- Hardcover: 287 pages
- Publisher: St Martin's Press (20 April 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312155875
- ISBN-13: 978-0312155872
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 627,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This book fills in what isn't so familiar: Memphis, it reveals, is our great cultural mixing board, where all the black and white folk have met and done musical business for two centuries or more. Larry Nager, former music editor of the "Memphis Commercial Appeal," offers more than a casual history. His chronicle reaches back into the nineteenth century, when Memphis was a wild frontier town full of whiskey, fiddle players, and minstrelsy. It hits cruising speed at the turn of the century, as W. C. Handy discovered the blues, women like Lil Armstrong and Memphis Minnie kept up with the men, and a Memphis deejay dreamed up the Grand Ole Opry. It chronicles the strange alchemy by which local rhythm 'n' blues, hard country, and black and white gospel got remade into powerful rock and roll in Sam Phillips's Sun Records studio on Union Avenue. The beat goes on into the '60s and the era of Stax and Hi Records - when the first integrated generations, raised on Sun 45s, started waxing their own sounds. And it follows Memphis even into contemporary times, through Big Star's adventures at Ardent Records, the difficult revival of Beale Street, and the birth of the House of Blues. There is triumph and tragedy here, and much in between - from the stalwart presence of lifelong musicians like Gus Cannon and Furry Lewis, through the horrific accident that killed Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays, and years and years of musical dreams.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly whole and telling history of Memphis music, 8 July 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Memphis Beat: The Story of America's Musical Crucible (Hardcover)
This is one of the best books I have ever read about Memphis music. It focused on many of the things that other books overlook, while still retaining the heart of Memphis which is THE BLUES. Larry Nager has a very good understanding of the atmosphere and attitudes of the people in Memphis, since he lived there for several years. The book is thorough in its coverage of everyone from Elvis to Phineas Newborn Jr. to Otis Redding. I highly recommend this to the Memphis music novice or the avid Memphis history collector.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book, 4 Nov 2006
By M. Buisman "Martijn Buisman" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Memphis Beat: The Lives and Times of America's Musical Crossroads (Hardcover)
Finally a book that talks about all the music from Memphis, where most books just talk about a certain type. But Memphis is a special place, a real crossroads for many different styles of American music.Few minor glitches
- some factual mistakes
- repetition (JL Lewis always had an ill-fated marriage, a few times in the book)
- bad layout, a few white lines to seperate paragraphs would have been nicer.
But, these are just minor things, overall it's a good book.
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