Is Memphis still a music city? Why the answer will be yes for generations to come
In 1973, according to historian Rob Bowman, Memphis was one of the top five recording centers in the world for music, alongside New York, Los Angeles, London and Nashville.
From the 1950s through the '70s, hits recorded in Memphis or released by Memphis labels were fixtures on the pop music charts — from "Blue Suede Shoes" to "(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay," from "Do the Funky Chicken" to "Disco Duck."
Sam Phillips' Sun Studio launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others, while Stax and Hi made stars of Otis Redding and Al Green. And for much of the first half of the 20th century, Beale Street provided a proving ground for generations of blues, jazz and R&B artists.
Those days are gone. But Memphis remains a "music city," and likely will be for years to come — one of the vertices in a Southern triangle of indelible music meccas that includes Nashville and New Orleans.
Memphis' reputation as a music city is most apparent in the image it perpetuates and attractions it promotes.
It's hard to miss the many Elvis billboards that dot the highways leading into and out of the city. Graceland, the Elvis Presley estate, is said to be the second most-visited home in the U.S., after the White House. Sun Studio and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music also are on most tourists' must-see lists.
Meanwhile, Memphis artists continue to make memorable and distinctive music, both in studio and on stage.
The hip-hop and jazz communities are vital and flourishing, underground phenomenon and mainstream success. Rap artists such as Moneybagg Yo sell millions of records. Area studios continue to draw such artists as the Drive-By Truckers and Cyndi Lauper, who are eager to work with such producers as Matt Ross-Spang and Scott Bomar.
Area venues are often in flux, but Beale Street, Crosstown Concourse, the Overton Park Shell (where Elvis made his major public debut in 1954), the Soundstage at Graceland, the historic Orpheum and various other clubs and spaces host music on a regular basis. In addition, outdoor concert series and major festivals are annual events.
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Memphis is also home to two of the most rewarding not-for-profit freeform radio stations in the country, WEVL-FM 89.9, on air for almost 50 years, and WYXR-FM 91.7, in the Crosstown building, a relative upstart that launched in 2020. Both stations broadcast a wide variety of commercial-free, deejay-"curated" programs, showcasing blues, jazz, country, folk, rockabilly, reggae, punk, techno, hip-hop and much more.
In addition, the city's schools and such youth programs as the Memphis Jazz Workshop and the Stax Music Academy provide music education and training to keep the sounds of the Bluff City alive for generations to come.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Is Memphis still a music city today?
