Join KPFA and The New Parkway for this month’s Documentary Night screening of Wattstax July 2nd at 6:30pm.
On August 20,1972 Stax Records organized a concert to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots.
The concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and included all of Stax’s prominent artists at the time including Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, The Bar-Kays, Albert King, Carla Thomas and more.
The concert was filmed by David L. Wolper’s film crew and was made into the 1973 film titled, Wattstax. The film was directed by Mel Stuart and nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Documentary Film in 1974.