Memphis Underground
Encyclopedia
Memphis Underground is a 1969 album by jazz
flautist
Herbie Mann
, that attempts to fuse the genres of Jazz and Rhythm & Blues (R&B). While Mann and the other principal soloists (Roy Ayers
, Larry Coryell
and Sonny Sharrock
) were leading jazz musicians, the album was recorded in Chips Moman's American Studios in Memphis, a studio used by many well-known R&B and pop artists. The rhythm section was the house band at American Studios. The recording was engineered and produced by Tom Dowd
.
Three of the five songs on the album were covers of songs originally released by Soul music artists. "Hold On, I'm Comin'
" (by Sam & Dave
), who recorded at Stax records (with the Stax rhythm section), and "Chain of Fools
" (by Aretha Franklin
) who recorded that song with the classic Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
at Atlantic Studios in New York.
Two members of the rhythm section on Franklin's recording (Gene Christman and Tommy Cogbill) perform on Memphis Underground.
A third song, "New Orleans", was also released by R&B artist (Gary U.S. Bonds
), who recorded in Virginia.
So though the only one song was certifiably of Memphis vintage, the conglomeration of young New York jazz musicians with one of the most storied Southern rhythm sections proved to be the catalyst for creating strong, fresh music that sounds like neither Memphis Soul nor New York Jazz.
This unique sound appealed to a large audience. The record is one of the best-selling Jazz albums of all time.
Memphis Underground was a favorite album of writer Hunter S. Thompson
, who mentions it positively in several chapters of his book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. In the article The Battle of Aspen
, Thompson states that his "Freak Power" campaign used Mann's recording of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as the background music for their commercials.
"The Memphis rhythm section"
Note: The "Fender bass" mentioned on the album's credits is a slang term for "bass guitar
", commonly used by musicians, arrangers and producers in the 1950s and 60's. It was used to specify that an electric bass (as opposed to an acoustic instrument) was desired for a session. The word "Fender" refers to the creator of the first mass-produced instrument, Leo Fender
, but does not necessarily mean that an instrument manufactured by the Fender company was used on the session.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, that attempts to fuse the genres of Jazz and Rhythm & Blues (R&B). While Mann and the other principal soloists (Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
, Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
and Sonny Sharrock
Sonny Sharrock
Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
) were leading jazz musicians, the album was recorded in Chips Moman's American Studios in Memphis, a studio used by many well-known R&B and pop artists. The rhythm section was the house band at American Studios. The recording was engineered and produced by Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
.
Three of the five songs on the album were covers of songs originally released by Soul music artists. "Hold On, I'm Comin'
Hold On, I'm Comin'
Hold On, I'm Comin' is the 1966 debut album by Atlantic Records soul duo Sam and Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966....
" (by Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor voice was Samuel David Moore , and the baritone/tenor voice was Dave Prater .Sam & Dave are members of...
), who recorded at Stax records (with the Stax rhythm section), and "Chain of Fools
Chain of Fools
Chain of Fools is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk .-Plot:...
" (by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
) who recorded that song with the classic Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama...
at Atlantic Studios in New York.
Two members of the rhythm section on Franklin's recording (Gene Christman and Tommy Cogbill) perform on Memphis Underground.
A third song, "New Orleans", was also released by R&B artist (Gary U.S. Bonds
Gary U.S. Bonds
Gary U.S. Bonds is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer. He is also a prolific songwriter.-Career:...
), who recorded in Virginia.
So though the only one song was certifiably of Memphis vintage, the conglomeration of young New York jazz musicians with one of the most storied Southern rhythm sections proved to be the catalyst for creating strong, fresh music that sounds like neither Memphis Soul nor New York Jazz.
This unique sound appealed to a large audience. The record is one of the best-selling Jazz albums of all time.
Memphis Underground was a favorite album of writer Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
, who mentions it positively in several chapters of his book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. In the article The Battle of Aspen
The Battle of Aspen
"The Battle of Aspen" was an article published in Rolling Stone #67, dated October 1, 1970 and written by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The cover of the magazine ran the teaser "Freak Power in the Rockies", and the article was later reprinted in The Great Shark Hunt with that same title.The article's...
, Thompson states that his "Freak Power" campaign used Mann's recording of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as the background music for their commercials.
Track listing
- "Memphis Underground" (Herbie Mann) — 7:07
- "New Orleans" (Frank GuidaFrank GuidaFrank Guida was a Sicilian-American songwriter and music producer credited with discovering Gary U.S. Bonds, whose hits, including "New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three", he produced. He was also a songwriter for Leroy Toombs...
, Joseph Royster) — 2:07 - "Hold On, I'm Comin'Hold On, I'm Comin'Hold On, I'm Comin' is the 1966 debut album by Atlantic Records soul duo Sam and Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966....
" (Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, David PorterDavid Porter (musician)David Porter is an American soul musician. Porter is best known as the songwriting and production partner of Isaac Hayes at Stax Records during the 1960s...
) — 8:52 - "Chain of FoolsChain of FoolsChain of Fools is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk .-Plot:...
" (Don CovayDon CovayDon Covay is an American R&B/rock and roll/soul music singer and songwriter most active in the 1950s and 1960s, who received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994...
) — 10:42 - "Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Traditional, arranged by Herbie Mann) — 7:12
Personnel
- Herbie MannHerbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
– flute - Roy AyersRoy AyersRoy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
– vibes, conga on "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - Larry CoryellLarry CoryellLarry Coryell is an American jazz fusion guitarist.-Biography:Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas. He graduated from Richland High School, in Richland, Washington, where he played in local bands The Jailers, The Rumblers, The Royals, and The Flames. He also played with The Checkers from nearby...
– guitar - Sonny SharrockSonny SharrockWarren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
– guitar - Miroslav VitoušMiroslav VitoušMiroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography:Born in Prague, he began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his...
- "Fender bass" on "Hold On, I'm Comin'"
"The Memphis rhythm section"
- Reggie YoungReggie YoungReggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...
– guitar - Bobby Emmons – organ
- Bobby Wood (musician) – electric and acoustic piano
- Gene Christman – drums
- Tommy CogbillTommy CogbillThomas Clark Cogbill, and known as Tommy Cogbill was an American bassist and record producer.Tommy Cogbill was born in Johnson Grove, Tennessee. He was a highly sought-after session and studio musician who appeared on many now-classic recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, especially those recorded in...
or Mike Leech - "Fender bass" (individual tracks not specified)
Note: The "Fender bass" mentioned on the album's credits is a slang term for "bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
", commonly used by musicians, arrangers and producers in the 1950s and 60's. It was used to specify that an electric bass (as opposed to an acoustic instrument) was desired for a session. The word "Fender" refers to the creator of the first mass-produced instrument, Leo Fender
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short...
, but does not necessarily mean that an instrument manufactured by the Fender company was used on the session.
- Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
– Producer and Engineer - Joel BrodskyJoel BrodskyJoel Lee Brodsky was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing over 400 album covers.Brodsky was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Syracuse...
– Cover photo - William Albert AllardWilliam Albert AllardWilliam Albert Allard is an American documentary photographer.-Biography:The son of a Swedish immigrant, William Albert Allard studied at the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts and the University of Minnesota with the hope of becoming a writer. Transferring to University of Minnesota after a only...
– Back liner photo