We rolled into Memphis, Tennessee, population 1.3 million, with a long list of things to see and do.
Memphis is home to the birthplace of rock and roll, the historic Sun Studios established by Sam Phillips. In 1951, a band called the Kings of Rhythm led by Ike Turner recorded “Rocket 88” in the studio, then still called the Memphis Recording Service. The group hailed from Clarksdale, Mississippi, and confusingly also went by the name Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats. The legend goes that during the drive up to Memphis, the group’s guitar amp fell off the back of the car, leaving it slightly damaged. In the studio, the damage meant that the guitar had a “fuzzed-out”, over-amplified sound – a sort of distortion. Rocket 88 was fast, fresh, and a little wild, and is widely recognised as the very first rock and roll song ever recorded. Sam Phillips managed to get it onto mainstream radio stations, and the record shot to the top of the charts. Phillips quit his day job to focus on the studio.
Sam Phillips ended up recording some of the best Delta Blues musicians here, like B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf, and carved out a niche for his studio. In 1952, Phillips launched his own record label from the same building, naming it Sun Records. The label had two hits in 1953, but copyright issues and the cost of promoting these artists to radio stations and distributors left Sun Studios widely known but financially stretched. Phillips’ secretary remembers him repeating that if he could find a white guy with the sound and feel of a black guy, he could make a billion dollars. His luck changed in August 1953, when an 18-year old truck driver walked into the studio looking to record a few songs. His name was Elvis Presley.
When asked about his singing style and who he sounded like, Elvis stated “I don’t sound like nobody”. Despite the charisma, Elvis didn’t blow Phillips away off the bat, but he must have recognised some talent. Over the next few months, he had him trying different songs in the studio with a couple local musicians. Nothing quite seemed to work. After a particularly long session late into the night, just before packing up, Elvis launched into a cover of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right”, while ‘jumping around and acting the fool’. The band joined in. Phillips found the sound he was looking for and started taping. The song hit the radio a few days later and exploded. The King was born, and music changed forever.
Sun Records took off, and over the next decade produced some of early rock and roll’s biggest names – Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and the legendary Johnny Cash.
Barbecue is a big deal in Memphis – the city even hosts the world’s largest pork barbecue contest. Memphis is one of the country’s top four barbecue regions, the others being Texas, Carolina, and Kansas City. Memphis barbecue is usually pork (ribs or shoulder) and is typically slow cooked in a pit and either prepared “dry” or “wet” – the former referring to a dry rub of salt and spices, and the latter meaning brushed with a sauce before, during and after cooking. To indulge, we popped into the highly recommended Central BBQ, which has a few joints in the city. Top class food!
Memphis is home to a number of important moments in the Civil Rights Movement, the most significant of which was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on 4th April 1968, three years after the marches from Selma. On the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel, at around 6pm, King was leaning forward chatting to a musician friend in the parking lot. A minute later, a shooter in a building across the street fired the fatal shot.
A local nonprofit saved the motel building from foreclosure in 1982 and turned it into the National Civil Rights Museum. It is moving, well presented, and documents some really important history.
Memphis was named after the Egyptian city of Memphis, and from as far back as the 1950’s, some developers thought it’d be a good idea to build a few modern-day pyramids in the New World’s Memphis. Their dream was finally realised in 1991 with the completion of the 100 metre-tall Great American Pyramid, right on the banks of the Mississippi. It is the tenth tallest pyramid in the world. The structure was essentially a 20,000+ sports & entertainment stadium, and was home to the city’s basketball teams. However, when the local NBA team moved to a more modern stadium, the pyramid lost its use. After much debate and long delays, the symbol of the city was leased to Bass Pro Shops for 55-years to create a retail megastore. Only in America. We had to see it.
We had an excellent stay in the historic city of Memphis. We had wonderful Airbnb hosts and ended up staying in a very nice part of town. After a great few days, we packed up and hit the highway once again, headed eastward towards Tennessee’s other home of music, Nashville.
