It Came from Memphis

by Robert Gordon

Book Overview

Vienna in the 1880s. Paris in the 1920s. Memphis in the 1950s. These are the paradigm shifts of modern culture. Memphis then was like Seattle with grunge or Brooklyn with hip-hop-except the change was... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743410459
• ISBN13: 9780743410458
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An indispensable masterpiece of music history.

Robert Gordon has performed a valuable service to music history in penning "It Came From Memphis" and correctly amplified attention to names known to cognoscenti but are overshadowed by the overly familiar. Indeed, Gordon could increase his scope for a second and third volume with little trouble. Gordon's focus on the offbeat musical offerings paired with the critically respected Chilton, Dickinson, and Lewis, captures the spirit of Memphis music that emerges in the rich melange of swamp trash culture overlaid with bourgeois convention and its anti-thesis of rebellion. In many ways this is Gordon's point: this music could only have come from Memphis. The casual reader may wonder why this matters, and the simple answer is that between the clean sounds and production values of Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York City, Memphis's Sun Studios, Stax Records, and Ardent Studios emerged as birthplaces of something that was much more than merely "The Memphis Sound." Indeed the Memphis sound could not be circumscribed. Gordon's proper emphasis on the commercially overlooked is also appropriate. For the tragedy of Memphis music is also rooted in its curse: Memphis Music is nearly always damned with commercial failure yet critical success. Today, musicologists speak in reverential tones about Dickinson's work with Ry Cooder, and hold Big Star 3rd and The Scruffs as mortal products that now abide as music for gods; such is the influence of these masterpieces that lack the airplay and exposure of even Elvis's "Clambake." Commercial success of Memphis music is a binomial model, either you are elder god like Elvis and W.C. Handy, or you have a number one hit record like "The Letter" but still end up a flophouse habitude and washing dishes in New Orleans. Yet the influence of these Memphis artists abides and, like the Snopes, they endure. Gordon has brought our attention to Memphis music and corrected the oversight of history with this foundational work, and it merits inclusion in the music reference section of every library. We owe Gordon our thanks.

It's either this or Will and Grace...you make the call.

This is the kind of book I dream about. When I look for my next read, I look for a book that is 1) passionate 2) not pretentious and not totally mainstream, and 3) about quirky (in a trashy and at least slightly out of control way) people and things. Sounds simple enough, but lord knows it ain't as easy to find a book with those characteristics as you might think. But Robert Gordon has torn it up and come through for us. Really, it's amazing that this book is still in print because it's "target audience" must consist of about thirty people. And therein lies its beauty. Imagine something as idiosyncratic as a zine, but, unlike a zine, not poorly written! Also, it doesn't hurt that a nice sized portion of the book is devoted to the godhead, Alex Chilton, which means a lot to us Chilton-ites since no real definitive bio exists. Of course, there's tons else besides Alex--take for example pro wrestlers, hippie bluesmen, and a cool-as-hell photographer--but if you don't dig Alex, maybe you should pass on this anyway and go and see if Will and Grace is available on DVD yet. Your type sickens me.

Gordon's It Came from Memphis is a must read for music fans.

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.

WOW

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.