Music in Memphis: The Continuous Thrive
Memphis is known for music, specifically blues, rock and roll, and hip-hop. Music was thriving in the 50's-70's with artists like Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T., and many more. Of course, in the 1960's America was dealing with the Vietnam War, Civil Rights protests, president Kennedy's assassination as well as Dr. King's assassination. There was a lot of negative energy around the country at the time. But music helped everyone to escape and it also brought a lot of people together. Music is also thriving today in the hip-hop industry with artists like Three 6 Mafia, 8 Ball & MJG, Yo Gotti, Young Dolph, BlocBoy JB, and many more. Music had a big impact in the world, but more specifically in Memphis. These different genres of music have made huge contributions socially, economically, and culturally.
Memphis is really known for Elvis Presley. Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi but Memphis is where he lived for a big portion of his life and he made a huge impact. Elvis is the king of rock and roll. Elvis made a contribution to Memphis socially by bringing both blacks and white together. "His songs, an amalgam of white country-and-western music, black rhythm and blues, and gospel sounds of both races, heralded a change in popular music that would eventually make this interaction of black and white musicality an accepted idiom in American culture" ("Elvis Presley (1935-1977)"). Elvis also made contributions economically. Many people, from all over the world, came to see him perform. Elvis died at the age of 42 from a heart attack. He died at such a young age and left many people heartbroken from this tragedy. Elvis left behind a lot of enterprises. He has the Graceland museum, which was also his home. People from all over the world drive down Elvis Presley Blvd. to visit Graceland and to get a tour of where the king of rock and roll lived. There has also been a new addition, "The Guest House at Graceland." This is a new hotel that was recently built. It has a restaurant downstairs and it very luxurious amenities. He also has a part of his museum where people can go and visit his plane and go inside and even have a seat. There's also the Rock 'n' Roll café that many visitors love to go have a meal while they're visiting everything at Graceland.
B.B. King has also made a huge impact on Memphis. B.B. King is the king of the blues. He wasn't from Memphis either. He was from Indianola, Mississippi. Like Elvis, him coming to Memphis is what got his music career started. King didn't only play the blues. He had many different genres. "The music was the most important thing in his life – the blues, the jazz, the gospel, and all the music in between – and he was determined to find a way to play his music for all those fans tuning in to his show" (Wilson 1). King performed on Beale street, as many other artists did. Beale is now known specifically for Blues. King was even given a restaurant on Beale Street in his honor.
As stated before, "from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, Memphis, Tennessee was home of one of the most successful recording industries in the USA…" (Brewer 201). That recording industry is known as Stax Records. Stax Records has made Memphis a better place to live in. The museum is all about Stax. "Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton established Stax in 1959, initially as "Satellite Records"' (Schwartz 388). In 1961 it changed its name to Stax Records. Stax Records changed the music world. Stax made an impact on Memphis socially. Many of the different artist brought the community together. Artists that were on Stax Records were Otis Redding, Booker T., Same and Dave, William Bell, Isaac Hayes, the Staples Sisters, Rufus Thomas and many more. Otis Redding made a huge impact he brought together both whites and blacks. People didn't see color anymore; it was all about the music. It brought the community together. Jim Stewart started out the studio in his garage and once he was finally able to gain enough money he bought better equipment and moved the studio to East McLemore Ave. in South Memphis. Stax was integrated. Which was uncommon in Memphis at the time. Booker T. & the MG's were the first integrated music group for Stax. Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, used to go to Stax's studio to just to hang out with some of the artists. Memphis was having a huge civil rights movement at the time. Dr. King was coming to speak and to be a part of marches. "There was this dichotomy going on. When they were in the Stax studio, it was an integrated environment, but they when they took the music on the road, they were back in the segregated reality of the time" ("How Stax Records Set an Example for America" 1).
Stax made an impact on Memphis economically. Stax records ended in 1976 due to several major events. One of the major artists, Otis Redding died. He was traveling when his plane malfunctioned and crashed. Not only did they lose Otis Redding, they also lost the Bar-Kays, Otis Redding's band. Stax also went downhill because they didn't read their contract with Atlantic records properly. Al Bell became the vice-president and tried to rebuild Stax and keep it from going downhill. Bell made a new deal with CBS Records, and this is what finally made the company go downhill. Stax had to continuously borrow money from Memphis' Union Planters Bank because CBS was withholding money. This caused them to go bankrupt and close the recording studio all together. In 2003, the Stax Museum opened. This allowed for people from all over the world to come and learn about the history of Stax.
Stax made an impact on Memphis culturally. Today Stax is ran by Soulsville USA. But they keep the music and history alive. The Soulsville Charter School is a product of Soulsville USA. The school starts at 6th grade and continues to the 12th grade. This school has been known for 100% college acceptance rate as well as one of the schools with the highest ACT scores in Memphis. This school teaches students music. They have choir, band, and an orchestra. The school makes sure they maintain a focus on the music that originated from Stax Records. This school is located in the heart of South Memphis. The other local schools in the area don't have the best education. Most of the schools are actually getting shut down because they aren't performing well. But since Soulsville is in the neighborhood this allows for children to get a better education as well as continue to learn about the history of Memphis.
Soulsville USA also has Stax Music Academy which has an afterschool program for talented students called S.N.A.P. This allows for students all over Memphis to learn how to perform on stage in singing, acting, as well as dancing. This program allows for students to perform all over the United States. They even performed at the White House before. Recently, a former student of both The Soulsville Charter School and S.N.A.P, Evvie McKinney, went onto the show "The Voice" and won the competition. She used her southern voice and all of the techniques she learned to win. This is a good example of how Stax is still thriving today and is helping out the community in Memphis. Most cities don't have something like this. This gives people a chance to always learn something new and to stay true to their heritage. The music of Stax is still being played today and it still remains alive.
Today, hip-hop has taken over Memphis. In the early 2000s Three 6 Mafia and 8 Ball & MJG were the major Memphis rappers. A lot of different artists have songs that have went viral and now people from all over the United States know them. Three 6 Mafia made history by being the first hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for their song "It's Hard out here for a Pimp." This song was featured on the movie "Hustle & Flow" which was filmed in Memphis. Today, the artists that are impacting Memphis is Yo Gotti, Young Dolph, Blac Youngsta and BlocBoy JB. These are the top rappers in today's society that made it out of Memphis and worldwide. Yo Gotti is always in touch with Memphis. He volunteers a lot and gives back to the community often. Which is all a part of the reason he received the key to the city. All of these rappers go around to different high schools in Memphis and often perform or speak to the students. Now-a-days, a lot of kids feel like it's very hard to ever get out of Memphis. These rappers show us that it is very possible and often give hope to people who want to be like them. Blac Youngsta has been signed by Yo Gotti. This gave him the opportunity to blow up. That's exactly what happen. Now he has been asked to go on several tours across the United States. BlocBoy JB is a new artist. He is known for his song/ dance "Shoot." This went viral and people from many different states started to listen to his music. He has now been signed to Drake's label Ovo Sound.
Although, some people would argue that Memphis's music hasn't really made any huge contributions to society. Many people thought that blues was "Less 'respectable' in the South at that time" ("Elvis Presley (1935-1977)"). Some people still don't believe in integration today. They feel that the United States should still be segregated. A lot of people had a problem with blacks and whites joining together to go listen to music. Some people would also say that today's music doesn't make any contributions because manly hip-hop doesn't talk about anything besides drugs, sex, and killings. However, not all music is like that. Some artists really inspire people. They inspire them to become an artist. Memphis is a small town, artists like BlocBoy JB might sing about killings but he has created dances that has went viral all over the US. He has one particular dance called the "shoot." This dance, that came from one of his songs, became so viral that he got an offer to do a collaboration with Drake as well as 21 Savage. Just like this dance reached everyone, Rufus Thomas's "funky chicken" dance reached people. Everyone has a different taste. You might not like the music made here in Memphis, but no one can say that the music made here hasn't helped society in numerous ways.
In conclusion, music has impacted Memphis in numerous ways: socially, economically, and culturally. There are many different genres that originated out of Memphis. Many generations relate to different genres, but one thing for sure is that each genre has impacted Memphis in a different way. The blues and rock-and-roll both integrated Memphis and brought people together. Hip-hop has been bringing the younger community together and encouraging people to pursue their career in rap and make it big. If someone was to ask a non-Memphian about Memphis they would definitely mention the music. Music brings the community together and brings money to the city. It shows the world many of the great artists that originated out of Memphis.
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