Stax Records, which is located at 926 E. McLemore Avenue in South Memphis, sits at the original location of Stax Records. All photos by Kate Cauthen. www.katecauthen.com
The museum is open Tuesday — Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The museum houses a 105-year-old church that was transplanted from the Mississippi Delta.
Ike and Tina Turner memorabilia, including Ike’s Fender Telecaster.
Tim Sampson of the Soulsville Charter Foundation looks at an interactive map that highlights the birthplace of the famous musicians that came from the area.
A Scully 8-track 280 tape machine at Stax museum.
A replica of Stax’s Studio A.
The Hammond M-3 organ that Booker T. and the MGs used for “Green Onions.”
Isaac Hayes’ gold-plated Cadillac on display at the Stax museum.
The Stax Music Academy, located next to the museum, serves as an after-school program for primarily at-risk youth from Memphis and its neighboring areas.
Jadan Graves, a student at the Soulsville Charter School, practices piano at the Stax Music Academy.
Memphis is a great town for record shopping, and Shangri-La Records in midtown on Madison Avenue is a must-stop for any collector.
In the early ’90s, the store birthed a separate record label, which played a crucial role in the city’s lo-fi indie rock scene, releasing such classic time-markers as The Grifters’ “Crappin’ You Negative.”
The shop has a great mix of new and old stuff, so music fans of all stripes will find much to drool over.
The store often hosts free shows, which feature local and national acts.
Ardent Studios, also located on Madison Avenue, was founded by Memphis native John Fry in the mid-60s and was originally run out of his family’s garage.
Ardent is best known as the studio where all three Big Star albums were recorded.
Ardent also served as the occasional home for legendary producer Jim Dickinson, who produced the Replacements’ “Pleased To Meet Me” within its confines.
Studio tours are offered on an appointment basis.
Earnestine & Hazel’s may be the perfect Memphis bar.
A two-story abode in downtown Memphis on S. Main Street, this historic drinking hole operated as a brothel for decades.
In the ’50s and ’60s, it was a popular hangout for Stax recording artists and other musicians passing through town like Ray Charles, Chuck Berry and Tina Turner.
The upstairs bar at Ernestine’s. The building is purportedly haunted, and ghost tours are offered.
The bar is also known for its “Soul burgers.”
Patrons can hear live blues, jazz and soul music in the evenings.
Every stroll through Memphis should at one point find you “walking with your feet ten feet off of Beale,” as Marc Cohn famously sang in his ’90s love letter to the Bluff City. And though much of Beale is geared toward the beer-guzzling tourist contingent, there is enough history permeating this neon-lit street to satisfy even the most obscure-loving hipster.
The Memphis Rock ‘n Soul Museum, located downtown on Beale Street.
Paula & Raiford’s Disco opened its doors in Memphis nearly 40 years ago, at the height of the disco craze.
DJ Hollywood Raiford spins the tunes, but don’t bother making requests, as he chooses the tunes based on the vibe of the dance-floor.
Raifford’s is the perfect place to cap a Memphis Saturday night, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Sun Studios on Union Avenue.
Because the Elvis legend looms so large, it’s easy to forget about all the other history that went down in this little building under the direction of Sam Phillips. It was here in 1951, for instance, that Jackie Brensten and his Delta Cats cut “Rocket 88,” a song widely considered to be the first true rock and roll record.
The musem does a good job of showcasing just how visionary Sam Phillips was and how much American music owes him.
Goner Records, located in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, is a storefront record shop, a record label, and, once a year, a punk festival that draws beer-fueled discontents from around the world.
No visit to Memphis is complete without a trip to Graceland.
The living room.
The TV Room, which boasts a color scheme eerily reminiscent of Jack White’s Third Man Records.
The resting place of Mr. Presley. He is buried next to his parents, grandmother and still-born twin.
The crown jewel of the King’s estate may very well be the “Lisa Marie,” the 880 Convair jet that Elvis purchased in 1975 for a quarter-million dollars. When Lisa Marie, the jet’s namesake, was just a toddler, Elvis flew out to Los Angeles to pick her up at Priscilla’s, then flew her to Denver so she could see snow for the first time. He then dropped her back off in L.A. later that day before making the flight back home to Memphis. What a guy.
The Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, in April 1968. The motel is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum.
Editor-in-chief Caine O’Rear outside the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church. Soul legend Al Green, who is the church’s pastor, founded it in 1976.
