Redefining Mainstream Popular Music by Baker Sarah;Bennett Andy;Taylor Jodie;

Author:Baker, Sarah;Bennett, Andy;Taylor, Jodie;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Memphis as a Space of (Heritage) Modernity

As the historic home of a melting pot of vernacular American music genres (blues, country, gospel, soul), Memphis has long held a special attraction for music fans. The racial segregation that fostered Beale Street as a regional hub of black entertainment has in turn enabled an ongoing social fusion that has helped to give rise to a magnificent series of musical innovations. W.C. Handy's famous ‘Memphis Blues’ had phenomenal sales after its publication as sheet music in 1912. Sam Phillips first arrived in Memphis to visit Beale Street in 1939. Because he was raised in the same town as Handy, Phillips felt an affinity with the composer (see Crouch and Crouch 2009: viii). Nine years earlier, Handy had been commemorated as part of Beale Street when a park named after him was opened in the lot of a demolished food market (Raichelson 1999: 46). Due to Beale Street's reputation, Memphis was already a place of legend and commemoration. Equally, once Elvis found inspiration on Beale Street and reached a level of international fame, he too became commemorated.2 Beale Street remains open between Second and Fourth Street, but it is now a pedestrian tourist beat, with its cafes and blues halls. Ordinances against pan-handling and firearms allow tourists to be shielded from any potential inconvenience and danger while they enjoy local food and a high standard of musicianship. A new shopping and dining area is being created at the Mississippi end called the Beale Street Landing. Such spaces of urban regeneration and civic boosterism are primarily for mainstream tourists and locals, not just Elvis fans. Tourism is not the city's main employer (the honour goes to logistics), and Elvis fans make up a tiny fraction of the ten million annual visitors. Present-day music heritage visitors to Memphis discover a diverse series of sites. Graceland remains the jewel in the crown of the Elvis heritage industry, having opened its gates to the public 30 years ago after Priscilla Presley raised capital and consulted with Disney and the National Park Service (see O'Neal 1997: 105–23). A free shuttle bus provided by Sun Studio takes visitors between Graceland, Union Avenue and the Rock ‘n’ Soul museum near Beale Street.

A minority of dedicated fans explore localities beyond the pre-packaged route. Their aim is not so much to develop or display cultural capital (though that may be a by-product) as it is to experience concrete reference points to help them to understand Elvis’ world. They draw on niche guidebooks such as Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman's Memphis, Elvis-Style (1997), William Yenne's The Field Guide to Elvis Shrines (2004) and Andrew Ahearn's Follow Me to Tennessee (2007). The last of these was written by an English fan who has visited Memphis over 20 times and lists over a hundred places in the city, including at least eight of the singer's homes (not counting Graceland), three places where his father lived, various restaurants, schools, studios, movie theatres and even a roller skating rink.

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