MEMPHIS JUKE JOINTS

WORDS BY Sally Howard

True Blues

Like the Bourbon, or “Mississippi brown water,” so beloved of its inhabitants, Memphis’ atmosphere seeps into your soul. Perched above the broad Mississippi—which gleams in t he bright southern sunshine like a vast shard of glass—Memphis is an infectious, humid stew of fabled charact ers, eccentric diners, back-porch storytelling and w orld-league music.

Few need to be told of the city’s rich musical heritage: Sam

Phillips’ Sun Studio, Stax Records, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Beale Street and—of course—the mighty Elvis. And although visitors flood to the more obvious Memphis tourist draws of Sun Studio and Grac eland, there’s much more for those game enough to scratch beneath the surface and seek out the authentic eating houses and “juke joints,” the hole-inthe-wall locals’ dives pounding out the rhythms—blues, soul, jazz—which are the city’s heartbeat.

“There’s an old saying in Memphis: ‘Two people is enough for a party,’” laughs Tad Pierson, the charismatic adopted Memphian behind the American Dream Safari Juke Joint tour. “The ‘juke joint’ epitomises this. Local musicians create a song on the spot, jamming in a low-down bar. That’s why I came to Memphis.” Tad cruised into town five years ago, in his restored ’55 Cadillac (“just like Elvis’”), and has since set about charming the slouch hat off everyone in this mythical city; from octogenarian bluesmen to local poets. Peppered with local gossip, and fuelled by pitchers of Bud, Tad’s Caddy tour gives a unique fl avor of the real Memphis, away from the gaudy tourist gloss. Tad let us in on the best of his backstreet Memphis…

1580 Vollintine Ave
901-726-5473

Tad: “Willie, who runs this joint, is one of the few remaining original bluesmen in Memphis. This place is magical.” Atmosphere: You can almost taste it. 84-year-old Willie props up the door in a black hat and dapper suit and tie, as he has done since the ’50s. His wife, a sprightly sixty-something, weaves her way around the red-lit banqueting tables, serving thimble-sized glasses of beer; the glass-shattering vibrato of vocalist Nicky rings out above the happy heads jitterbugging on the postage-stamp-sized dance fl oor. Even the most committed wallfl ower will soon be shimmying with the best of them.

745 N Parkway
901-527-9158

Tad: “Authentic Memphis barbecue in a no-frills joint.”
Atmosphere: Memphis is legendary for its no-frills barbecue joints. The recipes are seemingly infinite: wet, dry, hot, sweet, vinegar, molasses. Ignore the cracked Formica booths that fl ank Cozy—its sauce-doused ribs with soggy slaw are the real Memphis deal.

145 Lt George W Lee Ave
901-544 7998 www.gibsonshowcase.com

Tad: “A relative newcomer to the Memphis music scene, the Lounge is part of the Gibson guitar factory: It has great music credentials.” Atmosphere: A popular locals’ joint. Funky young Memphians decorate the Lounge’s large leather sofas, tapping their feet to the blues and jazz strains reverberating through the state-of-the-art sound system.

2170 Young Ave
901-272-7210

Tad: “In the fashionable Cooper Young district, this is where the next generation of musicians hang out.”
Atmosphere: Owes something to San Francisco. The décor in this coffee shop is a bricolage of original artworks and mismatched chairs, as if you’re in the home of a crazy aunt. Locals dig into homemade muffins and fl uffy pancakes as acts such as Misti Rae and Davy Rae sing self-penned numbers about, among other surreal topics, being eaten alive by their apartment.

216 E McLemore
901-942-6092

Tad: “There are only two reasons to go to the Hard Luck Café—because you’re feeling good or you’re feeling bad. The blues are cheaper than therapy.”
Atmosphere: Another legend and a great alternative to the tourist-thronged Beale Street blues bars. The air here swirls with cigarette smoke as blues guitar chords merge into a sheet of sound with the crowd’s yelps of approval.

Tad’s American Dream Safari Juke Joint tour of Memphis costs from $75 per person. For more details go to www..americandreamsafari.com. Contact Tad at 901-527-8870, or tad@americandreamsafari.com