Memphis, Tennessee

Everything Memphis is known for

649 songs mention this city 525 artists from here

Memphis, Tennessee, is widely recognized as the birthplace of rock and roll and has significantly impacted music history, leaving its mark on blues, soul, and gospel. The city is also known for its contributions to hip-hop. Our collection features 479 songs that mention Memphis and 525 artists who call it home, including pop artist Justin Timberlake and hip-hop artist GloRilla. Songs like "Graceland" by Paul Simon and "Queen Of Memphis" by Confederate Railroad also highlight the city's musical presence.

Memphis' musical identity is deeply rooted in its history, with influential record labels like Sun Records and Stax Records shaping popular culture for decades. Beale Street, known as the "Home of the Blues," is a historic area where blues and jazz legends played.

Music in Memphis

Songs About Memphis

A Few Questions
Clay Underwood
100%
"And still have a need for a place like St. Jude's?"
Whoop That Trick
Al Kapone
100%
Mississippi, My Sister, Elvis & Me
Lola Kirke
98%
"We're goin' down to Graceland to get her heart unbroke"
Walls of Graceland
Jed Zimmerman
97%
"Walls of Graceland"
Sweet Tumbleweed
Pecos & the Rooftops
96%
"A coffee cup from Graceland, Tennessee"
Child of the Mississippi
Old Crow Medicine Show
96%
"From up in St. Paul Minnesota, down south to the Memphis pyramid"
Carrying Your Love
David Morris
95%
"Stop at Graceland"
Taking off to Tennessee
Landon Smith
94%
"Might run off to Graceland"
A Few Questions
Clay Walker
93%
"And still have a need for a place like St. Jude's?"
Graceland
Paul Simon
93%
"I'm going to Graceland"
Graceland
Justin Townes Earle
93%
"I'm going to Graceland, Graceland"
Velvet Elvis
Kacey Musgraves
92%
"I need a Graceland kind of man who's always on my mind"
memphis: the blues
zach bryan
90%
Memphis Beat
Jerry Lee Lewis
90%
"Well they all hang around at the root of Beale Street"
Beale Street Blues
Louis Armstrong
90%
"If Beale Street could talk, married men would have to take their beds and walk"
Fourth Street Mess Around
Memphis Jug Band
90%
"Go down Fourth until you get to Vance"
Hotel Lorraine
Otis Spann
89%
"Hotel Lorraine"
1620 Echles St.
Lost Sounds
89%
"1620 Echles St."
Furry Sings the Blues
Joni Mitchell
88%
"Old Beale Street is coming down"
WDIA
The Long Ryders
88%
"1070 for WDIA"

Showing top 20 of 649 songs

Artists From Memphis

J
Justin Timberlake
pop Pop: 83
G
GloRilla
hip-hop Pop: 76
M
Moneybagg Yo
hip-hop Pop: 75
N
NLE Choppa
hip-hop Pop: 75
S
Skillet
gospel Pop: 75
J
Juicy J
hip-hop Pop: 75
K
Key Glock
hip-hop Pop: 74
Y
Young Dolph
hip-hop Pop: 73
P
Pooh Shiesty
hip-hop Pop: 71
A
Aretha Franklin
r-n-b Pop: 69
T
Three 6 Mafia
hip-hop Pop: 65
Y
Yo Gotti
hip-hop Pop: 65
B
Big Boogie
hip-hop Pop: 65
S
Stephen Wilson Jr
americana Pop: 64
J
Julien Baker
indie Pop: 63
S
Saliva
rock Pop: 63
B
Booker T. Jones
r-n-b Pop: 60
C
Charles Lloyd
jazz Pop: 60
D
Dee Dee Bridgewater
jazz Pop: 60
B
Big Scarr
hip-hop Pop: 60

Showing top 20 of 525 artists

Rivers & Roads in Song near Memphis

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Memphis.

Highway I 40 20 songs Mississippi River 206 songs US Route 61 4 songs

Musical Heritage

Sun Studio — Where It All Started RoadyGoat

1950

At 706 Union Avenue, on the corner of Union and Marshall, sits the small storefront where Sam Phillips opened his recording service in 1950 and launched the Sun label. Many call it the birthplace of rock and roll: in 1951 Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats cut 'Rocket 88' here, often cited as the first rock-and-roll record. In July 1954 a teenage truck driver named Elvis Presley recorded 'That's All Right' in this room, and the rest followed — Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, and the famous 'Million Dollar Quartet' jam with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Still a working studio by night and a tour stop by day, the original acoustic-tile room remains, with the worn floor where Elvis stood at the mic.

Stax — The Soul of Memphis RoadyGoat

1957

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music sits at 926 East McLemore Avenue, on the exact spot where Stax Records cut some of the grittiest, greatest soul music ever made. Founded in the late 1950s in a converted movie theater, Stax was the house that built the raw 'Memphis sound,' with Booker T. & the M.G.'s as the in-house band and a roster that included Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and Wilson Pickett sessions. Redding recorded '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' just before his death in a 1967 plane crash. The original studio was demolished in 1989, but the museum, opened in 2003, is a faithful re-creation on the same ground, complete with a recovered Stax marquee and Isaac Hayes' gold-trimmed Cadillac. It's a short hop from downtown.

Graceland — Elvis's Mansion RoadyGoat

1957

Graceland, at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the Whitehaven neighborhood, is the Colonial Revival mansion Elvis Presley bought in 1957, when he was just 22, for about $100,000. He lived here until his death in August 1977. Inside are the rooms that became legend, including the green-shag, tiki-themed Jungle Room, which he later used to record parts of two albums. The Meditation Garden beside the house holds the graves of Elvis, his parents Gladys and Vernon, his grandmother, and a memorial to his stillborn twin Jesse; his daughter Lisa Marie was later laid to rest here too. Opened to the public in 1982, Graceland draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and is one of the most-visited private homes in America, second among houses only to the White House.

7.2 mi away

History of Memphis

You Can Go to Hell, I Will Go to Texas RoadyGoat

1835

Davy Crockett's road west ran right through Memphis. After he lost his last election in the fall of 1835, he was done with politics and done with Tennessee. In his farewell to the voters of his district he is remembered for a blunt goodbye, that they might all go to hell, and he would go to Texas. He made his way down to Memphis, spent a last night with friends along the bluff above the river, and then crossed the wide Mississippi heading for Arkansas and the Texas fight beyond it. He was nearly fifty years old, broke, and starting over one more time. He would never see Tennessee again. (Sources: Crockett's farewell as recorded in period accounts; standard biographies.)

Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous RoadyGoat

Charlie Vergos opened the Rendezvous in a basement down an alley beneath the Peabody Hotel in Memphis in 1948. The dry-rub ribs — charcoal broiled, not smoked — broke every rule of Southern barbecue and created a Memphis style that launched a thousand imitators. The walls are covered in decades of memorabilia. Finding the entrance is half the experience.

West Memphis, AR RoadyGoat

West Memphis, Arkansas, exists because of the river. Sitting just 220 feet above sea level in the flat expanse of the Mississippi Delta, its fate has always been intertwined with that mighty waterway. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 left an indelible mark, spurring massive levee projects that still shape the landscape today. Even its name, adopted in 1927, reflects its proximity to its larger neighbor across the river. But while Memphis, Tennessee, grew into a major metropolis, West Memphis maintained a different pace. Its strategic location, however, ensured its survival and growth. As a major transportation hub, it became a vital link in the nation's supply chain. Logistics and transportation are key industries, a modern echo of the riverboat era. But the past lingers. And though the roar of the crowds at the old greyhound track has faded, a palpable sense of history mingles with the slow pace of life, evoking a quiet nostalgia for a different time. Even the distant cheers for Scotty Thurman's championship-winning three-pointer remind you of the surrounding area's impact on the larger world.

7.7 mi away

Sun Studio

1950

Sam Phillips opened Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue in 1950, launching the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.

Beale Street

1860

The birthplace of the blues, Beale Street in Memphis served as the cultural and commercial center for Black life in the Mid-South for over a century.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

1957

Stax Records at 926 East McLemore Avenue was the home of Southern soul music, producing Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and the Staple Singers.

Graceland

1957

Elvis Presley purchased Graceland in 1957 for $102,500 and lived there until his death in 1977; it is now the second most-visited private home in America after the White House.

7.2 mi away

Things to Do in Memphis

historical 7.8 mi away
Graceland

Elvis Presley's Memphis mansion. The King's jumpsuits and pink Cadillac.
food 0.6 mi away
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous

Memphis' underground rib palace since 1948. Down an alley under a hotel. Dry rub ribs charcoal broiled. No sauce needed.
historical 0.7 mi away
Beale Street

The home of the blues. Neon-lit clubs and BBQ joints where B.B. King got his start.
historical 1.1 mi away
Sun Studio

Where rock and roll was born. Elvis Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded here.
historical 2.5 mi away
Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Where Otis Redding Isaac Hayes and Booker T recorded. Memphis soul lives here.
quirky 0.4 mi away
The Peabody Ducks

Five ducks march through the Memphis Peabody Hotel lobby to their rooftop palace. Daily at 11 AM and 5 PM.
food 1.1 mi away
Central BBQ

Memphis dry-rub ribs and pulled pork nachos. Locals' favorite over the tourist spots.
food 3.0 mi away
Interstate Barbecue

Jim Neely's legendary Memphis dry-rub ribs and BBQ spaghetti. A soul food institution.

Everything Near Memphis

44 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore Memphis on the Map
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