Robert Gordon begins where most chroniclers of the music world end and spins a magical fairy tale peopled with Delta bluesmen, a peanut vendor, a matinee cowboy, a professional wrestler, and a manic deejay. It Came From Memphis doesn't focus on Elvis, Al Green, or the Sun/Stax studios. Instead it creeps into the shadows cast by those institutions, concentrating on artists like Jim Dickinson and Alex Chilton, and bands like the MarKeys and Big Star. Gordon limns, with respect and the fascination born of true devotion, the story of white teenagers caught in the middle of an extraordinary confluence of music, entrepreneurship, to usher in an exciting new musical form. The result is a rock 'n' roll and Memphis -- its alma mater.
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Perhaps no other city in America has provided more grist for the music sociology mill than Memphis, Tennessee. While Memphis has been the muse for some truly classic books (Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music, to name just one), the rhetoric surrounding "The Birthplace of Rock & Roll"--also "The Home of the Blues"--can be as daunting as a walk down the ravenously gentrified blues theme park that is Beale Street.
Enter Robert Gordon, a Memphis native and keen chronicler of the city's secret history. Gordon's It Came from Memphis all but ignores the Bluff City's oft-cited musical hierarchy--B.B. King, Elvis, Al Green et al.--in favor of its great unheralded eccentrics. You might not be familiar with the Insect Trust or Mudboy and the Neutrons, but Gordon argues--with empathy and wit--that you should be.
But music is only part of the story here. Whether it's Memphis's wrestling legend Sputnik Monroe, or the city's esoteric patron saint, artist-professor John McIntire, Gordon's shrewd eye sees the mojo in them all. In a way, Gordon's book is even more vital than the classic volumes on Memphis music that predate it. Where Guralnick interprets a musical tradition that is already firmly embedded in the American psyche, Gordon gives voice to a clandestine tradition that otherwise might go forgotten. --Matt Hanks --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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The New York Times Superb...
The New Yorker An affectionate rumination.
The New Yorker An affectionate rumination.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW,
By A Customer
This review is from: It Came from Memphis (Paperback)
If you've never been to Memphis, this book will either make you drive straight to the airport or convince you to stay far, far away. Gordon's round-up of Memphis eccentrics, flops, and genuises is short on Elvis and B.B. King, and long on Alex Chilton, Dewey Phillips, Jim Dickinson, and Furry Lewis. An indispensible and hilarious guide to America's deep-fried music capital.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gordon's It Came from Memphis is a must read for music fans.,
By A Customer
This review is from: It Came from Memphis (Paperback)
Gordon's It Came from Memphis helps to unravel the rich heritage of a city whose musical heritage is largely overlooked save for BB King and Elvis Presley. He succesfullly attempts to expose the politics, racism, and situations of circumstance that fueled Memphis to become what it is today both musically and socially. A young gifted author whose style is both easily readable and profound, Gordon offers a book that is a must read for any fan of modern music. I recommend this one highly.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gordon's It Came from Memphis is a must read for music fans.,
By A Customer
This review is from: It Came from Memphis (Paperback)
Gordon's It Came from Memphis helps to unravel the rich heritage of a city whose musical heritage is largely overlooked save for BB King and Elvis Presley. He succesfullly attempts to expose the politics, racism, and situations of circumstance that fueled Memphis to become what it is today both musically and socially. A young gifted author whose style is both easily readable and profound, Gordon offers a book that is a must read for any fan of modern music. I recommend this one highly.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
THE ROLLING STONES INTRODUCED ME NOT TO THE BLUES, BUT TO THE bluesmen. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Mud Boy, Jim Dickinson, Sam Phillips, Box Tops, Beale Street, Lee Baker, Alex Chilton, Don Nix, Furry Lewis, Charlie Freeman, West Memphis, Bitter Lemon, Randall Lyon, The Letter, Dan Penn, Dewey Phillips, Marcia Hare, Sputnik Monroe, Jimmy Crosthwait, John Fry, Wayne Jackson, Willie Mitchell, Muscle Shoals, Plantation Inn New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THE ROLLING STONES INTRODUCED ME NOT TO THE BLUES, BUT TO THE bluesmen. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Mud Boy, Jim Dickinson, Sam Phillips, Box Tops, Beale Street, Lee Baker, Alex Chilton, Don Nix, Furry Lewis, Charlie Freeman, West Memphis, Bitter Lemon, Randall Lyon, The Letter, Dan Penn, Dewey Phillips, Marcia Hare, Sputnik Monroe, Jimmy Crosthwait, John Fry, Wayne Jackson, Willie Mitchell, Muscle Shoals, Plantation Inn New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 43
books:
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21
books
cite this book:
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- Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll: Fourth Edition by Greil Marcus in Front Matter, and page 268
- A Dance With the Devil (Dance with Devil) by Rexanne Becnel on page 267
- Steal Away (Teri Blake-Addison Mystery Series #1) by Linda Hall on page 162
- Beale Street Talks: A Walking Tour Down the Home of the Blues by Richard M Raichelson on page 283
- Rock and roll by J. Brent Bill on page 60
See all 43 books this book cites
- Waking Up in Memphis by Andria Lisle on 5 pages
- City Smart: Memphis by Linda Romine on page 16, page 27, and page 92
- Beale Street (TN) (Images of America) by Dr. Beverly G. Bond on page 89, and Back Matter
- Memphis Blues: Birthplace Of A Music Tradition (TN) (Images of America) by William Bearden on page 60, and page 66
- The Elvis Treasures by Robert Gordon in Back Matter
See all 21 books citing this book
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