Music Executive, Record Producer. Best known as the co-founder of Stax Records with his older sister, Estelle Axton, Stewart pioneered the Southern soul sound. Born James F. Stewart in Middleton, Tennessee, he was raised on a farm in Middleton before moving to Memphis in 1948. He joined a local act called "The Canyon Cowboys" and served two years in the U.S. Army. Upon leaving the military, he made his primary living as a banker (bank clerk) which was his job before his military service. In 1957, he and his older sister Estelle founded the record label, Satellite Records, initially selling country and rockabilly singles before transitioning to the funk/R&B/soul/gospel music that led to their 1960s-1970s heyday. A sister label was launched as well. It was called Volt Records. In order to record artists on tape and help the fledgling label, Estelle mortgaged her home to get her brother-business partner an Ampex 300 recorder. In 1959, the label adopted Memphis' old Capitol Theatre as their headquarters, converting the auditorium into a recording studio and the stage into a studio control room, giving the recordings a distinctive quality. Chips Moman became staff producer for the label. In 1961, the label was renamed Stax Records (combining the last names of Stewart & Axton) and by the early 1960s, their albums & singles were being distributed nationwide by Atlantic Records. The list of artists signed to Stax-Volt include: Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Marvell Thomas, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Sam & Dave, The Bar-Kays, The Mar-Keys, The Staple Singers, Albert King, Wilson Pickett, Don Covay and many more. Steve Cropper, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes & David Porter became the go-to songwriters for the label. Stax had various hit singles reach the Top 40 on both the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts & the Billboard R&B singles charts during the 1960s-1970s. By 1976, Stax was out of operation due to bankruptcy despite selling over millions of records during their prime era and Stewart had left the music industry, living away from the limelight. In 1980, the SNL sketch-based musical comedy film, "The Blues Brothers" utilized various Stax artists as the backing band for Jake and Elwood Blues (played by Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi), reinvigorating interest in R&B and the Stax-Volt musical catalog. In 2002, Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the Non-Performer category. In 2012, Stewart and Axton were charter inductees of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.