"Memphis, Tennessee", sometimes shortened to "Memphis", is a song by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, first released in 1959. In the UK, the song charted at number 6 in 1963; at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, which also became a UK Top 20 hit single.

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

's version of the song was a number two US hit in 1964.

Background

In the song the narrator is speaking to a

long-distance operator In telephony, the long-distance operator is a telephone operator available to assist with making long distance telephone calls (or ''toll calls'' in British English), answering billing questions, making collect call A collect call in Canada a ...

, trying to find out the number of a girl named Marie, who lives in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, "on the southside, high upon a ridge, just a half a mile from the

Mississippi bridge Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mississ ...

." The narrator offers little information to the operator at first, only that he misses Marie and that they were separated by Marie's mother. The final verse reveals that Marie is, in fact, the narrator's six-year-old daughter; her mother, presumably the narrator's ex-wife, "tore apart our happy home" because she "did not agree", as it turned out, with their marriage, not his relationship with Marie, as the listener was misdirected to assume. This song was recorded in St. Louis at Chuck Berry's home, in July 1958. *

– vocals, guitar, guitar overdubs, electric bass * Jasper Thomas – drums The song was released as Chess single 1729. Chuck Berry later composed a sequel, "Little Marie", which appeared in 1964 as a single and on the album '' St. Louis to Liverpool''.

Beatles versions

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

recorded five versions of "Memphis, Tennessee", for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

. One version that was recorded on July 30, 1963, for the ''

Pop Go The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

'' radio show was included on ''

Live at the BBC {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Live at the BBC or BBC Recordings are recordings originally made for or by BBC Radio 1. Many recordings were released under several name variants. Live at the BBC *Live at the BBC (The Beatles ...

'' in 1994. Another version that was recorded a few months later on October 5, 1963, for the ''Saturday Club'' radio show was included on ''

On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 ''On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' is a 2013 live/compilation album featuring 40 previously unreleased tracks from the Beatles' 1963–1964 BBC Radio broadcasts (accompanied by 23 interview tracks from the associated broadcasts). It was ...

'' in 2013. The group first performed it for their failed Decca audition on January 1, 1962, with

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

on drums.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and his wife

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

would later perform the song with Berry on an episode of ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...

'', aired on February 16, 1972. This rendition has become infamous due to Ono's wailing vocalizations during the song which visibly irritated Berry; as a result, Ono's microphone was turned off by the sound crew for the remainder of the performance.

Personnel

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

– bass guitar *

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

– lead guitar *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums

Other popular versions

In 1963, guitarist

Lonnie Mack Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing. Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...

recorded a fast-paced instrumental version, which he called "Memphis". It went to number 5 on ''Billboard'' Pop chart and number 4 on ''Billboard'' R&B chart. In 1964 singer

recorded another version of the tune (which he, following Mack, called "Memphis"), copying Mack's pacing and some of his instrumental improvisations, and reinstating the vocal line from Berry's original. This version hit number 2 on ''Billboard'' Pop chart. In 1981, country singer-songwriter

Fred Knoblock James Frederick Knobloch (born April 28, 1953, in Jackson, Mississippi, United States), known as J. Fred Knobloch or Fred Knoblock, is an American country singer-songwriter. Career Prior to his solo career, Knobloch had been a member of Let's ...

recorded his rendition of "Memphis". It went to number 10 on ''Billboard'' Country chart and number 28 on ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart.

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Chuck Berry ;Dave Berry & the Cruisers ;Lonnie Mack ;Johnny Rivers ;Fred Knoblock

Year-end charts

Notable covers

The song has been covered over 200 times by musical artists. The most notable examples include

Bernd Spier Bernd Spier (6 April 1944 – 30 December 2017) was a German schlager singer and record producer. He later was a real estate broker. Biography Spier was born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg and is the son of Robby Spier, who was the conductor of ...

who hit number 1 in 1964 in Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Memphis, Tennessee (Song) Chuck Berry songs 1959 singles The Beatles songs Jan and Dean songs 1963 singles 1964 singles American songs Chess Records singles Elvis Presley songs Imperial Records singles Johnny Rivers songs Gene Summers songs The Animals songs Paul Anka songs Conway Twitty songs The Dave Clark Five songs Dave Berry (musician) songs Bo Diddley songs Tom Jones (singer) songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Roy Orbison songs The Rolling Stones songs Fred Knoblock songs Number-one singles in Germany Songs about Memphis, Tennessee Songs about telephone calls Songs written by Chuck Berry Song recordings produced by George Martin RPM Top Singles number-one singles 1959 songs