stan “the record man” lewis
retrospective exhibition
august 20 - october 24, 2015
mainspace @ artspace
Stan Lewis has been selling music for nearly seventy years, and has sold, released, and distributed more music than anyone else in Shreveport’s history. His career has provided the soundtrack to our lives. Join artspace as Shreveport pays tribute with a retro exhibition looking back at the life of Stan Lewis, curated by Chris Brown and Garland Jones.
About stan
The first location of Stan's Record Shop was 728 Texas St., on the corner of Texas and Common streets in downtown Shreveport. The business would expand to six local stores between 1948 and 1984 in Shreveport and Bossier City.
"The Record Man" made an effort to be highly involved in every aspect of his stores and was always thankful for his patrons, Lenny Lewis said.
"He came from nothing and he was so appreciative for the customers," Lenny Lewis said. "He really loved the customers — seeing the happiness on their faces when they bought something."
Prior to owning the record stores, Lewis operated jukeboxes he placed in nightclubs with mostly black clientele. He also was the host of a 15-minute radio segment on which he featured music artists who didn't receive airplay, Stan Lewis told The Times in an interview before his death.
In the 1950s, Lewis' sponsored radio shows that featured blues and gospel music, which was available for mail-order. The shows were broadcast widely across the U.S.
The music rotation included many black rhythm and blues artists and cutting-edge musicians deemed controversial at the time, such as Etta James and Elvis Presley.
Presley regularly visited and purchased records from Stan's Record Shop.
