United StatesMemphis
Memphis R3: Sanitation Strike (February 12 1968 65 days, Cole and Walker crushed in truck February 1, I Am a Man signs, King Mountaintop speech April 3 1968, Loeb capitulated April 16 after assassination), Rockabilly (Cash born 1932 died 2003, Jerry Lee Lewis died October 28 2022 last Sun Records survivor, Perkins Carl died 1998, Al Green pastor Full Gospel Tabernacle 1976 hot grits incident 1974), Soul food (Four Way Restaurant 1946 South Memphis MLK Civil Rights musicians, Gus Fried Chicken 1953 Napoleon Vanderbilt, Cozy Corner Raymond Robinson 1977), Neighborhoods (Midtown Cooper-Young Novel bookstore Cooper-Young Festival 110,000 September, Overton Park v Volpe 1971 Supreme Court landmark urban park protection, Orange Mound 1890 oldest Black-developed US neighborhood 45% poverty), Shelby Farms (1800 acres 3x Central Park 50km trails 30 bison, Greenline 10.65km rail-to-trail, Mississippi River Trail 3000km cycling headwaters Minnesota to Gulf), Architecture (Pink Palace Piggly Wiggly Saunders 1916 self-service grocery inventor went bankrupt 1923, Memphis Brooks Museum 9000 works 5000 years, Memphis Zoo panda Ya Ya repatriated April 2023, Autozone Park Triple-A Cardinals).
Memphis R3: Sanitation Strike (February 12 1968, Cole Walker crushed compactor February 1 denied restroom access, I Am a Man signs Declaration of Independence, King Mountaintop April 3 I may not get there with you, Mayor Loeb capitulated April 16), rockabilly legacy (Cash died 2003, Jerry Lee Lewis died October 28 2022 last surviving Sun artist, Al Green pastor Full Gospel Tabernacle 1976 hot grits 1974), soul food (Four Way 1946 South Memphis MLK musicians, Gus Fried Chicken 1953 Mason Tennessee Napoleon Vanderbilt, Cozy Corner 1977 Robinson Cornish hens), neighborhoods (Midtown Cooper-Young Festival 110,000 September, Overton Park v Volpe 1971 landmark Supreme Court no highway through park, Orange Mound 1890 oldest US Black-developed neighborhood 45% poverty), Shelby Farms (1800 acres 3x Central Park 30 bison 50km trails, Greenline 10.65km rail-to-trail, Mississippi River Trail 3000km), architecture (Pink Palace Piggly Wiggly inventor Saunders 1916 self-service grocery bankrupt 1923, Brooks Museum 9000 works, Memphis Zoo panda Ya Ya returned China April 2023).
Memphis R4: Yellow fever epidemics (1873 1878 1879, 5000 dead 1878, population 40,000 to 14,000, municipal charter revoked 1879 operating as taxing district until 1893, Sisters St Mary Episcopal nursed dying, George Waring Memphis Sewer System 1880-1890 first modern US sanitary sewer), Cotton Exchange (84 Union Avenue, 2.2M bales/year 1920s-1930s, cotton compression 40% volume reduction, FedEx founded 1971 Frederick Smith MEM 4th busiest cargo world), Literature and film (Faulkner Oxford 100km south Memphis symbol of urban corruption in Sanctuary Sound and Fury, Guralnick Last Train to Memphis 1994 Careless Love 1999 finest rock biography, Hustle and Flow 2005 Craig Brewer Three 6 Mafia Oscar), African American history (Ida B Wells Memphis Free Speech 1889-1892 anti-lynching journalism exiled after mob destroyed office 1892 Pulitzer Prize 2020 posthumous, Robert Church Sr 1839 first Black millionaire South yellow fever real estate, Church Park 1899 first safe Black public gathering), Music economy (Beale Street USD 150M tourist economy cover bands, Soulsville Charter School 300 students South Memphis, Royal Studios 1320 Soul Avenue Willie Mitchell Al Green Hi Records, GloRilla born 2000 Memphis 2022 national attention, Julien Baker born 1995), Practical (MEM 4M passengers FedEx hub 4th cargo world, Peabody Hotel USD 300-450, April-May Memphis in May best season, 38C summer humidity).
Memphis R4: yellow fever (1873 1878 1879, 5000 dead 1878, 40,000 to 14,000 population, charter revoked 1879-1893 taxing district, Sisters St Mary, George Waring sewer system 1880-1890 first modern US sewer eliminated mosquito breeding), Cotton Exchange (peak 2.2M bales/year, compression 40% volume for Liverpool trade, FedEx 1971 Frederick Smith relocated Memphis 1973 geographic center population MEM 4th cargo world), literature film (Faulkner Oxford 100km south Memphis corruption in Sanctuary, Guralnick Elvis biographies 1994 1999, Hustle and Flow 2005 Three 6 Mafia Oscar Brewer), African American (Ida Wells Memphis Free Speech 1889 anti-lynching mob exile 1892 Pulitzer 2020, Robert Church Sr first Black millionaire South yellow fever real estate, Church Park 1899, Church Jr Republican power 1920s-1940s), music economy (Beale Street USD 150M cover bands, Soulsville Charter 300 students, Royal Studios Willie Mitchell Al Green, GloRilla 2000 2022 national, Julien Baker 1995), practical (MEM 4M passengers FedEx hub 4th cargo, April-May best, 38C summer, Peabody USD 300-450).
Memphis: Beale Street, Sun Studio, Stax Museum, National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, and BBQ
Memphis overview: Beale Street blues music capital, Sun Studio birthplace of rock and roll (Elvis debut July 5 1954, Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Million Dollar Quartet December 4 1956), Stax Records soul music (Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes Theme from Shaft Oscar 1972, Booker T and the MGs), National Civil Rights Museum Lorraine Motel Martin Luther King Jr assassination April 4 1968 room 306 Memphis Sanitation Strike, Elvis Presley Graceland 650,000 visitors/year 1B records sold died August 16 1977 age 42, Memphis BBQ dry vs wet ribs Rendezvous 1948 Central BBQ Cozy Corner, Mississippi River Tom Lee Park Mud Island scale-model river replica, Memphis in May World Championship BBQ 220 teams 100,000 spectators.
Memphis R2-R4: WC Handy Father of the Blues (Memphis Blues 1912 first published blues St Louis Blues 1914 most recorded 1940s, Delta blues Charlie Patton Son House Robert Johnson 27 Club crossroads Clarksdale), Peabody Hotel (Duck March 1933 nightly red carpet John Philip Sousa, Great American Pyramid 1991 largest Bass Pro Shops world aquarium bowling archery, Victorian Village yellow fever 1878-1879 10,000 dead 14yr municipal charter lapse), Mississippi Delta Blues Highway (US 61 200km Clarksdale Morgan Freeman Ground Zero, Delta Blues Museum, sharecropping debt peonage, International Harvester cotton picker 1948 mechanization Great Migration), Grizzlies (Grit and Grind Marc Gasol Zach Randolph 2011-2017, Three 6 Mafia Oscar 2006 first rap group, Young Dolph murdered November 17 2021), St Jude (Danny Thomas 1962 vow Saint Jude, USD 2.4B budget no charges to families, childhood cancer survival 20% to 80%, Memphis poverty 21%), Day trips Shiloh 1862 23,746 casualties, Elvis Presley birthplace Tupelo, Chickasaw Nation Treaty Pontotoc Creek 1832 Trail of Tears.
Memphis R2-R4: WC Handy Father of the Blues (Memphis Blues 1912 first published blues, St Louis Blues 1914, Delta blues Patton House Robert Johnson crossroads Clarksdale 27 Club), Peabody Hotel (Duck March 1933 Sousa red carpet, Pyramid 1991 stainless steel now Bass Pro Shops world largest aquarium bowling archery hotel restaurant, Victorian Village yellow fever 1878 10,000 dead 14-year charter lapse), Mississippi Delta (US 61 Blues Highway 200km Clarksdale Delta Blues Museum Ground Zero Morgan Freeman, Shack Up Inn Hopson plantation sharecroppers shacks, cotton picker 1948 mechanization ended sharecropping accelerated Great Migration), Memphis today (Grizzlies Grit and Grind Gasol Randolph, Three 6 Mafia Oscar 2006 first rap group, Young Dolph murdered 2021, University of Memphis Penny Hardaway), St Jude (Danny Thomas 1962 USD 2.4B no family charges childhood cancer 20% to 80% survival), practical (Shiloh 180km 23,746 casualties, Tupelo Elvis birthplace, Chickasaw Trail of Tears 1832-1837, MEM airport 15km, spring fall best seasons).