A fascinating tale of a decade that produced some of the finest music ever . In a narrative that captures all the tumult and liberating energy of a country in division and transition, Sweet Soul Music is the story of the birth of modern rhythm-and-blues. Guralnick records the rise and fall of Stax Records - the Memphis powerhouse label that produced a string of classics from the likes of Otis Redding and Booker T. and the MGs - and other labels such as Atlantic, as well as profiling such major artists as Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Solomon Burke and Al Green.