memphis music

Memphis Musician Sid Selvidge Dies At 69

Eleanor Boudreau — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:23:34 +0000

Sid Selvidge was a cultural voice in Memphis for more than five decades, and he helped start the Beale Street Caravan radio show, which broadcasts live performances of Memphis music to more than 2.4 million people worldwide.

Elvis Rallied By The Reeds in 1967

Rob Grayson — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:47:09 +0000

We remember 1967 as a year which brought us “Lucy In The Sky (With Diamonds)” as well as “Judy In Disguise With Glasses.” But it was also the year Elvis Presley’s recording career began to wake from a deep slumber.

To get a perspective on Presley’s music in 1967, you have to go back to sessions in 1966 and 1961. His music career was still being driven by his movie commitments, and still being hamstrung by his management’s insistence on exclusively cutting songs owned by their publishing company.

Convertible Devilles Box Their Way To The Top

Rob Grayson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:50:48 +0000

Over the course of time, Ronnie And The Devilles had two Ronnies and two Jordans. Eventually they would become the first band to cut a record in Memphis which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, but by that time there were no Ronnies, no Jordans, and they weren’t the Devilles any more.

Let’s start with that outrageous claim that Memphis had not produced a number one record before 1967. What about all those number one Elvis records? Well, none of them, to that point, had been recorded in Memphis. While Elvis decidedly resided in the City of Good A

Memphis Music Gets Lionized

Rob Grayson — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:52:26 +0000

Around our house, whenever an MGM movie starts, if my wife doesn’t say it first, I’ll chime in: “You know, that lion came from the Memphis Zoo.” The lion’s name was Volney, by the way, and the roar was in fact recorded in the old Carnivora building at the zoo. He died in 1944.

Elvis Presley was the next Memphian to roar for MGM.

The Memphis Jug Band

Steve Pike and Justin Willingham — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:19:17 +0000

From 1927 through 1934, the Memphis Jug Band created an exceptional sound, combining harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, guitars, washboards, kazoos, and, of course, jugs.