Memphis: Music, History, and Southern Charm

The Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States and runs through ten US States.  Starting in the state of Minnesota near the Canadian border, the river ends in Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico.  In southwest Tennessee and alongside the widest part of the Mississippi River is the city of Memphis. The name Memphis is derived from its Egyptian sister ‘Memphis’ located south of the Nile River delta and literally means “Established and Beautiful”. By Debby Hendricks

Memphis is well known as the Home of the Blues & Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and highly known for the music styles of gospel, jazz, rhythm & blues (R&B), rap and soul.  Prior to 1819, this area was occupied by a succession of Native Americans, traders, and forts. 

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, made Memphis his home. Now known as Graceland, one of the most popular tourist spots in Memphis offers tours of his mansion situated on 120 acres. Here you can walk among his iconic luxurious automobiles and private airplanes.

The historic Beale Street Entertainment District in Downtown Memphis runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, covers 1.8 miles and is sometimes known as America’s most iconic street.  It is considered Home of the Blues.  Musical performances by street performers entertain you as you walk along.  Over two dozen bars and nightclubs, including B.B. King’s Blues Club, provide the various types of music entertainment that make this town famous.

Various artists like Marc Cohn, Paul Simon and others have popularized the town with songs about Memphis.

Memphis is considered “America’s Distribution Center”, where FedEx moved in 1973 and grew to make Memphis International Airport the number one busiest cargo airport in the world. 
31 museums provide interesting galleries and learning opportunities on music, war, civil rights, history and art. Many beautiful parks along the river and gardens are available for walking.

Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is the public transportation provider for Memphis, Tennessee.  MATA services 3,204,000 annually in ridership. 

With so much to see and do, Memphis should be on everyone’s list of cities to visit!