Memphis is a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status...
in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, and the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Shelby CountyShelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the state's largest both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis....
. Memphis rises above the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
on the 4
th Chickasaw BluffThe term Chickasaw Bluff refers to high ground rising about above the flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. Composed of eroded Pleistocene loess over Pliocene glacial gravel, they are slide prone...
just south of the mouth of the
Wolf RiverThe Wolf River is a small alluvial stream in West Tennessee and northern Mississippi, whose confluence with the Mississippi River was the site of various Chickasaw, French, Spanish and American communities and forts that eventually became Memphis, Tennessee.-Hydrography:The Wolf River rises in the...
.
Memphis has an estimated population of 670,100, making it the largest city in the state of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, the third largest in the
Southeastern United StatesThe US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs...
, and the
19th largest in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The greater
Memphis metropolitan areaThe Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, TN-MS-AR is the 41st largest among similarly designated areas in the United States. The metropolitan area covers eight counties in three states - Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas...
, including adjacent counties in
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
and
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
, has a population of 1,280,533. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
, surpassed only by metropolitan
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
, which overtook Memphis in recent years.
Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's four major cities (traditionally including
KnoxvilleFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the largest city in East Tennessee. As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890; the July 2007...
,
ChattanoogaChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee , and the seat of Hamilton County. Located in southeastern Tennessee on Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga lies approximately 120 miles to the northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, about 135...
, and
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
). A resident of Memphis is referred to as a
Memphian and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the "
Mid-SouthMid-South may refer to:*The South Central United States*The region centered on the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, including portions of West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northeastern Arkansas, as well as the Missouri Bootheel and extreme northwestern Alabama*MidSouth Rail...
."
Early history
Because it occupies a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi river bank, the area is a natural location for settlement.
The Memphis area was first settled by the
Mississippian CultureThe Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
and then by the
ChickasawThe Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group....
Indian tribeNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
. European exploration came years later, with
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
explorer
Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European to discover the Mississippi River....
and
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
The land comprising present-day Memphis remained in a largely unorganized territory throughout most of the 18th century. By 1796, the community was the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee, located in the Southeast America.
19th century
Memphis was founded in 1819 by
John OvertonJohn Overton was an advisor of Andrew Jackson, a judge at the Superior Court of Tennessee, a banker and political leader....
,
James WinchesterJames Winchester was an officer in the American Revolutionary War and a brigadier general during the War of 1812. He commanded the American forces at the Battle of Frenchtown, which led to the Massacre of the River Raisin....
and
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . He was military governor of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy...
. The city was named after the
ancient capitalMemphis was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 2200 BC and later for shorter periods during the New Kingdom, and an administrative centre throughout ancient history....
of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
on the Nile River. Memphis developed as a transportation center in the 19th century because of its flood-free location, high above the Mississippi River.
As the
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
economy of the antebellum South depended on the forced labor of large numbers of
African-American slavesSlavery in the United States lasted as a legal institution until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865...
, Memphis became a major slave market. In 1857, the
Memphis and Charleston RailroadThe Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857, was the first railroad in the United States to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River. Chartered in 1846 the railroad ran from Memphis, Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama through the towns of Corinth, Mississippi and Huntsville,...
was completed, the only East-West railroad across the southern states prior to the Civil War.
Tennessee seceded from the Union in June 1861 and Memphis briefly became a
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
stronghold.
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
forces captured Memphis in the
Battle of MemphisThe First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Rebels, and marked the...
on June 6, 1862, and the city remained under
UnionThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
control for the duration of the war. Memphis became a Union supply base and continued to prosper throughout the war.
In the 1870s a series of
yellow feverYellow fever is an acute viral disease. The virus, a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus of the family of Flaviviridae is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes...
epidemics hit the city. The worst outbreak, in 1878, reduced the population by nearly 75% as many people died or fled the city permanently. Property tax revenues collapsed, and the city could not make payments on its municipal debts. As a result, Memphis lost its city charter and became a taxing district. It operated as a taxing district in 1878-1893 and was rechartered in 1893.
20th century
Memphis grew into the world's largest spot cotton market and the world's largest hardwood lumber market. Into the 1950s, it was the world's largest
muleA mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
market.
From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of
E. H. "Boss" CrumpEdward Hull "Boss" Crump was a Memphis, Tennessee insurance broker, businessman, and political figure in the early 20th century.-Career:...
. During the Crump era, Memphis developed an extensive network of parks and public works as part of the national
City Beautiful MovementThe City Beautiful Movement was a Progressive reform movement in North American architecture and urban planning that flourished in the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities...
.
During the 1960s the city was at the center of
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
issues, notably the location of a sanitation workers' strike.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr...
was
assassinatedMartin Luther King Jr., a prominent American Civil Rights leader and, according to a Gallup poll conducted in 2000, the second most admired person of the 20th century, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39...
on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic
I've Been to the Mountaintop"I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.King spoke on 3 April, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. The next day, King was assassinated....
speech at the
Mason TempleMason Temple, in Memphis, Tennessee, is the International Sanctuary and central headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African American Pentecostal group in the world....
.
Memphis is well known for its cultural contributions to the identity of the
American southThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Many renowned musicians grew up in and around the Memphis and northern Mississippi area. These included such musical greats as
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
,
Muddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams...
,
Carl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American "rockabilly" musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee beginning during 1954...
,
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, B.B. King,
Howlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
,
Isaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, actor and musician. Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s...
,
Booker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known for fronting the band, Booker T. and the MGs...
, and
Al GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer who was popular in the 1970s, and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
.
Geography and climate
Memphis is located in southwestern Tennessee at . According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 313.8
sq miThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
(763.4 km²), of which 302.3 sq mi (723.4 km²) is land and 15.4 sq mi (40.0 km²), or 5.24%, is water.
Cityscape
The city of Memphis is located in southwestern
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
and sits on the eastern bank of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
. It is the regional hub for a
tri-state areaThere are a number of areas in the 48 contiguous United States known as tri-state areas where three states either meet at one point or are in close proximity to each other. The two best known of the latter type are for the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas...
of
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
,
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
and Tennessee. Key interstate highways are
Interstate 40Interstate 40 is a major west-east Interstate Highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Much of the western portion of I-40,...
(I-40), running east to west and
Interstate 55Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north-south Interstate Highway. I - 55 goes from Laplace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place.The section of I-55 between Chicago and St...
running north to south.
Aquifer
Shelby County is located over four natural
aquiferAn aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
s, one of which is recognized as the "Memphis sand aquifer" or simply as the "Memphis aquifer". This artesian water is pure and soft. This particular water source, located some 350 to 1100 ft (100 - 330 m) underground, is stated to contain more than 100 trillion gallons (380 km³) of water by
Memphis Light, Gas and WaterMemphis Light, Gas and Water is the largest three-service municipal utility in the U.S. with more than 420,000 customers. Since 1939, MLGW has provided electricity, natural gas and water service for Memphis and Shelby County residents....
.
Climate
Memphis has a
humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and cool winters. This climate type covers a broad category of climates, and the term "subtropical" may be a misnomer for the winter climate....
, with four distinct seasons. Weather comes from elsewhere: winter weather comes from the upper
Great PlainsThe Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
or from the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United...
, leading to drastic swings. Summer weather may come from
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
(very hot and dry) or the Gulf (hot and humid.) The average high and low in July are 92°F (33°C) and 73°F (23°C), with high levels of
humidityHumidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapour in a parcel of air to the saturated vapour pressure of water vapour at a prescribed...
due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico. Afternoon and evening
thunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, a hailstorm, or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the...
s are frequent during some summers, but usually brief, lasting no longer than an hour. Cooler air does not follow a thunderstorm. Early autumn is pleasantly drier and mild, but can be hot until late October. Late autumn is rainy and colder; December is the third rainiest month of the year. Winters are mild to chilly, with average January high and low temperatures of 49°F (9°C) and 31°F (-1°C).
SnowSnow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes...
occurs sporadically in winter, with an average yearly snowfall of 5.7 inches. Ice storms are a bigger danger, pulling tree limbs down on power lines.
Demographics
As of the 2005-2007
American Community SurveyThe American Community Survey is a project of the U.S. Census Bureau that replaces the long form in the decennial census. It is an ongoing statistical survey, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly, and thus more current than information obtained by the long form.-History:Many Americans...
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,
White AmericanWhite American is an umbrella term officially employed by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S...
s made up 31.9% of Memphis's population; of which 30.2% were non-Hispanic
whitesWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
.
BlacksThe term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...
or
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
s made up 62.4% of Memphis's population; of which 62.3% were non-Hispanic blacks.
American IndianThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
s made up 0.2% of the city's population; of which 0.1% were non-Hispanic.
Asian American{Infobox Ethnic group|group = Asian American|image =Graduation Rate! align="CENTER" | Bachelor's Degree
or More|-| align="LEFT" | Asian Indians| align="RIGHT" | 90.2%| align="RIGHT" | 67.9%|-| align="LEFT" | Filipinos| align="RIGHT" | 90.8%...
s made up 1.6% of the city's population.
Pacific Islander AmericanPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
s made up 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 2.7% of the city's population; of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from
two or more racesMultiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", numbered 6.8 million in 2000, or 2.4% of the population.Since the 1967 Supreme Court decision that deemed anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional, there has been a considerable increase in the number of...
made up 1.2% of the city's population; of which 0.9% were non-Hispanic. In addition,
Hispanics and LatinosHispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of origins in Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain - "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or...
made up 4.6% of Memphis's population.
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 650,100 people, 250,721 households, and 158,455 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 2,327.4 people per sq mi (898.6/km²). There were 271,552 housing units at an average density of 972.2 per sq mi (375.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.41% African American, 34.41% White, 1.46% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.45% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.
The
Memphis Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, TN-MS-AR is the 41st largest among similarly designated areas in the United States. The metropolitan area covers eight counties in three states - Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas...
(MSA), the 42nd largest in the United States, has a 2003 population of 1,239,337, and includes the Tennessee counties of
ShelbyShelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the state's largest both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis....
,
TiptonTipton County is a county located on the western end of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 51,271. Its county seat is Covington. Tipton County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, centered on Shelby County, which borders Tipton on...
, and
FayetteFayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 28,806. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 34,458 . It was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolution. Its county seat is Somerville....
, as well as the
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
counties of
DeSotoDeSoto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. DeSoto County is part of the Metropolitan Memphis Statistical Area. Its county seat is Hernando. As of 2000, the population was 107,199. By 2008 the county grew to an estimated population of 154,748...
,
MarshallMarshall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population was 34,993. Its county seat is Holly Springs. Marshall County is named for Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall....
,
TateTate County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi, east of the Mississippi Delta. As of 2000, the population was 25,370. Its county seat is Senatobia. James Earl Jones, an actor, was born in Arkabutla, Tate County...
, and
TunicaTunica County is a county located in the Mississippi Delta region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2000, the population was 9,227. Its county seat is Tunica. Tunica County is named for the Tunica Native Americans....
, and the
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
county of
CrittendenCrittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, the population was 50,866. The county seat is Marion, while its largest city is West Memphis...
.
Crime
Although in 2004 violent crime in Memphis reached a record low for over a decade, that trend subsequently changed. In 2005, Memphis was ranked the 4th most dangerous city with a population of 500,000 or higher in the U.S. Crime in Memphis increased in 2005, and has seen a dramatic rise in the first half of 2006. Nationally, cities follow similar trends, and crime numbers tend to be cyclical. Local experts and criminologists cite gang recruitment as one possible cause of the rise in crime in Memphis and to a reduction of 66% of federal funding to the
Memphis Police DepartmentThe Memphis Police Department is the law enforcement agency of the City of Memphis, Tennessee.-Administrative Services:Provides services that enable the other programs to effectively respond to service calls...
.
In the first half of 2006, robbery of businesses increased 52.5%, robbery of individuals increased 28.5%, and homicide increased 18% over the same period of 2005. The Memphis Police Department has responded with the initiation of Operation Blue C.R.U.S.H. (Crime Reduction Using Statistical History), which targets crime hotspots and repeat offenders. Memphis ended 2005 with 154 murders, and 2006 ended with 160 murders. 2007 saw 164 murders and 2008 had 168. In 2006, the Memphis metropolitan area ranked second most dangerous in the nation, it also ranked first most dangerous in 2002 and second most dangerous the year before in 2001. Recently, Memphis ranked second most dangerous among cities over 500,000 in 2007, as well as the second most dangerous metropolitan area once again.
In 2006, the Memphis metropolitan area ranked number one in violent crimes for major cities around the U.S according to the FBI's annual crime rankings, where it had ranked 2nd in 2005.
Recent statistics show a downward trend in crime in Memphis. Between 2006 and 2008, the crime rate fell by 16%, while the first half of 2009 saw a reduction in serious crime of over 10% from the previous year. The Memphis Police Department's use of the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System, which is a more detailed method of reporting crimes than that used in many other major cities, has been cited as a reason for Memphis's frequent appearance on lists of most dangerous U.S. cities.
Cultural events
One of the largest celebrations the city has is
Memphis in MayMemphis in May is a month long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival itself is split into four main events: The Beale Street Music Festival, the kick-off event which showcases a mix of local and national music acts, International Week, a group of events dedicated to the country that is...
. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis' heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city's borders. There are four main events, the
Beale Street Music Festival,
International Week, the
World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, and the Sunset Symphony. The
World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is the largest pork barbecue cooking contest in the world.
Carnival MemphisCarnival Memphis , is a series of parties and festivities staged annually since 1931 in Memphis, Tennessee by the centralized Carnival Memphis Association and its member krewes during the month of June...
, formerly known as the
Memphis Cotton Carnival, is an annual series of parties and festivities in the month of June that salutes various aspects of Memphis and its industries. An annual King and Queen of Carnival are secretly selected to reign over Carnival activities. The African-American community staged a parallel event known as the
Cotton Makers Jubilee from 1935 to 1982, when it merged with Carnival Memphis.
An arts festival, the Cooper-Young Festival, is held annually in September in the
Cooper-YoungCooper-Young is an eclectic neighborhood and historic district in the Midtown section of Memphis, Tennessee, named for the intersection of Cooper Street and Young Avenue. The entrance to the neighborhood is marked by the Cooper-Young Trestle, a long steel sculpture which depicts homes and...
district of Midtown Memphis. The event draws artists from all over North America, and includes art sales, contests, and displays.
The arts
Memphis is the home of founders and establishers of various American music genres, including
BluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
,
GospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
, Rock n' Roll, Buck,
CrunkCrunk is a musical form, either a genre of music itself or a subgenre of hip hop music, that originated from southern hip hop, electro and dancehall in the 1990s. Crunk was created in Memphis, Tennessee, but the most of its development happened in Atlanta, Georgia...
, and "sharecropper"
country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
(in contrast to the "rhinestone" country sound of Nashville).
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
,
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
, and
B. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter acclaimed for his expressive singing and guitar playing....
were all getting their starts in Memphis in the 1950s. They are respectively dubbed the "King" of Country, Rock n' Roll, and Blues.
Well-known writers from Memphis include
Civil WarA civil war is a war between organized groups within a single nation state, or, less commonly, between two nations created from a formerly-united nation state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the nation or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies...
historian
Shelby FooteShelby Dade Foote, Jr. was an American novelist and a noted historian of the American Civil War, writing a massive, three-volume history of the war entitled The Civil War: A Narrative...
and playwright
Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams , né Thomas Lanier Williams, was an American playwright who received many of the top theatrical awards for his works of drama...
. Novelist
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. Before becoming a writer, he was a successful lawyer and politician...
grew up in nearby
DeSoto County, MississippiDeSoto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. DeSoto County is part of the Metropolitan Memphis Statistical Area. Its county seat is Hernando. As of 2000, the population was 107,199. By 2008 the county grew to an estimated population of 154,748...
and many of his books are set in Memphis.
Many works of fiction and literature use Memphis as their setting, giving a diverse portrait of the city, its history, and its citizens. These include
The ReiversThe Reivers, published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book A Fable, making him one of only three authors to be awarded it more than once...
by
William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning American author. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, his reputation is based on his novels, novellas and short stories. He was also a published poet and an occasional screenwriter.Most of Faulkner's works are set in his native state...
(1962),
September, September by
Shelby FooteShelby Dade Foote, Jr. was an American novelist and a noted historian of the American Civil War, writing a massive, three-volume history of the war entitled The Civil War: A Narrative...
(1977),
The Old Forest and Other Stories by
Peter TaylorPeter Taylor may refer to:* Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth , Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, 1992–1997* Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor , American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
(1985), the
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
-winning
A Summons to MemphisA Summons to Memphis is a 1986 novel by Peter Taylor which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1987. It is the recollection of Phillip Carver, a middle aged editor from New York City, who is summoned back to Memphis by his two conniving unmarried sisters to help them prevent the marriage of their...
by
Peter TaylorPeter Taylor may refer to:* Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth , Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, 1992–1997* Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor , American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
(1986),
The Firm by
John GrishamJohn Ray Grisham is an American author, best known for his popular legal thrillers. Before becoming a writer, he was a successful lawyer and politician...
(1991),
Memphis Afternoons: a Memoir by James Conaway (1993),
Cassina Gambrel Was MissingCassina Gambrel Was Missing is a 1999 novel by William Watkins. Set against turbulent events in Memphis, Tennessee in the late 1970s, the novel concerns a young, white, college student named Jackson Taylor who befriends an older black woman named Cassina Gambrel. As the protagonist's fortune and...
by
William WatkinsWilliam Watkins is the name of:* Bill Watkins , Canadian baseball manager* Bill Watkins , CEO of Seagate Technology* Billy Watkins, head coach of the Auburn college football program, 1900–1901...
(1999),
The Guardian by Beecher Smith (1999), and
The Architect by
James WilliamsonJames Robert Williamson is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer best known for his contribution to the protopunk rock band Iggy & The Stooges.-Biography and career:...
(2007).
Cultural references
Memphis is the subject of many major pop and country songs, including "Memphis" by
Chuck BerryCharles Edward "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.Chuck Berry is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music...
, "Queen of Memphis" by
Confederate RailroadConfederate Railroad is an American country music band founded in 1984 in Marietta, Georgia by Danny Shirley , Michael Lamb , Mark Dufresne , Chris McDaniel , Warren "Gates" Nichols and Wayne Secrest...
, "Memphis Soul Stew" by
King CurtisCurtis Ousley , who performed under the name King Curtis, was an American tenor, alto, and soprano saxophonist and session musician who played rhythm and blues, Rock and roll, soul, Funk and soul jazz. He was also a musical director and record producer...
, "
Maybe It Was Memphis"Maybe It Was Memphis" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis on two separate occasions. She first cut the song on Warner Bros...
" by
Pam TillisPamela Yvonne Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music legend Mel Tillis....
, "
Graceland"Graceland" is the title song of the album Graceland, released in 1986 by Paul Simon. The song features vocals by the The Everly Brothers....
" by
Paul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter. He entered the public consciousness in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with longtime artistic partner Art Garfunkel. Simon solely wrote most of duo's songs, including such memorable songs as "The Sound of Silence", "The Boxer",...
, "Memphis Train" by
Rufus ThomasRufus Thomas, Jr. was a rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
, "
All the Way from Memphis"All the Way from Memphis" is a single released by Mott the Hoople. The song tells a story about a rock n' roller whose guitar is shipped to Oriole, Kentucky instead of Memphis. The musician gets half-way there before he realizes his instrument is missing and takes a month to track it down. When he...
" by
Mott the HoopleMott the Hoople are a 1970s English rock band with strong R&B roots and dominant in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The...
and "
Walking in Memphis"Walking in Memphis" is the signature song of American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, from his self-titled 1991 album. The song became Cohn's biggest hit, peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, after being re-released in fall 1991, reached #22 on the UK chart...
" by
Marc CohnMarc Craig Cohn is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for his song "Walking in Memphis" from his eponymous 1991 album Marc Cohn...
.
In addition, Memphis is mentioned in scores of other songs, including "Proud Mary" by
Creedence Clearwater RevivalCreedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
, "
Honky Tonk Women"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
" by the Rolling Stones, "
Life Is a Highway"Life Is a Highway" is a song written by Tom Cochrane, from his 1991 album Mad Mad World. The song was Cochrane's most famous song, as it was a number one hit in his native Canada. The song also peaked at number six on the Billboard charts in the United States in 1992...
" by
Tom CochraneTom Cochrane, OC Canadian musician and humanitarian, best known for his hit songs "Life Is a Highway", "Lunatic Fringe", "White Hot", "Boy Inside the Man", "Big League" and "I Wish You Well". Cochrane fronted the Canadian rock band Red Rider and has won seven Juno Awards...
, "
Black Velvet"Black Velvet" is a rock and roll song written by Canadian musicians David Tyson and Christopher Ward. First recorded by Canadian singer Alannah Myles in 1989, it became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1990 and reached number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart, as well as number...
" by
Alannah MylesAlannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In 1988, she released her self-titled debut album, Alannah Myles. In 1990 "Black Velvet," a single taken from that album, was a worldwide smash hit and won a Grammy Award.When she was sixteen, she began performing in Southern Ontario...
, "Cities" by
Talking HeadsTalking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, "Crazed Country Rebel by
Hank Williams IIIShelton Hank Williams, known as Hank Williams III , is an American country, punk and metal musician. The grandson of country legend Hank Williams, Sr...
, and many others.
Religion
Since its founding, Memphis has been home to persons of many different faiths. An 1870 map of Memphis shows religious buildings of the
BaptistA Baptist is a Christian who subscribes to a theology and may belong to a church that, among other things, is committed to believer's baptism and, with respect to church polity, favors the congregational model...
,
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
,
EpiscopalThe Episcopal Church , also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America , is the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
denominations and a Jewish congregation. In 2009, places of worship exist for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus.
Bellevue Baptist ChurchBellevue Baptist Church is a large, Southern Baptist megachurch in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-History:Bellevue Baptist began in 1903 in a small, log-cabin-like facility. The church completed a 3,000 seat building in 1952, which was one of the first air-conditioned...
is a Southern Baptist
megachurchA megachurch is a church having around 2,000 or more attendants for a typical weekly service. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to these data, about 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
in Memphis that was founded in 1903. Its current membership is approximately 27,000. For many years, it was led by
Adrian RogersAdrian Pierce Rogers , was an American pastor, conservative, author, and a three-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention ....
, a three-term president of the
Southern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based, mostly conservative Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the US with over 16 million members and more than 42,000 churches.The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention...
.
The international headquarters of the
Church of God in ChristThe Church of God in Christ is a Christian denomination. It is an historically African American Holiness-Pentecostal church. The church has congregations in nearly 60 countries around the world...
is located in Memphis. Named after the denomination's founder,
Charles Harrison MasonBishop Charles Harrison Mason was the founder of the Church of God in Christ.Elder Mason was converted in November, 1878, and baptized by his brother, I.S...
,
Mason TempleMason Temple, in Memphis, Tennessee, is the International Sanctuary and central headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, the largest African American Pentecostal group in the world....
is where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "
I've Been to the Mountaintop"I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr.King spoke on 3 April, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. The next day, King was assassinated....
" speech the day before he was killed. The church's
Temple of DeliveranceTemple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ was founded March 6, 1975 by the late Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson in Memphis, Tennessee. The church is pastored by Supt. Milton Hawkins nephew of the founder...
is the venue of the
National Civil Rights MuseumThe National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, was built around the former Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry Street, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4 1968....
's Freedom Awards.
Other notable and/or large churches in Memphis include Second Presbyterian Church (EPC), Christ
United Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which traces its roots back to the evangelical, holiness, revival movement of John and Charles Wesley within the Anglican Church. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It contains both liturgical and...
, Idlewild Presbyterian Church (
PCUSAThe Presbyterian Church or PC is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed family of Protestantism, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
), and Calvary Episcopal Church.
Memphis is home to two cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of MemphisThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tennessee. It was founded on June 20, 1970, when Pope Paul VI removed the counties in the state west of the Tennessee River from the Diocese of Nashville, which, prior to that time, encompassed the entire state.The diocese is...
, and
St. Mary's Episcopal CathedralSt. Mary's is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee, located near downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded as a semi-rural Episcopal mission in 1857. It became cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee in 1871 and later the cathedral of the Diocese of West...
is the seat of the
Episcopal Diocese of West TennesseeThe Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee is the diocese of the Episcopal Church that geographically coincides with the political region known as the Grand Division of West Tennessee. The geographic range of the Diocese of West Tennessee was originally part of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee,...
.
Memphis is home to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Muslims of various cultures and ethnicities.
Memphis is home to Temple Israel, a
ReformReform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in North America and in the United Kingdom....
synagogue that has approximately 7,000 members, making it one of the largest Reform synagogues in the country.
Baron Hirsch SynagogueThe Baron Hirsch Synagogue , established Memphis, Tennessee circa 1862–1864, is a flagship of American Orthodox Judaism...
is the largest
OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
shul in America.
Economy
The city's central location has led to much of its business development. Located on the Mississippi River and intersected by several freight railroads and two Interstate highways, Memphis is ideally located for commerce among the transportation and shipping industry. River barges are unloaded onto trucks and trains. The city is home to
Memphis International AirportMemphis International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles south of the central business district of Memphis, a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States...
, the world's busiest cargo airport, which serves as the primary hub for FedEx Express shipping and as a secondary hub for
Northwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines, Inc. , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc., is a major United States airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport...
.
Memphis is the home of nine Fortune 1000 companies. These include the corporate headquarters of FedEx Corporation, AutoZone Incorporated,
International PaperInternational Paper is an American pulp and paper company, the largest pulp and paper company in the world. It has approximately 51,500 employees. Its global headquarters are currently in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
, and
Thomas & BettsThomas & Betts is a designer and manufacturer of connectors and components for electrical and communication markets. Thomas & Betts is notable as the inventor of cable ties in 1958...
. In addition, Memphis is home to the pharmaceutical/healthcare firm Schering-Plough Corporation, serving as the company's research & development center.
The entertainment and
film industryThe film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film...
have discovered Memphis in recent years. Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Memphis, including
Mystery TrainMystery Train is a 1989 anthology film written and directed by independent film director Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises three different stories involving foreigners unfolding over the course of the same night...
(1989),
The Firm (1993),
Cast AwayCast Away is a film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. Hanks portrays a FedEx employee who is stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes on a flight over the South Pacific. The film depicts his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo,...
(2000),
Forty Shades of BlueForty Shades of Blue is a 2005 independent film directed by Ira Sachs. It tells the story of Alan James , an aging music producer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his much younger Russian girlfriend, Laura . Their life together is complicated by the presence of Alan's adult son Michael Forty...
(2005),
Walk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film, directed by James Mangold and based on the life of country singer-songwriter Johnny Cash...
(2005),
Hustle and Flow (2006), and
Soul Men (2008). The 1992 television movie
Memphis, starring Memphis native
Cybill ShepherdCybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former fashion model.Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan in Cybill, as Betsy in Taxi Driver and as Phyllis Kroll in The L Word. She recently starred in the...
, who also served as executive producer and writer, was also filmed in Memphis.
In 2000
Inc. magazine rated Memphis in the top eight of the 50 best major U.S. metro areas for starting and growing a business.
Government
Memphis is governed by a
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
and thirteen
City CouncilA city council is the legislative body that governs a city, municipality or local government area.-Australia:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council may vary slightly...
members, six elected at large from throughout the city and seven elected from geographic districts. In 1995, the council adopted a new district plan which changed council positions to all districts. This plan provides for nine districts, seven with one representative each and two districts with three representatives each. The previous mayor of the city of Memphis was
W. W. HerentonWillie W. Herenton is an American politician who was formerly mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, and is an announced candidate for election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. He was the first African American to be elected mayor of Memphis.-Biography:Dr. Herenton is a graduate of Le...
. He resigned from his office, effective July 30, 2009. Former
Shelby CountyShelby County is the name of nine counties in the United States of America, all named for Isaac Shelby of Kentucky. The Shelby County name gained fame in C.W. McCall's song "Classified"...
mayor AC Wharton is the newly elected Mayor.
In recent years, there have been often rancorous discussions of the potential of a consolidation of unincorporated
Shelby CountyShelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the state's largest both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis....
and Memphis into a metropolitan government. Consolidation is expected to be a referendum item on the 2010 ballot in Memphis and Shelby County.
Education
The city is served by
Memphis City SchoolsMemphis City Schools is the school district serving Memphis, Tennessee, United States and the largest school district in Tennessee.MCS serves the entire city of Memphis. Some areas of unincorporated Shelby County are zoned to Memphis City Schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade...
, while surrounding suburbs in other areas of Shelby County are served by
Shelby County SchoolsThe Shelby County School District is the fourth largest school system in Tennessee with a population of over 45,000 students.The district includes almost all of the public schools in Shelby County outside the corporate limits of the city of Memphis, including those schools located within the six...
.
The Memphis area is home to many private, college-prep schools:
Christian Brothers High SchoolChristian Brothers High School is located in Memphis, Tennessee, at 5900 Walnut Grove Rd. It is an all-male college preparatory school and Catholic school that has a strong Lasallian tradition that can be traced back to John Baptist de La Salle...
(boys),
Memphis University SchoolMemphis University School is an all-male private school for grades 7–12, located in Memphis, Tennessee.-History:MUS was founded in 1893 by two men named Edwin Sidney Werts and James White Sheffey Rhea. MUS is a college-preparatory school...
(boys), Hutchison School (girls), St. Mary's Episcopal School (girls),
Briarcrest Christian SchoolBriarcrest Christian School is a college preparatory school with two campuses, located in Memphis, Tennessee and Eads, Tennessee . Programs for kindergarten through Grade 8 began in 1973, as Briarcrest Baptist School System, and a program for Grades 9-12 was added in 1974...
(co-ed),
St. George's Independent SchoolSt. George's Independent School was founded in 1959 as St. George's Episcopal School and now has campuses in Collierville, Germantown, and Memphis, Tennessee.-History:...
(co-ed), Evangelical Christian School (co-ed), and Lausanne Collegiate School (co-ed).
Colleges and universities located in the city include the
University of MemphisThe University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is a flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
(formerly Memphis State University),
Rhodes CollegeRhodes College is a four-year, private, perennial top tier liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.Founded in 1848, Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students....
(formerly Southwestern at Memphis),
Memphis College of ArtMemphis College of Art, known before the 1980s as the Memphis Academy of Arts, is a small, private college of art and design located in Memphis, Tennessee's Overton Park, adjacent to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Art in Art Education...
, Le Moyne-Owen College,
Crichton CollegeCrichton College is a private Christian, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee.Crichton College is a four-year, coeducational institution governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Directors. Higher education at Crichton College is combined with evangelical Christian faith...
,
Christian Brothers UniversityChristian Brothers University is the oldest collegiate degree-granting institution in the City of Memphis. The university is run by the Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St...
,
Baptist College of Health SciencesBaptist College of Health Sciences is a private, coeducational, specialized college in Memphis, Tennessee. It offers baccalaureate degrees in the following fields:*Diagnostic medical sonography*Health care management*Medical radiography*Nuclear medicine...
(formerly Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing), and the
University of Tennessee Health Science CenterThe University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis includes the Colleges of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. Its pediatric residency program is affiliated with Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center...
(Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Graduate Health Sciences and Allied Health Sciences).
The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry was founded in 1878 making it the oldest dental college in the South, and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States.
Highways
Interstate 40Interstate 40 is a major west-east Interstate Highway in the United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern terminus is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Much of the western portion of I-40,...
(I-40) and
Interstate 55Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north-south Interstate Highway. I - 55 goes from Laplace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place.The section of I-55 between Chicago and St...
(I-55) are the main freeways in the Memphis area. The interstates I-40 and I-55 (along with rail lines) cross the Mississippi at Memphis into the state of
ArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...
. The future
Interstate 69Interstate 69 is an Interstate Highway in the United States. It exists in two parts: a completed highway from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, and a mostly-proposed extension southwest to the Mexican border in Texas...
Corridor will pass through Memphis when completed. Segments of the Corridor are completed in DeSoto County, Mississippi, just south of Memphis. The segment of the I-69 Corridor running through the Memphis area is scheduled for a 2012 completion.
Railroad
A large volume of railroad freight traffic moves through Memphis, thanks to two Mississippi River railroad crossings and the convergence of several east-west and north-south rail lines.
By the early 20th Century, Memphis had two major rail passenger stations. After rail passenger service declined at mid-century,
Memphis Union StationMemphis Union Station was a jointly owned passenger terminal serving the Missouri Pacific Railroad, St. Louis Southwestern Railway, Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway and Southern Railway. The terminal was built in the Beaux-Arts style...
was razed in 1969. Memphis Central Station was renovated and now serves
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
's famed
City of New OrleansThe City of New Orleans is a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak which travels between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. Before Amtrak's formation in 1971, the train was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad along the same route . The train currently operates on a 19½ hour...
, providing service between
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
and New Orleans.
Airport
Memphis is served by
Memphis International AirportMemphis International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles south of the central business district of Memphis, a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States...
, which handles
more cargo than any other airport in the worldWorld's busiest airport The definition of busiest has been specified by the Nandi International Airport and Air Pacific. The ACI defines and measures the following 3 types of airport traffic:...
as of 2007.
River port
Memphis also has the 2nd biggest cargo
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
on the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
(the 4th biggest inland port in the United States). The International Port of Memphis covers the Tennessee and Arkansas sides of the Mississippi River from
river mileA River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...
725 (km 1167) to mile 740 (km 1191). The focus of the river port is the
industrial parkAn industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. In Hong Kong, industrial parks are usually known as industrial estates. In the UK small industrial park containing multiple units all of the same style are known as trading estates...
on
President's IslandPresident's Island is a peninsula on the Mississippi River in Southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The city's major river port and an industrial park are located there....
, just south of downtown.
Bridges
Four rail and highway bridges cross the Mississippi River at Memphis. They are, in order of their opening year:
Frisco BridgeThe Frisco Bridge, previously known as the Memphis Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying a rail line across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee.-Construction:...
(1892),
Harahan BridgeThe Harahan Bridge is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying two rail lines across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. The consulting engineer in charge was Ralph Modjeski. The bridge also carried motor vehicles from 1917-1949, when the Memphis &...
(1916), Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge (1949) and the
Hernando de Soto BridgeThe Hernando de Soto Bridge is a through arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. It is often called the "M Bridge" as the arches resemble the letter M...
(1973).
Utilities
Memphis' primary utility provider is
Memphis Light, Gas and WaterMemphis Light, Gas and Water is the largest three-service municipal utility in the U.S. with more than 420,000 customers. Since 1939, MLGW has provided electricity, natural gas and water service for Memphis and Shelby County residents....
(MLGW). It is the largest three-service municipal utility in the United States, providing electricity, natural gas and water service to all county residents. Prior to that, Memphis was serviced by two primary companies, which combined into Memphis Power. The city bought the private company in 1939 to form MLGW.
MLGW buys its power from the
Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted...
and pumps its own water from the Memphis Aquifer, using more than 180 wells.
Health care
The Memphis and Shelby County region supports numerous hospitals, including the Methodist and Baptist Memorial health systems, two of the largest private hospitals in the country.
Methodist Healthcare system, the largest healthcare provider in the Mid-South, operates seven hospitals and several rural clinics.
Modern HealthcareModern Healthcare is a weekly, 70,037-circulation business publication delivering news and information to executives in the healthcare industry...
magazine ranked Methodist Healthcare in the top 100 integrated healthcare networks in the United States. Methodist Healthcare operates, among others, the
Le Bonheur Children's Medical CenterLe Bonheur Children's Medical Center is a 225-bed children's hospital Located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It has more than 500 medical staff representing 45 pediatric specialties. Its pediatric residency program is affiliated with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center...
, which offers primary level 1 pediatric trauma care, as well as a nationally recognized pediatric brain tumor program.
Baptist Memorial Healthcare operates fifteen hospitals (three in Memphis), including
Baptist Memorial HospitalIs a large medical facility in Memphis, Tennessee. It is the hospital where American Rock 'n' Roll singer Elvis Presleydied on August 16, 1977.-External links:* Official Website...
. According to Health Care Market Guide's annual studies, Mid-Southerners have named Baptist Memorial their "preferred hospital choice for quality".
The
St. Jude Children's Research HospitalSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
, leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases, resides in Memphis. The institution was conceived and built by the late entertainer
Danny ThomasDanny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy, or The Danny Thomas Show. He is also the founder of St...
in 1962 as a tribute to St. Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of impossible, hopeless, and difficult causes.
Museums and art collections
Many museums of interest are located in Memphis.
National Civil Rights Museum
The
National Civil Rights MuseumThe National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, was built around the former Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry Street, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4 1968....
is located in the former Lorraine Motel where
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr...
was assassinated. It includes a historical overview of the American civil rights movement.
Brooks Museum of Art
The
Memphis Brooks Museum of ArtMemphis Brooks Museum of Art is an art museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The Brooks Museum, which was founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest art museum in the state of Tennessee. The museum is a privately funded nonprofit institution located in Overton Park in Midtown Memphis.The original...
, founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest fine art museum in the state of Tennessee. The Brooks' permanent collection includes works from the
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
and
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
eras to
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
,
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Impressionists, and 20th-century artists.
Graceland
GracelandGraceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis. It is located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about twelve miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as a...
, the former home of Rock 'n' Roll legend
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
, is one of the most visited houses in the United States (second only to the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
), attracting over 600,000 domestic and international visitors a year. Featured at Graceland are two of Presley's private airplanes, his extensive automobile and motorcycle collection and other Elvis memorabilia. On November 7, 1991 Graceland was listed in the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Pink Palace
The
Pink Palace MuseumThe Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium in Memphis, Tennessee, serves as the Mid-South's major science and historical museum, and features exhibits ranging from archeology to chemistry...
serves as the Mid-South's major science and historical museum, and features exhibits ranging from archeology to chemistry. It includes America's third largest planetarium and an
IMAX TheatreIMAX is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation. The traditional version of IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
. One exhibit features a replica of the original
Piggly WigglyPiggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
store, the first self-service grocery store, commemorating the invention of the supermarket by Memphian
Clarence SaundersClarence Saunders was a grocer who first developed the modern retail sales model of self service. His ideas have had a massive influence on the development of the modern supermarket...
in 1916.
Memphis Walk of Fame
The
Memphis Walk of FameBeale Street is a street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
is a public exhibit located in the
Beale StreetBeale Street is a street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
historic district, which is modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but is designated exclusively for Memphis musicians, singers, writers, and composers. Honorees include
W. C. HandyWilliam Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician, often known as the "Father of the Blues"....
,
B. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter acclaimed for his expressive singing and guitar playing....
, Bobby Blue Bland, and
Alberta HunterAlberta Hunter was an American blues singer, songwriter, and nurse. Her career had started back in the early 1920s, and from there on, she became a successful jazz and blues recording artist, being critically acclaimed to the ranks of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith...
among others.
Mud Island River Park
Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River MuseumMud Island is not actually an island but a small peninsula, surrounded by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River Harbor to the east. In 1960, the Wolf River was diverted so that it went north of Mud Island, and Mud Island opened to the public in 1982...
is located on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. The Park is noted for its River Walk. The River walk is a 2112:1 scale working model showing 1000 mi (1600 km) of the Lower Mississippi River, from
Cairo, IllinoisCairo is a city in Alexander County, Illinois in the United States. The population was 3,632 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alexander County. The city's name is pronounced "Care-o"....
to
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
and the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United...
. 30 in (75 cm) in the model equal 1 mi (1.6 km) of the Mississippi River. The Walk stretches roughly 0.5 mi (800 m), allowing visitors to walk in the water and see models of cities and bridges along the way.
Victorian Village
Victorian VillageThe Victorian Village District is an area of Memphis, Tennessee.-Geography:The Victorian Village is located in the eastern quadrant of downtown Memphis.-19th century:...
is a historic district of Memphis featuring a series of fine Victorian-era mansions, some of which are open to the public as museums.
Cotton Museum
The Cotton MuseumThe Cotton Museum, located in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., is an historical and cultural museum that opened in March 2006 on the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis....
is a museum that opened in March 2006 on the old trading floor of the
Memphis Cotton ExchangeThe Memphis Cotton Exchange is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on the corner of Front Street and Union Avenue. It was founded in 1874 as a result of the growing cotton market in Memphis. Cotton merchants of the time became aware of the need for a trade organization to regulate cotton...
at 65 Union Avenue in
downtown MemphisDowntown Memphis, Tennessee is located on the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis....
.
Parks
Major Memphis parks include W.C. Handy Park,
Tom Lee ParkTom Lee Park is a city park located to the immediate west of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi River. Encompassing about 30 acres parallel to the Mississippi River for about one mile , it offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River and the shores of Arkansas on the...
, Audubon Park,
Overton ParkOverton Park is a large, 342-acre public park in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. The park grounds contain the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis Zoo, a 9-hole golf course, Memphis College of Art, Rainbow Lake, Veterans Plaza, Greensward, and other features...
including the
Old Forest Arboretum of Overton ParkThe Old Forest Arboretum of Overton Park is a forest tract and arboretum located in Overton Park, Memphis, Tennessee. It is open to the public daily without charge. The forest was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as part of the Overton Park Historic District...
, the
Lichterman Nature CenterLichterman Nature Center, a certified arboretum located in Memphis, Tennessee off Ridgeway at 5992 Quince Road in East Memphis. Lichterman Nature Center is one of the facilities within the Pink Palace Family of Museums...
- a nature learning center, and the
Memphis Botanic GardenThe Memphis Botanic Garden is a 96 acre botanical garden located in Audubon Park at 750 Cherry Road, Memphis, Tennessee.The gardens are open to the public daily, an admission fee is charged. Wednesday afternoons are free. In addition, the garden offers a range of educational programs for...
.
Shelby FarmsShelby Farms is the largest urban park in the United States, located in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. At a size of , it covers more than five times the area of Central Park in New York City with ....
park, located at the eastern edge of the city, is one of the largest urban parks in America.
Cemeteries
The
Memphis National CemeteryMemphis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Nutbush neighborhood of the City of Memphis, in Shelby County, Tennessee...
is a
United States National Cemetery"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 142 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...
located in north Memphis.
Historic Elmwood CemeteryHistoric Elmwood Cemetery is the oldest active cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. It was established in 1852 as one of the first rural garden cemeteries in the South.-Origins:...
is one of the oldest rural garden cemeteries in the South, and contains the
Carlisle S. Page ArboretumThe Carlisle S. Page Arboretum is an arboretum located within Historic Elmwood Cemetery, 824 South Dudley Street, Memphis, Tennessee....
. Memorial Park Cemetery is noted for its sculptures by Mexican artist
Dionicio RodriguezDionicio Rodriguez is a Mexican-born artist and architect.He is known for his unique style of concrete construction that imitated wood, known as Faux Bois...
.
Other points of interest
Beale Street
BluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
fans can visit
Beale StreetBeale Street is a street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
, which used to be the center of the Black community, where a young B.B. King used to play his guitar. He occasionally appears there at the club bearing his name, which he partially owns. Street performers play live music, and bars and clubs feature live entertainment until dawn. In 2008, Beale Street was the most visited tourist attraction in the state of Tennessee.
Sun Studio
Sun StudioSun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27 1952.
Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Buddy McNeil,...
is available for tour, which is where
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
first recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". Other famous musicians who got their start at Sun include
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
,
Rufus ThomasRufus Thomas, Jr. was a rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
,
Charlie RichCharlie Rich was an American Country Music Singer/Musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres.In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver Fox...
,
Howlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
,
Roy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter and musician, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly / country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records...
,
Carl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American "rockabilly" musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee beginning during 1954...
, and
Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer, songwriter, and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
. It now contains a museum as well as the still-functioning studio.
Memphis Zoo
The
Memphis ZooThe Memphis Zoo, located in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. Created in April 1906, the zoo has been a major tenant of Overton Park for more than 100 years. The land currently designated to the Memphis Zoo was defined by the...
, which is located in
midtown MemphisMidtown is one of the 5 defined districts of Memphis, Tennessee, USA containing different individual areas loosely defined as I-240 on the West, Jackson Avenue on the North, Highland Ave to the East and Lamar Avenue and Southern Avenue to the South....
, features many exhibits of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians from all over the world. The Zoo's
Giant pandaThe Giant Panda is a mammal native to central-western and south western China. The Giant Panda is a member of the Ursidae family. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body...
exhibit is one of only five in North America.
Peabody Hotel
The
Peabody HotelThe Peabody Hotel is a luxury hotel in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The hotel is well known for the famous "Peabody Ducks" that live on the hotel rooftop, but which make daily treks to the hotel's lobby in a daily "March of Ducks" celebration.- History :...
is well-known for the famous "Peabody Ducks" that live on the hotel rooftop, making the journey to the hotel lobby in a daily "March of Ducks" ritual.
Other
Other Memphis attractions include the
Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team...
, the
FedExForumFedExForum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball program of the University of Memphis , both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena...
and Mississippi riverboat day cruises.
Sports
The University of Memphis has grown very popular in the city due to their recent success as a college basketball team, the UofM Tigers.
- Memphis Grizzlies
For the World Football League team of the 1970s, see Memphis SouthmenThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
, the only one of the "big four" major sports leagues in the city
- Memphis Redbirds
The Memphis Redbirds are the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They play their home games at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. The stadium's capacity is 14,320. They entered the Pacific Coast League as an expansion team in 1998, and are owned as a...
of the Pacific Coast LeagueThe Pacific Coast League is a minor league baseball league operating in the West, Midwest, and Southeast of the United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League...
, a Triple A baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
farm team for the St. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball...
- Mississippi RiverKings, a professional hockey
Ice Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
team of the Central Hockey LeagueThe Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation.-History:The Central Hockey League was revived in 1992 by Bill Levins and Ray Miron under the idea of central ownership of both the league and the teams...
Memphis is home to
Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The stadium is the site of the annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and is the home field of the University of Memphis Tigers football team...
which is the site of
University of MemphisThe University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is a flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
football, AutoZone Liberty Bowl and Southern Heritage Classic.
Memphis is home to the annual St. Jude Championship, a regular part of the
PGA TourThe PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville...
.
Memphis has a significant history in pro wrestling.
Jerry "The King" LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , working and wrestling on its Raw brand as the color commentator...
is the sport's greatest name to come out of the city.
Sputnik MonroeSputnik Monroe is an American indie band. They are Kevin Netzley Noel Bass Briar Dean and Pat Doyle...
, a wrestler of the 1950s, like Lawler, promoted racial integration in the City.
See also
- List of famous people from Memphis
- List of mayors of Memphis
- Memphis Mafia
The Memphis Mafia was the nickname for a group of friends, associates, employees and "yes-men" whose main function was to be around Elvis Presley from 1954 until he died. Several filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour...
External links