Memphis Mayhem
A Story of the Music That Shook Up the World
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Memphis gave birth to music that changed the world — Memphis Mayhem is a fascinating history of how music and culture collided to change the state of music forever
“David Less has captured the essence of the Memphis music experience on these pages in no uncertain terms. There's truly no place like Memphis and this is the story of why that is. HAVE MERCY!” — Billy F Gibbons, ZZ Top
Memphis Mayhem weaves the tale of the racial collision that led to a cultural, sociological, and musical revolution. David Less constructs a fascinating narrative of the city that has produced a startling array of talent, including Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Al Green, Otis Redding, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Justin Timberlake, and so many more.
Beginning with the 1870s yellow fever epidemics that created racial imbalance as wealthy whites fled the city, David Less moves from W.C. Handy’s codification of blues in 1909 to the mid-century advent of interracial musical acts like Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the birth of punk, and finally to the growth of a music tourism industry.
Memphis Mayhem explores the city’s entire musical ecosystem, which includes studios, high school band instructors, clubs, record companies, family bands, pressing plants, instrument factories, and retail record outlets. Lively and comprehensive, this is a provocative story of finding common ground through music and creating a sound that would change the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Music writer Less presents a fascinating history of the music of his native Memphis. He begins by saying he isn't attempting to write "the ultimate, comprehensive story of Memphis music," and rather focuses on "the events, personalities, and circumstances that led to Memphis's rightful recognition as a key capital on the map of American music." In doing so, he captures what makes Memphis special: "The great paradox of Memphis music is that it transcends race and genre while simultaneously being defined by both." Less explains how, from the early days of Beale Street in the 1940s which offered big-band music in concert halls, country blues in parks and on street corners, and barrelhouse boogie piano in gambling joints Memphis was a cohesive community that broke racial barriers in music. Less expertly shows how this interracial spirit infused Memphis music: in the early 1950s, the rise of Sam Phillips's Sun Records and of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley, coincided with that of bluesmen Howlin' Wolf, Rufus Thomas, and Ike Turner. The late 1950s saw the emergence of HI Records, founded by record store owner Joe Cuoghi and singer Ray Harris (and which featured soul singer Al Green as well as the Bill Black Combo). Stax Records founded in 1957 as Satellite by siblings Estelle Axton and Jim Stewart would release records by Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Less brings to vivid life the music of Memphis.
