Memphis Blues

This is a companion piece to a similarly-themed article on Pete’s site which, all things being equal, should be published at roughly the same time.

I wasn’t thrilled about the Memphis playlist to start off with. I have in the past explored old-fashioned r&b stuff and not been lit up by it. For me, its place is playing lightly in the background, while drinking coffee or perhaps cocktails, in a cosy cafe in some European city. I did once do that sort of thing, you know. But apart from two tracks, it has really grown on me over the week…

John Henry by Furry Lewis (I hope I’ve got that the right way round) sounds like the original piece of blues, and I hear its echoes in so much contemporary music, and more than anything else in Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and later work. It’s quite an ear-opener to hear something that sounds so familiar, but is almost certainly new to me.

When the Levee Breaks by Memphis Minnie is definitely one for that European bar. Pleasant to listen to and reminds me of Bloody Marys.

No More Doggin’ by Rosco Gordon is shufflingly lively, and I like his funny voice.

Mystery Train by Junior Parker has great horns, but gets a bit repetitive and dull after a while.

Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats is irritatingly jolly and mercifully short.

Green Onions by Booker T & The MGs – so that’s what this song is called. I have no objection to it.

Woolly Bully by Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs is just awful. I loathe this song. I have deleted it from the playlist. A garage rock classic, says the book. More teenagers, then?

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley is the winner of the list. I do really really like this song. I like its clarity. I like the tune. I like the lyrics. But I must confess that whenever I hear it, the picture that comes to mind is of Roland Gift taking his top off in a performance of Romeo and Juliet at Hull Truck Theatre.

I Can’t Get Next To You by Al Green is my other favourite on the list. It makes me sway and tap my feet.

It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp by Three 6 Mafia is some sort of red herring, surely? Deleted.