At the rock of dawn

Justin Timberlake, the hometown boy whose new record aims to bring "sexy back, " says he's also trying to bring new soul back to Memphis through the record label that turned the city into a music Mecca of the '70s.

Timberlake, acquiring the Stax Records name in a revival of the city's legendary soul label, performed Friday at the city's celebrated music setting, Beale Street, for a live broadcast on "Good Morning America."

The 25-year-old artist who graduated from Mickey Mouse Club co-star to gritty pop-R&B superstar said after his ABC-TV appearance that creating a contemporary version of Stax is a labor of love. "There's no driving force here, no one to pick up the pieces, " he said of a Memphis music legacy in need of a booster shot.

"I don't want it to be a factory. I want it to be like part of a creative process, " Timberlake said of his vision for the Stax project. He deflected questions about the exact status of the acquisition, saying the "business details" are being handled by his father, his attorney and other members of a team. "I'm in charge of the creative end, " he said.

It was his creative side that drew more than 1,500 people to a stage at King's Palace Caf� early Friday. Some were in line by 3 a.m. to watch Timberlake perform two songs from his new CD, Future Sex/Love Sounds , including the No. 1 Billboard single "SexyBack, " and a reprise of "Rock Your Body" from his previous album, Justified .

The audience screamed and held banners, hoping to draw the ABC-TV cameras for live shots on the 7 to 9 a.m. show with co-host Robin Roberts and weatherman Sam Champion introducing Timberlake.

The Friday segment was planned over the course of four weeks, said John Elkington, Performa Entertainment real estate president . The only surprise was when Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton presented Timberlake with a key to the city and a city-county proclamation declaring Friday Justin R. Timberlake Day. As Herenton walked across the stage, a sustained "Booooo" erupted from the crowd. It quickly dissolved into applause when Herenton presented the key to the city to Timberlake.

Later, Herenton, preparing for a charity boxing match with former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier, said he doesn't plan to invite Timberlake into the ring. "All of Memphis should be proud of this young man. He has a musical gift, but I don't know about him pugilistically."

Timberlake is "one of the biggest" performers in the world, said his producer, Timbaland (Tim Moseley), who collaborated with Timberlake on the new album. Timbaland, who also performs onstage with Timberlake, is a songwriting partner-producer with artists including Nelly Furtado, Ludacris and Jay-Z. He said Timberlake's style is not the classic soul sound of Otis Redding or other Stax artists, nor is it a standard R&B approach .

"It's from the '80s - in the vein of Pat Benatar, Queen and Rod Stewart, " he said.

Timberlake said his first musical influences were gospel and the blues before he left the Memphis area at 14 to become part of the Mickey Mouse Club and later the boy-band phenomenon 'N Sync.

He described his sound as "a hybrid, " a synthesis of everything he has absorbed through the years.

Even though he is only 25, Timberlake said he has been in the music business for 15 years. "Maybe I'm in a midlife crisis now."

He has met and performed with several former Stax artists through the years and described them "as a community of musicians who cared about each other." He said he has a similar collaboration with Timbaland: "We have fun. That's what it's all about."

In rekindling Stax, he said, he wants the kind of teamwork that would move a great guitarist or singer to play roles on other artists' albums. Timberlake, who shared billing with Oscar-winning Memphis rappers Three 6 Mafia on one song on his new CD, is planning to sing on Timbaland's next album.

He said some of the work that will be produced on the Stax label he envisions will remind people of the label's '70s heyday . "There are going to be records that sound like odes to Otis (Redding) or like Booker T & the MGs." Other new products may not sound like Stax at all, or may be a synthesis of soul and other music forms.

Timberlake said his songs usually begin with a melody. "They are not autobiographical, but they come from personal experience. It's like playing a role."

Some of his fans appreciated the end result enough to play hooky Friday. Emily Williams, 14, skipped algebra class at White Station High School. Her sister, Ivy, 10, skipped science class at Grahamwood Elementary to attend the live show. Their father, Pat Williams, an auto-repair business owner, came with them and planned to serve as their alibi when he checked them in later in the day.

One audience member, Tennessee Film, Entertainment & Music Commission executive director David Bennett of Nashville, said he is currently talking to several film production companies exploring Memphis and Middle Tennessee as possible location sites. One company is Village Roadshow Pictures, the movie company co-owned by TV producer Norman Lear, who also is co-owner of Concord Music Group. Concord is part of a partnership involved in the Stax acquisition with Timberlake.

Bennett said there is no agreement with any parties. "It's not imminent. It's going to take more negotiations. We are talking to several companies. The governor is very interested in building the infrastructure of the (film) industry in Tennessee."

Tennessee has set aside a $10 million fund as part of a package of incentives to lure film production to Tennessee.

- Michael Lollar: 529-2793

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