A few weeks ago, we got a telephone call from a reporter based in New York who was asking for an update about Memphis. Here’s what we sent him:
Memphis is the kind of city that can make you cry. Just ask Justin Timberlake.
Being inducted in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame last October, he was brought to tears talking about his hometown: “I’m truly honored to merely stand on the shoulders of all these legends I grew up listening to and I grew up admiring to say that I stand alongside them now.”
There’s a lot going on in Memphis these days, but there’s nothing that means more than its genre-bending music, which has defied racial and musical boundaries that hold the blues, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, alternative, and soul music within them. There’s a reason Memphis is in the lyrics of more than 1,000 songs, and yet, there’s a tendency to look at Memphis music in the rearview mirror as if the music stopped with the death of Stax Records in 1975 and Elvis two years later.
The city today continues to create singers and musicians who value the stand for creative freedom that was made here. It keeps musicians here and brings in others like Bruno Mars to record last year’s Grammy record of the year at Boo Mitchell’s Royal Studio. Meanwhile, the Memphis originals just keep coming: Amy LaVere, Luther Dickinson (alone or with North Mississippi All-Stars), Julien Baker, Valerie June, Al Kapone, John Paul Keith, Three 6 Mafia, and more and more.
As Memphis music icon Sam Phillips, midwife for the birth of rock ‘n’ roll at Sun Records, often said: “If you’re not doing something different, you’re not doing anything.” Memphis is always doing something different.
Striking A Nerve
We’ve heard emotional speeches from music legends for decades, but there was something different about Timberlake’s. He touched a nerve and became the poster child for how the city hangs on to old Memphis – booze, blues, and barbecue – while pushing ahead on a city being reborn – greenways, bike lanes, and neighborhood revitalization.
Even today, though, if you want to understand Memphis, you have to understand its music, now and then, because it is the same fusion of creativity, unexpected convergences, rebellious individuality, and rich diversity that define the city itself.
There’s little argument that for about 10-15 years as the 20th century drew to a close and the 21st century opened up, Memphis forgot who it was. It was adrift and some people even suggested that the challenges this time might be too great for it, although the city had faced them down before, notably a series of Yellow Fever epidemics in the late 19th century that resulted in the city losing its charter and the 1968 murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of a downtown motel.
But, if the history of Memphis is indeed about getting knocked down and getting back up, the Great Recession laid it low.
Milestones
Times were hard, the economy was stalled, and our self-confidence was jolted. It’s hard to say exactly when things started turning around or why they did, but maybe, it was having two plays about the city on Broadway – Memphis and Million Dollar Quartet.
Maybe it was being one of a handful of cities that found a jobs-creating use for a former arena, albeit an unusual one shaped as a 32-story pyramid turned into a massive, 535,000 square feet, Las Vegas-style Bass Pro Shops store that attracts two to three million people a year.
Maybe it was the $35 million highly successful reboot of the down-on-its-luck, once popular Overton Square entertainment district which now includes the Hattiloo Theatre, one of only a few free-standing, independent black theaters in America and soon to be joined by the new studio for Ballet Memphis, whose ballets on regional themes have landed it on the stage in New York and Washington, D.C.
Then again, it might have been the renovation of the 1936 Levitt Shell outdoor amphitheater in Overton Park, where dozens of free concerts featuring local and national music groups now attract families from across the region and the creation of the Overton Park Conservancy that is improving and fighting to protect Memphis’ “Central Park.”
It might have been the youth movement of the local culinary scene led by Kelly English, Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Ryan Trimm, and others, and the way the once barbecue-dominated food scene now features more ethnic food than the United Nations dining room.
Maybe it was Broad Avenue, whose DIY ethos turned a once languishing neighborhood into a popular hot spot rivaling its older inspiration, Cooper-Young, or maybe it’s the explosion of bike lanes and trails or the conversion of the 1.5 million square feet, former Sears Roebuck distribution center and retail store, abandoned for almost 20 years, and now becoming a vertical urban village.
The Convergence
The list goes on and on. Perhaps, the truth is it was the convergence of all of these milestones that provoked a new optimism, self-confidence, and can-do attitude for Memphis.
Today, all of a sudden, it seems that there is an awful lot going on in Memphis. In fact, there’s $9 billion in projects just finished or under way, but two of them in particular illustrate the way Memphis is evolving from a gritty river city to one known more for being green, bikable, and ambitious – Shelby Farms Park and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Shelby Farms Park is the $70 million transformation of 3,200 acres in the center of the county into the 21st century’s great urban park with a 70-acre lake, new facilities designed by Marlon Blackwell, restaurants by Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson, a large-scale program to restore the area’s ecologies, a new buffalo range, a hardwood forest, an intricate trail system, an award-winning playground, and the outback with its meadows and lakes. Designed by James Corner of New York High Line fame, it is the hub for the 10 miles of the Shelby Farms Park greenline and the 22 miles of the Wolf River Greenway.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, through an improbable set of coincidences, began in Memphis in 1962 by comedian and television star Danny Thomas, and treatments invented there have pushed the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 to per cent to more than 80 percent. It’s expanded several times, and it’s now embarking on a $2 billion expansion, adding 2,000 new researchers, faculty and staff.
Two Immutable Features
So much about Memphis is changing. That said, two things seem always to remain the same: our complicated relationship with our country cousin 210 miles to the east up the Music Highway and our discussions about race.
Some people think we talk about race too much and point favorably to cities where it stays beneath the surface – until it doesn’t. Here, in a city shaped mightily by African American culture, food, and music, opinions are candid and honest and they are out in the open, and while it can be uncomfortable at times, we operate on the simple theory that no problem gets better if “act Southern,” refusing to talk about it and pretending it’s not there.
Racial issues here are similar to other large cities across America – albeit more complicated because of the stark realities of deep, concentrated, multi-generational poverty and economic segregation – but here, we have no-holds-barred, in-your-face talks about them in hopes of finding answers to the serious issues of equity and opportunity. Best of all, more and more, poverty reduction is moving to the top of the local agenda.
The Cool Factor
As for Nashville, for decades, the state’s capital chafed at the way that Memphis and Shelby County – derisively called “Big Shelby” – dominated state politics. These days, as a blue city in a red state with a hard red and right legislature, Nashville is the city where many of our dreams go to die (although that city is also an island of blue).
Our influence has waned to the point that the state legislature regularly overturns decisions made by the Memphis City Council like passage of a living wage and new state laws like refusing to expand Medicaid that are a stake in the heart of our city.
Today, some say our roles are reversed. We are the older brother no longer and our sister city in Middle Tennessee has grown up. It’s a boomtown and no city in the Southeast can keep pace with it. And yet, there are still indications of the old relationship as in an article May 28, 2016, in The Tennessean (Nashville) headlined: “Nashville vs. Memphis? We win!”
The reporter picked three categories, evaluated each of them, and declared that Nashville is finally cooler than Memphis. Of course, just the fact that the article was written pointed to the real answer: anytime you’re willing to spend so much time obsessing about Memphis, you already know you’re not the coolest.
The latest evidence of Memphis’ cool factor, besides having the first IKEA store in Tennessee, is that after being romanced by big league cities across the U.S., Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson decided to open their new restaurants in Memphis, including two at the reimagined Shelby Farms Park.
In choosing Memphis, Musk pointed to the “renaissance” under way, but most of all, he said: “In Memphis, all things are possible.” That, more than anything, seems to sum up the prevailing attitude in Memphis, and with a little luck, we may look back to today as the time that Memphis turned forcefully toward a better future.
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Memphis has a sleepy, minuscule music scene, especially compared to Nashville which truly is Music City. Just like in everything else, we have fallen way behind big time.
Nashville is a total boom town in the big leagues of US cities. Memphis is second tier in every way. Memphis is not Nashville and never will be.
The comment about cool factor is a joke. Only in Memphis would one think a big box furniture store is a sign of being cool. Get a grip people!
Even Justin Timberlake has fled Memphis and moved to Nashville, purchasing a huge farm in Franklin and a house for his parents and investing in the music scene there too.
Memphis versus Nashville? That’s easy. Nashville wins by huge margins in every way.
Here we go again trying to be cheerleaders for Memphis. But unfortunately our city is still losing very badly. Recycling these earlier articles is a sign of just how little is happening in Memphis.
BTW, Justin Timberlake lives in both LA and the Nashville area. Like every smart, successful person from around here, JT got the hell out of Memphis as fast as possible!
Ask JT where he’s from. Elvis lived in LA too but there was no question what he considered his hometown. We suspect there is no city where you can’t complain about its warts or problems. That said, you never point out a fact or statistic – just snark – to express your opinion. PS: The folks in Nashville lament that the IKEA is in Memphis, so apparently it means something to them.
In the meantime, watch Justin Timberlake’s acceptance speech again as he was indicted into Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Memphis was cool before Nashville could spell it.
“or the conversation of the 600,000 square feet, ” Not just a typo, but a woeful underestimation of the size of Crosstown Concourse
As an outsider (someone who wasn’t born in this part of the country and comes in with no preconceptions), it’s easy to like Nashville and it’s hard to like Memphis. From a visitor’s standpoint, Nashville has more to do, more to see, and you can see and do it all safely and easily. There’s plentiful parking in Nashville, it’s easy to access from the interstate in any direction, and you generally feel safe while you’re there.
Memphis, however, is harder to like. It has a dirty appearance and the specter of crime is all around you. You have to pass through metal detectors to get into the entertainment district and there are cover charges everywhere (in Nashville, there’s no metal detectors and no cover charges). It’s hard to find places to park in Memphis (and even harder to find ones that appear safe) and it’s hard to navigate (coming in from the south, north, or east is a pain). Travelers always wonder why I-40 has to loop u[ and over the top of Memphis. Ask a traveler about Overton Square: nobody knows about it and nobody can find it. Ask locals about it:it’s hard to get to and there’s lots of crime around it.
In my own experience (a sample size of one, but a feeling shared by many) is that Memphis looks and feels unsafe, Memphis is hard to get around, and Memphis has very few attractions. Memphis needs to address those issues if it wants the visitors than Nashville has been getting.
Thanks, Daniel. We were referring to commercial square footage but we changed to the total square footage to respond to your comment.
George: We hear you, but we have never been able to like Nashville. Too many pickup trucks, too much country music, too little soul, too much ego, and too little character. But that’s just us. We’re not trying to bash Nashville. We just prefer Memphis, which is why we live here. Also, some people seem to see Nashville through rose-colored glasses although it has some deep problems and complaints of its own. As you can tell from this blog, we see Memphis honestly and address its problems openly. Also, the reason I-40 doesn’t plow through Overton Park is one of the best chapters of citizen activism in Memphis. We agree that Memphis needs to address its problems and that’s one of the reasons we’ve been blogging for 12 years. Thanks for your comment and observations.
Many people in Memphis just can’t seem to accept that Nashville now far surpasses Memphis in just about every possible way.
Plenty of pick ups and country music in these parts too. After all, Memphis is where the Delta bubbas of Miss & Ark meet up at Bass Pro right downtown. LOL
The point of this post isn’t about competition about Nashville and Memphis. It cited Nashville’s obsession with trying to be as cool as Memphis and its frustration in always failing. You should check the profile of the average shopper at Bass Pro – there are bubbas, there are business owners, there are large numbers of African American families, etc., etc. It is another example of your tendency to stereotype to back up your default talking points. We say again give us Memphis any day. Nashville set out to be Atlanta light, and it’s getting there with a soulless, inauthentic character.
Ignore this guy. There’s no there there.
Why does every in Memphis obsess over Nashville? Yes it’s doing well and that’s good for them but Memphis has great qualities and constantly comparing it to possibly the biggest boomtown in the country right now is just dumb. And for every self loathing Memphian that constantly complains about it— why do you even live here? Life is too short to b**ch and moan about everything!
Tom. You and this page seem to continually stir up these comparisons to Nashville which we can never win. Enough I say. Focus on Memphis and if you need a city to compare us with please cite Birmingham or Jackson MS. Nashville has now moved up to another league.
I am happy for Nashville. success builds upon success and someday it may become another traffic gridlocked Atlanta. My problem is the attitude towards Memphis. They despise Memphis, Never anything good to say despite things we have that they don’t like Fedex, St. Jude, Graceland, a world class zoo, NBA Grizz,and the Mississippi river.
Larry Pipkin sorry but it is just plain stupid and childish to imply that everyone in Nashville despises Memphis.
Anonymous: We didn’t compare Nashville to Memphis in this post. We quoted a Nashville columnist to make a point. Since we focus on Memphis every day on this blog, we think you’re only seeing what you want to see if you think we “continually” stir up these comparisons. It’s a very rare day when we even mention Nashville.
Smart City: I actually wasn’t criticizing your article– I enjoyed it very much and thought it mentioned many great things happening in Memphis in different areas. I was in reference to the comments that immediately compared the two with everything from parking to out of towners not knowing where Overton Square is– there’s maps/gps/uber. I don’t think everyone that travels to every city automatically knows every street/district.
SCM, I understand that everyone has their preferences. You prefer Memphis, while others may prefer other things and places. We all view things with our own biases. I was in middle TN about a month ago for business and drove around Nashville (downtown, East Nashville, Gulch, north Nashville) on my way back to Memphis. In that whole time, you could count the number of pickup trucks on one hand. The vehicles seemed to be a mix of electric cars, new Toyotas, late model Chevys, and some Lexus mixed in.
Meanwhile, I see more pickup trucks in Orange Mound in one morning than I’ve seen in Nashville during a whole week. I hear more country music in Cooper-Young than any other type of music. In Nashville, I hear more Blues from street musicians than I hear on Beale St. Your preconceptions about Nashville don’t match what I’ve seen at all.
As for the navigation to and around Memphis (I-40), I’ll tell you what I hear most from travelers: “Memphis makes it so hard to get to things, but Nashville makes it so easy. If you steer all the roads away from things, people won’t go there.” Memphis lagging behind Nashville in tourism is a result of that.
George is right about Nashville. It’s a much richer city overall than here in terms of income levels, educational levels and job opportunities. Memphis is just way behind. The tourist and convention business in Nashville is much bigger than anything we claim here. Nashville is safer, cleaner, has lots more hotels with more on the way. The restaurants are fun and diverse and expensive too with a lot more than just BBQ. What impressed us most is new construction cranes all over the city. That’s something we dont see much in Memphis.
A blogger in Nashville wrote recently that the $9.2 billion in new projects in Memphis was more than Atlanta. But as we have written several times, no city in the Southeast can compete with Nashville’s growth – not Memphis, not Charlotte, not Raleigh, etc., etc.
George: Thanks for sharing your comments. I guess the fact is we’ve never connected with Nashville. We’ve just found so much of it forced and inauthentic. To each his own.
“Too many pickup trucks, too much country music, too little soul, too much ego, and too little character.” Comments like this from SCM certainly do stir up comparisons between our two largest cities. Nashville envy for sure.
I do not WANTMemphis to be like Nashville (NashVegas). As a man that I recently ran into at Otherlands who recently returned to Memphis said, “Nashville has no soul.” That is how it felt to me too and is why I moved back to Memphis. Memphis is authentic. Seems a group of visitors from Canada said that a while back when they bought property here.
To each his own.
Our family would love to live in Nashvillle but the prices of real estate are way high compared to Memphis, but the taxes there are lower and you get more services for your tax dollars and there is less crime. Memphis real estate is cheap but our taxes are high. Nobody wants to invest in real estate here. Just sayin.
Hee Haw salutes Nashville Tennessee, SA-LUTE!