The Memphis Sound

I love music.  It speaks to my soul - and Memphis is the home of soul. 

We started at the Rock n Soul Museum near Beale Street (Memphis' answer to Bourbon Street).  Affiliated with the Smithsonian, it took us from gospel and country music to the early years of soul music and rock and roll.  Lots of Elvis, Carl Perkins, B.B. King, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Jerry Lee Lewis and tons more.  Besides interesting exhibits, there was lots of music and video and once again we learned so much.  I know my early rock singers but had no idea how the different sounds came about, etc.

We both left the museum smiling, and then walked around Memphis and down to the Mississippi River, which is above flood stage.  We joined hundreds of locals and tourists who were gawking just like we were.  Memphis is known as The Bluff City, sitting high on a bluff, but the areas below the bluff were definitely flooded and they are looking for more water coming down the river later this week. 

Mid-afternoon we drove to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music which I toured while Larry rested in the car.  Their tag line is "nothing against the Louvre, but you can't dance to DaVinci."  My kind of place!  Stax was a recording studio where all of the artists listed above recorded along with dozens more.  The staff, house musicians and bands were all integrated during a time when race relations were boiling over in Memphis.  There was an overload of information but all very enjoyable. 

Back to Beale Street for soul food and music.  Besides street groups, we ate and listened to music in B.B. King's Blues Club and Blues City Cafe.  Food and music were great!

We were warned that Memphis is not as prosperous as the rest of Tennessee, seedy with higher crime rates.  There is definitely a difference in the neighborhoods we drove through, from projects and run down areas to block after block of mansions.  First place we've seen panhandlers and people standing at intersections with signs (like at home).  Also the first place we were swindled!  A young man offered his assistance if we needed any help and we asked if we were parked in an OK place and he said no but he worked at the lot down the street where we could park.  We met him there, paid him and didn't feel good about it.  That's when we looked at the signs saying there were no attendants and you had to put your money in the box, etc.  So we moved the car to a garage and felt better about it.  But we felt safe walking back to the garage after dark and when we were driving in very poor areas.