley's orbit. Security and crowd control at the Coliseum drew comparisons to protocols used at Isle of Wight Festival and other large-scale concerts, while benefit elements echoed fundraising traditions established by events like Newport Folk Festival and celebrity benefit concerts advocated by artists tied to causes linked with Muhammad Ali and humanitarian efforts.

Performers and set list

The lineup featured Stax-affiliated acts and guest performers linked to labels such as Volt Records and contemporaries from the Stax roster. Headliners and featured artists included members and alumni connected to Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, and backing musicians from the acclaimed Stax house band often associated with session credits alongside artists who recorded at Ardent Studios and Royal Studios. Gospel-inflected sets referenced traditions upheld by acts traveling with influences from Mahalia Jackson and collaborations reminiscent of concerts where artists like Aretha Franklin appeared with choirs. The concert’s set list showcased songs that had charted on Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard R&B chart and included extended jams drawing on techniques used in live recordings by groups who had performed at Apollo Theater residencies and summer tours with artists managed by agencies like William Morris Agency.

Film and documentary

A concert film documenting the event was produced by filmmakers connected to independent documentary traditions and distributed in ways that mirrored releases by distributors who had handled music documentaries such as those about The Last Waltz and earlier concert films capturing performances at venues like The Fillmore. The film intercut stage performances with street footage from Watts, interviews with community figures, and narrative sequences that evoked contemporaneous documentaries about urban life similar to those that focused on subjects such as Inner City conditions, with editorial approaches related to work by directors influenced by Melvin Van Peebles and filmmakers appearing in circles near Blaxploitation cinema. Cinematographers and editors drew on documentary practices established by crews who had worked on projects linking music and social commentary, and the film’s release strategy involved screenings at venues that hosted premieres akin to showings at the New York Film Festival and regional film houses.

Release and reception

Upon release, the film and live album were reviewed by critics from publications including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Variety (magazine), and trade outlets such as Billboard (magazine). Reception combined praise for performances by Stax artists and commentary situating the event within music histories that involved Soul music, R&B, and the development of concert culture alongside festivals like Monterey Pop and Woodstock. Commercial and critical appraisals referenced the influence of producers and arrangers with resumes overlapping those of recording professionals who had worked with Atlantic Records, Motown Records, and independent labels that shaped the 1960s and 1970s soundscape. The concert film’s distribution and later reissues were connected to archival efforts similar to restorations of documentaries about artists such as James Brown and preservation initiatives by institutions like the Library of Congress.

Cultural impact and legacy

The event’s legacy is discussed in scholarship and commentary by historians of music and urban studies who reference its role in commemorating the Watts riots and shaping narratives around African American cultural expression alongside movements associated with Black Arts Movement, Civil Rights Movement, and civic activism linked to organizations like SCLC and CORE. It influenced subsequent benefit concerts, documentary approaches to music festivals, and reunions of Stax alumni that intersect with revival efforts involving labels such as Concord Records and archival releases curated by historians connected to institutions like Smithsonian Institution. The concert remains cited in studies of popular music, film, and urban history alongside notable events like The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and in retrospectives that examine the intersections of performance, politics, and community memory. Category:Music festivals in California