Memphis, Tennessee (song)
Encyclopedia
"Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry
. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers
, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire. Dave Berry's version also became a UK Top 20 hit single, the first of a string of British hit singles which ended with a cover of BJ Thomas' "Mama" reaching #5 in 1966. "Memphis, Tennessee" was most successfully covered by Johnny Rivers
whose version of the song was a #2 US hit in 1964.
Berry later composed a sequel, "Little Marie", which appeared in 1964 as a single and on the album St. Louis to Liverpool
.
As the song starts, the speaker is asking to get in touch with the people who have phoned him. It is not known who they are yet, but his uncle is mentioned. In the next verse, he speaks of a girl named 'Marie'. From this point in time, she could be in any way connected to him.
In the third verse, it is revealed that the speaker was close to this girl, and says that they were pulled apart because "her mom did not agree". From here the listener is led to believe that the girl was his lover, and her mother did not agree with the speaker, for some reason. When the speaker moves to the next verse he explains his last time seeing her, as having "hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye".
He continues by revealing that she is only six years old, and pleads that he get in touch with her. This unfolds the story, as we are now aware that the girl is his daughter, and the mother was in fact his own wife.
An alternative reading of the song is: The speaker is the slightly older brother of Marie. This interpretation fits with the naive hope that the call can be traced or that the operator might know how to find Marie from the general location of her house.
Also the speaker knows that there was disagreement but seems vague on details. The estranged husband is not likely to view the home as “happy” but two children might, especially in retrospect. Also, the boy now lives with an uncle indicating the family may have dissolved in the absence of the father or that a stepfather has entered and the boy has been sent to live with relatives.
, The Animals
, Paul Anka
, Count Basie
, The Beatles
, Dave Berry
, John Cale
, Riblja Čorba
, The Dave Clark Five
, Bo Diddley
, The Faces, Lester Flatt
& Earl Scruggs
, The Grateful Dead, Al Green
, The Hollies
, Jan and Dean
, Tom Jones
, Sammy Kershaw
, Fred Knoblock
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Lonnie Mack
, Mrs. Miller
, Roy Orbison
, Buck Owens
, Elvis Presley
, Johnny Rivers
, The Rolling Stones
, Del Shannon
, Silicon Teens
, The Statler Brothers, Izzy Stradlin
, Gene Summers
, George Thorogood
, Ernest Tubb
, Conway Twitty
, The Ventures
, and Hank Williams Jr..
In an interesting twist on a song composed around the lyrics of a dominant vocal line, in 1963 guitarist Lonnie Mack
recorded a fast-paced, full-length instrumental improvisation inspired by Berry's melody, and named the tune "Memphis". Mack's instrumental skyrocketed to #5 on Billboard's Pop chart and #4 on Billboard's R&B chart. Mack's version was later recognized as the start point of the Blues-Rock
guitar genre. (See Lonnie Mack
). Mack's version does list Chuck Berry as being the author of the song. In 1964 singer Johnny Rivers
recorded another version of the tune (which he, following Mack, called "Memphis"), copying Mack's pacing and some of his instrumental improvisations, and reinstating the vocal line from Berry's original. That version hit #2 on Billboard's Pop chart.
After that, Berry's own live performances of the tune resembled the Mack and Rivers versions as much as his own original recording. In the years following, many other artists (see names above) covered the tune, and it became one of Berry's most commercially successful compositions.
In Wim Wenders
' 1974 film Alice in the Cities, there is a brief scene where the main character stops at a Chuck Berry concert where "Memphis" is played.
The song is traditionally played at University of Memphis
Tigers
home games by the school's marching band, the Mighty Sound of the South
.
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers
Dave Berry (musician)
Not to be confused with English 1960s singer Mike Berry.Dave Berry is a British pop singer and former teen idol of the 1960s...
, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire. Dave Berry's version also became a UK Top 20 hit single, the first of a string of British hit singles which ended with a cover of BJ Thomas' "Mama" reaching #5 in 1966. "Memphis, Tennessee" was most successfully covered by Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
whose version of the song was a #2 US hit in 1964.
Berry later composed a sequel, "Little Marie", which appeared in 1964 as a single and on the album St. Louis to Liverpool
St. Louis to Liverpool
St. Louis to Liverpool is a rock and roll album by Chuck Berry, released in 1964 on Chess Records, catalogue 1488. It peaked at #124 on the Billboard album chart.-Content:...
.
Lyrics
The vocals are the dominant feature of the song. The lyrics of the song depict the speaker's conversation on the phone to the "long distance information" operator. The lyrics are deceiving and the true roles of characters unfold as the story goes on.As the song starts, the speaker is asking to get in touch with the people who have phoned him. It is not known who they are yet, but his uncle is mentioned. In the next verse, he speaks of a girl named 'Marie'. From this point in time, she could be in any way connected to him.
In the third verse, it is revealed that the speaker was close to this girl, and says that they were pulled apart because "her mom did not agree". From here the listener is led to believe that the girl was his lover, and her mother did not agree with the speaker, for some reason. When the speaker moves to the next verse he explains his last time seeing her, as having "hurry home drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye".
He continues by revealing that she is only six years old, and pleads that he get in touch with her. This unfolds the story, as we are now aware that the girl is his daughter, and the mother was in fact his own wife.
An alternative reading of the song is: The speaker is the slightly older brother of Marie. This interpretation fits with the naive hope that the call can be traced or that the operator might know how to find Marie from the general location of her house.
Also the speaker knows that there was disagreement but seems vague on details. The estranged husband is not likely to view the home as “happy” but two children might, especially in retrospect. Also, the boy now lives with an uncle indicating the family may have dissolved in the absence of the father or that a stepfather has entered and the boy has been sent to live with relatives.
Covers
The song has been covered by many artists, including Hasil AdkinsHasil Adkins
Hasil Adkins was an Appalachian country, rock and roll, and blues musician, though he was frequently considered rockabilly and sometimes primitive jazz...
, The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Dave Berry
Dave Berry (musician)
Not to be confused with English 1960s singer Mike Berry.Dave Berry is a British pop singer and former teen idol of the 1960s...
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Riblja Čorba
Riblja Corba
Riblja Čorba is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Their presence on the scene has lasted from 1978 to today. They reached their peak of popularity in the 1980s, but it has declined in the 1990s, partly due to controversial political attitudes of the band's leader Bora Đorđević...
, The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK singles charts in January 1964: it eventually peaked at No.6 in the United States in April 1964.They were the second group of the British Invasion,...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, The Faces, Lester Flatt
Lester Flatt
Lester Raymond Flatt was a bluegrass musician and guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his membership in the Bluegrass duo The Foggy Mountain Boys, also known as "Flatt and Scruggs," with banjo picker Earl Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades; besides his work with Scruggs, he...
& Earl Scruggs
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
, The Grateful Dead, Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
, Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Sammy Kershaw
Sammy Kershaw
Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw is an American country music artist. A third cousin of Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw and ex-husband of Lorrie Morgan, he has been active in country music since 1991. He has released ten studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications...
, Fred Knoblock
Fred Knoblock
Fred Knoblock is an American country singer-songwriter.Prior to his solo career, Knoblock had been a member of Let's Eat, a 1970s rock band. Knoblock was signed to Scotti Brothers Records in 1980 when he released the song "Why Not Me", which he wrote along with Carson Whitsett...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
, Mrs. Miller
Mrs. Miller
Elva Ruby Connes Miller , who recorded under the name Mrs. Miller, was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-key renditions of then-popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown".Singing in an untrained,...
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Del Shannon
Del Shannon
Del Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...
, Silicon Teens
Silicon Teens
Silicon Teens were a virtual British electronic new wave pop group. The project was the creation of Mute Records founder Daniel Miller.-Background:...
, The Statler Brothers, Izzy Stradlin
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
, Gene Summers
Gene Summers
Gene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer and entertainer. Some of his classic recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds"...
, George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
, Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
, Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
, The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, and Hank Williams Jr..
In an interesting twist on a song composed around the lyrics of a dominant vocal line, in 1963 guitarist Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
recorded a fast-paced, full-length instrumental improvisation inspired by Berry's melody, and named the tune "Memphis". Mack's instrumental skyrocketed to #5 on Billboard's Pop chart and #4 on Billboard's R&B chart. Mack's version was later recognized as the start point of the Blues-Rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
guitar genre. (See Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
). Mack's version does list Chuck Berry as being the author of the song. In 1964 singer Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
recorded another version of the tune (which he, following Mack, called "Memphis"), copying Mack's pacing and some of his instrumental improvisations, and reinstating the vocal line from Berry's original. That version hit #2 on Billboard's Pop chart.
After that, Berry's own live performances of the tune resembled the Mack and Rivers versions as much as his own original recording. In the years following, many other artists (see names above) covered the tune, and it became one of Berry's most commercially successful compositions.
In Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
' 1974 film Alice in the Cities, there is a brief scene where the main character stops at a Chuck Berry concert where "Memphis" is played.
The song is traditionally played at University of Memphis
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
Tigers
Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers represent the University of Memphis in Division I of the NCAA. They are members of C-USA and currently feature nine women's sports and nine men's sports...
home games by the school's marching band, the Mighty Sound of the South
Mighty Sound of the South
The Mighty Sound of the South is the school band that belongs to the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN.The band performs at Memphis Tigers football games as a marching band and at Tigers basketball games as a pep band.- History :...
.