Estelle Axton, co-founder of the famed Stax Records Co., which generated hits from acts including Sam and Dave, Otis Redding Jr. and the Staple Singers, has died. She was 85.

Axton died of natural causes this week at the hospice at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis Tenn., said her son-in-law, Fred Fredrick.

The musicians on the soul record label called Axton "Lady A," and others who knew her described her as a calming, nurturing presence in the Memphis neighborhood.

"Were it not for her, there's no way Stax could have become what it became," said David Porter. Porter and Isaac Hayes co-wrote numerous Stax hits, including Sam and Dave's "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Coming."

Hayes said Axton was responsible for the racial harmony at Stax.

"You didn't feel any backoff from her, no differentiation that you were black and she was white," Hayes said. "Being in a town where that attitude was plentiful, she just made you feel secure. ... She was like a mother to us all."