Your Ultimate Memphis, TN Playlist: 65+ Songs About The Bluff City
Whether you're "Walkin' in Memphis," heading "Back to Memphis" or keeping that "Memphis Beat," this is the ultimate playlist for cruising the Bluff City!
Today’s special is Memphis Soul StewWe sell so much of this, people wonder what we put in itWe gonna tell you right nowGive me about a half a teacup of bassNow I need a pound of fatback drumsNow give me four Tablespoons of boiling Memphis guitarsThis goin’ taste alright
Today, we are dishing up a little “Memphis Soul Stew” just like King Curtis called for! We perused the world-wide web, and found hundreds upon hundreds of songs that shout out to our hometown of Memphis, TN! (Don’t even get us started on all the songs that were recorded here, because that would take all year.) We narrowed down the multitudes to over 65 of our favorite tunes about our beloved Bluff City and assembled them to create Your Ultimate Memphis, TN, Playlist. So roll down the windows, let the Southern air bellow in, and jam out to these Memphis-inspired tunes. Let’s hit some of the highlights.
PinA visual taste of the 65+ songs on our Ultimate Memphis, TN, Playlist!
Sure, Tennessee on the whole is a mecca for music lovers, but Memphis offers something entirely unique. Known for the blues and soul, even Bob Dylan found himself “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again.” For those looking to expand their horizons beyond the bluegrass of East Tennessee and the country music of Nashville, Memphis is the destination, like John Hiatt sings in “Memphis In The Meantime.”
Sure I like country music I like mandolins But right now I need a telecaster Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby Memphis in the meantime girlRELATED: 9 Life Lessons I Learned From Dolly Parton
Beyond just the music and the scene, there are songs about Memphis that wrestle with tough issues, like Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Motel in Memphis” reflecting on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Were you there when the man from Atlanta was murdered in Memphis?Did you see him layin’ at the Lorraine Motel?Did you hear them say that the CIA is witnessTo the murder of a man at a motel in Memphis?Motel in MemphisMotel in MemphisRun and tell somebody there’s blood on the riversideOh muddy water, rolling to MemphisIf you were there, you’d swear it was more than a man who died
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For decades, folks have managed to get themselves in trouble down on good ol’ Beale Street, and many a song has referenced this phenomenon. Booker T. Jones loves “heading for the darkest club down on Beale Street, playing that funky music, drinking that funky gin,” and he is clearly not alone. Eartha Kitt laments all the poor behavior in “Beale Street Blues.”
If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk,Married men would have to take their beds and walk,Except one or two who never drink booze,And the blind man on the corner singing “Beale Street Blues!”
According to these tracks, there is something special about Memphis women. From Mick Jagger reminiscing in “Honky Tonk Women” about meeting “a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis,” to the Grateful Dead insisting, “when I take a walk down there, all the women sure look good,” musicians can’t get over Bluff City babes. Just take Hank Jr.’s word for it…
She’s the Memphis belle the girl’s name is MarieThe hottest thing since Elvis from Memphis, TennesseeThere’s been dollars dropped down the jukebox wellJust watch her dance woo the Memphis belleShe’s the Memphis belle she’s hot as hellEveryone wants her any man can tellWhen she walks in the room she ain’t no plain JaneCompare her to a million dollars you won’t get no changeRELATED: A Local’s Guide to Memphis
We took a couple of artistic liberties, as we’re sure when Al Green croons “Take Me To The River,” he must be referencing the mighty Mississippi, and we’re positive that the “Soul Man” that Sam & Dave are chanting about must be a Memphian. And Memphis native, Drew Holcomb, may not have mentioned the Bluff City by name, but we can hear it in his lyrics.
But no matter how far these songs take meIf my dreams come true, if the heart aches break meNo matter where I make my bedI long for you.Tennesee, TennesseeI was born here and raised here and I’ll make my grave hereIt’s home, Tennessee
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We’ll end on the classic Jimmie Rodgers, who nails how we feel better than just about anyone else in his “Memphis Yodel.”
I love you, MemphisYou know I love, love you soLord, I love you, MemphisTennessee, I love you soAnd I’d rather be hereThan any other place I know
Check out the whole playlist below!
Did we miss one of your favorites? Shoot us an email at [email protected], and we will add it to the playlist!
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