Mid-South Features

Muscling In On The Memphis Sound

Rob Grayson — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:42:20 +0000

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

Stax '66

Rob Grayson — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:56:51 +0000

Before the Beatles came to Memphis for the August, 1966 concert, their manager Brian Epstein came to scout Memphis as a potential recording destination. The band was anxious to expand their aural horizons, and their interest in the R&B sounds coming from the states along with their respect for the technical sound coming from the records recorded in Memphis, led Epstein to get in touch with Atlantic Records. Atlantic turned the project over to Stax, and in March, 1966, Epstein booked into the Rivermont and set about to explore the possibilities.

Sandy Finds Her Calling

Rob Grayson — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:31:34 +0000

If you called to book a session at American Studios on Thomas back in the mid-1960’s, chances are you would talk to a lady named Sandy Posey. Similarly, if you were a song publisher wanting to interest producer Chips Moman in recording one of your tunes, receptionist Sandy Posey would be the first person you would talk with. Perhaps the conversation would turn to the fact that Sandy herself was a singer.