In February 1952, Sam Phillips launched a record label in Memphis — one whose moniker pays homage to his oodles of optimism (which ultimately panned out).
Memphis History
-
-
Megan Ammons, a senior at Harding Academy of Memphis, is on her way to the Nation’s capital after winning the Tennessee 2023 Poetry Out Loud contest.
-
What better time than Women’s History Month to hit the Memphis Women’s Legacy Trail — a project aimed at documenting, remembering and celebrating the lasting impact of myriad women and their life’s work on the city.
-
When the Sterick Buiding opened in 1930, at 365 feet it was the tallest building in the South – earning its nickname, the “Queen of Memphis.
-
Ida B.Wells (1862-1931) was born into slavery during the Civil War.
-
Each year, the Peabody Hotel’s holiday spirit – rivaled only by the five resident Mallard ducks who emerge twice daily to the delight of gawking guests – is on display in the Reconstruction Era bar and lobby, festooned with all manner of trappings and trimmings come December.
-
Deep in the heart of downtown Memphis, November 6th Street stands as a monument to our American democracy.
-
A chorus of Memphis-based voices is in conversation at the Benjamin L.Hooks Central Library.
-
Miss Jennie M. Higbee arrived in Bluff City in the late 1800s to teach – first at St. Mary’s School followed by a decade at Female High School – before being named head, in 1875, of the newly established Presbyterian Grammar and High School.
-
Lide Smith Meriwether led the first generation of southern feminists in Memphis.
-
Many North and South American families experienced grief and loss during the yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century, but the loss that Memphis had to bear was no contest.
-
Memphis’ Rhodes College was founded in 1848 as the Masonic University of Tennessee.
-
Although recognized as a popular wedding venue, the Woodruff-Fontaine House is actually one of Memphis’ most haunted buildings.
-
Located in the historic Whitehaven Community, Elvis Presley Boulevard is home to many Black-owned businesses — the most historic of which is Tri-State Bank.
-
In 1865, a cash-strapped steamboat captain learned that he could earn $2.75 per head transporting former Union POWs back up north.
-
Imagine strolling through Overton Park to find a bear chained to a tree.
-
In 1837, the 4th of July wasn’t a day of celebration for the 3,000 Chickasaw people gathered in Memphis that day.
-
W.C.Handy didn’t discover the blues, but he was the first to put it in writing.
-
For over 65 years, the Enchanted Forest has served Memphis as a much-awaited holiday harbinger.
-
The original Orpheum Theatre opened in 1890 as the Grand Opera House, burned down in 1923, and reopened in 1928 as the Orpheum we know today – complete with the ghosts of the original building.
-
Coletta’s on South Parkway opened in 1923 as “Suburban Ice Cream Company,” where Emil Coletta served up pasta, sandwiches and his own homemade ice cream.
-
Downtown Memphis is a living history lesson, complete with a beloved riverfront and the last functioning cobblestone port in the country.
-
We know Memphis is home to the blues, Beale Street and Graceland. Few realize, however, that it’s also the birthplace of the modern-day supermarket.
-
Originally coined “Satellite” in 1957, Stax Records is largely to thank for the gift of Memphis soul, or the Memphis sound.
-
Memphis barbecue has always been delicious, differentiated by its pit-based slow cooking process. But what brought it to the world stage (and table)?
-
Since Memphis is named after an ancient Egyptian city, why not throw in a few pyramids?
-
The first blues song I heard growing up on Atlanta college radio was “Cross Road Blues,” 1936, by genre progenitor Robert…
-
As The King became a megastar in the 1950s, he found himself too big for his $40K ranch at 1034 Audubon Drive.
-
Compared to Nashville and Knoxville, why does Memphis sound oddly … Egyptian? Well, because it is.
-
In 1947, WDIA launched in Memphis offering listeners a mix of country western and light pop. The station remained unpopular until Nat D. Williams started “Tan Town Jubilee” in 1948, the first radio program to appeal to African-American listeners.