100 great records from Memphis

80.) All right. I'll do it:
Pleased to Meet Me by the Replacements

79-77. big star

76 Grifters - Corolla Hoist/THUMBNAIL SKETCH (best b side ever)
By the Grifters anyhow at least

75 Blue Moon - Elvis

74. Charlie Feathers

73. Ross Johnson, "Nudist Camp" (on the new Make It Stop! compilation of his Memphis singles--easily one of the year's best releases so far.
72. "Rattled by the Rush," Pavement

whisperineddhurt & Ross Johnson otm.

71. James Carr, "The Dark End of the Street"

70. Isaac Hayes, "Walk On By"

69. Isaac Hayes "Hung Up on My Baby"

68. Howlin' Wolf, "Chocolate Drop"
67. Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, "Cry, Cry, Cry"
66. Billy Lee Riley and His Little Green Men, "Flying Saucers Rock and Roll"

I was GOIng to SAVe thiS FOR NUMber one because it's the greatest song ever recorded but screw it

65. Ann Peebles, "I Can't Stand the Rain"

64. Compulsive Gamblers, Gambling Days Are Over

63. Thirteen - Big Star
62. Hold on, I'm Coming - Sam & Dave

64. Compulsive Gamblers, Gambling Days Are Over
^^^ yep

61. Compulsive Gamblers - Crystal Gazing, Luck Amazing
60. Silver Jews - Starlite Walker
59. ZZ Top - "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
58. Jack O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers - Flipside Kid
57. Otis Redding - "Shake"
56. Fuck - Conduct

55. Wendy Rene - Bar-B-Q

54. The Gentrys, "Cinnamon Girl" (on Sun)

I was GOIng to SAVe thiS FOR NUMber one because it's the greatest song ever recorded but screw it

65. Ann Peebles, "I Can't Stand the Rain"
OTM
and add
53 I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
52 One Way Street

51. Lost Sounds Rat Brains and Micro-chips
50. Lost sounds Black Wave

49. King Curtis - "Memphis Soul Stew"

I want to nominate Shelby Bryant but I don't quite dare so I'm just gonna go with
49. The Clears - s/t

xposted, 48, sorry.

47. All The Way From Memphis - Mott The Hoople

(Well, maybe not, but, kinda, in a way ;) )

Memphis is of course the most overrated city in the history of music.

of course

Memphis is of course the most overrated city in the history of music
wal, Geir, it's the only city that ever made a record that beat yer damned old Beetles at their own game--Radio City, so maybe that's why you'd say that. It's the only place I've ever been in the USA where the "psychological freedom" that Sam Phillips spoke of in his infomercial was palpable underneath the haze of Bible Belt All-American cheez-whiz blandout that the city carries with it, making it impossible for people like you to ever figure it out. don't worry Geir, there's probably some rednecks down there trying to put together a Split Enz cover band at this very moment.

46.Sonic Youth <i>Washing Machine</i>

Fuck me.

Memphis is of course the most overrated city in the history of music.

Black or African American persons, 61.4%
White persons, percent, 34.4%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, 3.0%
Asian persons, percent, 1.5%
Persons reporting some other race, 1.5%
Persons reporting two or more races, 1.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, 0.2%

I'm down with Memphis...overrated legacy or not, it just feels like a city that births great music (as opposed to Nashville, a city which records great music)...

US Maple - "Stuck" 45

44. Eddie Floyd, "Big Bird"

Memphis has too much rhythm, not enough melody for Geir.

That's one way of putting it

New Orleans too?

by the by, the Robert Gordon-compiled It Came From Memphis is a pretty great overview, from Elder Beck to Big Star to Jon Spencer and everything in between...

That's one way of putting it
Yes, I was being polite.

I miss the real Geir.

Love this list & wish I could recall exactly which Led Zep track(s) were recorded there. (They're on II or III).

My band just recorded a live session at Ardent Studios, and I seem to recall that the Led Zep stuff recorded there was for III.

43. Gin Blossoms, "Hey Jealousy"

42. Toots and the Maytals, "Knock on Wood"

the third Led Zep had tracks that Terry Manning recorded at Ardent. compare that record with Big Star sometime. so, let's give Terry Manning his props for

41. Guess Things Happen That Way, on his Home Sweet Home from '70, a song by
40. Jack Clement, who captured Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" in one take at Sun, and who wrote "It'll Be Me" later covered by The Move who used to to
39. Dusty Springfield imitations but not as good as her own imitation of herself in the sublime "Just a Little Lovin'" recorded at American Studios where
38. Bobby Womack recorded "It's Gonna Rain" with the American studio crew who also played on many of the
37. Box Tops' records but Gary Talley plays guitar on "Soul Deep" if not
36. "Neon Rainbow," surely one of the most sublime '60s singles and speaking of obscure Memphians in that overrated city
35. Cordell Jackson wrote many obscure but great rockabilly songs but none greater than Allan Page's "Dateless Night" although
34. "She's the One That Got It" also by Page comes close and let's not forget
33. Cordell's own "Rock and Roll Christmas," one stupid fucking song from Memphis.

32. none of which have anything at all to do with Three 6 Mafia f/ UGK & Project Pat, "Sippin' on Some Syrup"

used to do Dusty Springfield imitations

did U2 record anything in Memphis, or did they just patronize Sun Studios during their Rattle And Hum days?

I'm going to be really freaked out if Edd Hurt turns out to be my uncle who lives off Summer Ave.

Gotta admit, U2 is pretty good at patronizing.

31. Neil Diamond, Shilo

30. I'm Gonna Murder My Baby - Pat Hare
29. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis
from wikipeida:According to the album liner notes, "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" "is doubly morbid because he did just that in 1962 and spent the last 16 years of his life in prison." He also murdered a policeman sent to investigate.

He also murdered a policeman sent to investigate.
This I did not know. Goddamn.

28. Wanna Meet The Scruffs?--The Scruffs

Bummer. RIP

Would post "Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" but the only Youtube video I can find of it is super cheesy.

RIP Chip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aikUcvbTQE

RIP. Wow, From co-writing with Dan Penn "Dark End of the Street" to his American Studios involvement with , per that obit, the hits of Dusty Springfield ("Son of a Preacher Man"), Neil Diamond ("Sweet Caroline), Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning") , B.J. Thomas ("Hooked on a Feeling"), Joe Tex ("I Gotcha"), Bobby Womack ("Fly Me To The Moon") and, perhaps most famously, Elvis Presley ("Suspicious Minds").,,,

don't think i ever knew his name but damn that's some resume

yep

***** EAST COAST DATES ANNOUNCED *****
Hey Los Angeles, been good to know ya.
Carrying the MEMPHIS RENT PARTY eastward!
Rare videos, reading, Q&A, signing.
5/14 – Baltimore, Creative Alliance
5/15 – Philadelphia, Penn Book Center – with Jonny Meister
5/16 – DC Solid State Books
5/17 – Brooklyn, Kings County Distillery – with a set by Jonathan Kane’s February
Thanks in LA to the Grammy Museum—really fun night, and to Skylight Books, great place!
Further.

That’s Memphis author Robert Gordon for his new book

I am looking forward to this. Hoping to see rare video, like at the reading I saw him do years ago, with Alex Chilton and the Cramps on a Memphis tv local station, obscure blues folks , etc

Bookstore popup wasn't full set up for tech, so writer Robert Gordon just showed a few clips on his laptop-- Furry Lewis footage and also some Mudboy & the Neutrons film. Great stuff. Plus he talked about buying booze at 14 and bringing it to Lewis when he went to see him play at his home; an uh interesting lunch with James Carr; hanging with Tav Falco; Bobby Bland being unhappy with Gordon's pick of a roadhouse diner rather than Peabody's Hotel for an interview

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/reggie-young-renowned-guitarist-for-elvis-waylon-has-died/

RIP Reggie Young , Memphis and later Nashville guitarist

He played on OV Wright and James Carr songs

http://reggieyoung.org/discography-project?fbclid=IwAR0oubOLN_RoVZydcHirsxk0OLxjjydwSvwHbtl5C8yw-GqPfeWyTl9Lu34

Thanks. I knew he played on a lot of stuff, including those two artists but as often is the case with The Memphis Boys etc., am always finding new layers, like when I found out all about Noel Gilbert here: Stroke It Noel

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2020/10/27/stan-kesler-obit-memphis-music-elvis-jerry-lee-lewis-sam-the-sham/3746810001/

RIP guitarist, songwriter, producer, engineer Stan Kesler who wrote “I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone," & "I Forgot to Remember to Forget” for Elvis, engineered soul classic “Dark End of the Street,” played w/ Jerry Lee Lewis on “Great Balls of Fire,” and produced Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully “.

Quite a life and never got that much attention

https://nicklosseatonmedia.com/iconic-memphis-drummer-howard-grimes-pens-autobiography-timekeeper-my-life-in-rhythm-with-acclaimed-author-preston-lauterbach-out-july-1-on-devault-graves-books/

Memphis drummer Howard Grimes has written his autobiography Timekeeper: My Life In Rhythm with acclaimed writer Preston Lauterbach, which will be released on Devault Graves Books on July 1 as part of the imprint’s Great Music Book Series. Known as Bulldog, Grimes tells his unvarnished story, portraying mid-century Memphis music clubs, juke joints, and cafes in North Memphis and around Beale Street, with WDIA always on the airwaves. In a conversational mode, he unveils tales of recording with Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and Carla Thomas at STAX and on all of Al Green’s genre-defining work at Hi Records. He recounts his immortal percussion contributions to Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” and Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand The Rain.”

Wow

The Birth of Soul Music,” a documentary by Memphis filmmaker George W. Tillman Jr Premiered in Memphis last night I read, followed by a Bobby Rush concert

The film highlights Memphis' The Club Paradise and talented entertainers that have performed there — Ray Charles, Johnny Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Rush, BB King, Albert King, Little Milton, Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina Turner, and the list goes on and on

A great Memphis record by a local group:

The Goodees - Jilted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNUIo4Exgyw

Sadly seeing on Facebook now that Memphis drummer Howard Grimes has passed away. He played on Stax and Hi records and efforts by Al Green and Ann Peebles. He released a book about his life last year (mentioned upthread April 3 2021)

Grimes said that Stax co-founder Jim Stewart welcomed Grimes into the fold and asked him to record on Carla Thomas’ first solo singles, including the smash, “Gee Whiz.” Grimes writes that they cut that song at nearby Royal Studios, with Willie Mitchell and Moman as co-producers, after an equipment malfunction at Stax.

Grimes also would play on William Bell’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” released in 1961 and the first hit on the newly christened Stax Records. Otis Redding cut the song in 1965 right there at Stax...he band also would back visiting acts such as B.J. Thomas and Dusty Springfield. That’s how tour man Jerry Williams spotted Grimes and asked him to tour with Paul Revere and the Raiders.

“I was the only Black (person) in the band at the time,” Grimes said.

But that was the late 1960s. After Grimes endured threats in Dallas and Montgomery, Alabama, he began to consider his safety.

Teenie Hodges had mentioned to Grimes that they needed a drummer at Willie Mitchell’s studio...

Then worked with OV Wright and then Al Green, Ann Peebles and more

https://staxmuseum.com/howard-grimes-and-memphis-greatest-grooves-july-21-book-signing-by-the-legendary-timekeeper-where-it-all-began/

What an amazing history Grimes had. Sadly based on that link he had a down period ( after his 70s success) where he was living in his car for a bit. Glad his last years were up, playing with Bo-keys, backing Don Bryant & others, the book.

Hadn’t realized Grimes drummed on so many awesome OV Wright records

picked up the goodees' "condition red" 45 recently not realizing they were memphis gals. it's so good! great addition to the bad-boy-boyfriend-in-horrible-wreck subgenre.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/07/28/sidney-kirk-obit-isaac-hayes-sideman-jazz-pianist-memphis-history/10176527002/

RIP Sidney Kirk , Memphis sideman for Isaac Hayes, Denise Lasalle and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAEHXTiQEmQ

RIP Spencer Wiggins who recorded for Goldwax and lived in Memphis till 1973 when he moved to Miami, Fl

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/15/spencer-wiggins-dies-obit-memphis-soul-music-history/69907734007/

I need to dig into Wiggins catalog. Wiggins and a number of folks who need up on Stax all went to same high school

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/05/23/floyd-newman-obit-stax-records-memphis-music/70249053007/

Floyd Newman Stax horn player who also played with BB King dead at 92

Or 91 per correction

RIP 83-years old singer & songwriter Don Bryant. Wrote songs for his wife Ann Peebles, sung gospel, and had a soul singer comeback era with backing from the Bo-Keys. I saw him with the Bo-Keys at the Richmond Folk Fest and he sounded great.

RIP guitarist Travis Wammack of "Scratchy" song fame. That was a surf sorta rockabilly instrumental with a backwards looped vocal part in the middle.

Here's part of Deke Dickerson's public facebook post about him -

Travis Wammack was one of the greatest guitar players you never heard of. He was a Memphis guy, originally discovered as a child prodigy by Eddie Bond in the 1950s. Bond released Travis' first record, a kiddie-rockabilly vocal 45, "Rock and Roll Blues," on Scotty Moore's Fernwood Records, and Travis' career began.
In the early 1960s, Travis cut a really weird instrumental called "Scratchy" at Roland Janes' Sonic Studios in Memphis, with Jerry Lee Lewis' old drummer J.M. Van Eaton on drums. The record was made even weirder by a spoken word break in the middle of the record that was supposed to be spliced in and played normally; but when Roland accidentally spliced the piece of tape containing the spoken word bit onto the musical tape backwards, everyone agreed that the backwards vocal was weird enough that it might give the record something unique enough to get played on the radio. This story is one of the reasons I love records from Memphis. Nothing was too weird for those guys. The record became a regional hit.
Travis then began issuing a series of demented and great instrumentals and then vocals. These records are wild, and unique, and Travis' guitar playing is some of the most unhinged ever committed to tape. When I finally met him and got to play with him, I found it incredible: he didn't play the guitar, he ATTACKED the guitar. I've never seen anyone play the guitar like he did. You can hear it on those records: it was a violent assault on the instrument, like he was strangling it. Totally unique.
Travis eventually drifted into a Southern Rock-meets-Soul career and eventually became Little Richard's bandleader and guitarist for twenty years. When I met him at the Ponderosa Stomp festival in 2006, he was in semi-retirement but still playing often with his family band.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GPjiCqhCP/