Elvis revisits his rock and roll side in the '68 Comeback Special (Courtesy of Elvis Presley’s Graceland)
Elvis Week, those days in August surrounding the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, is here again, with its unlikely mixture of celebration and mourning, and Elvis Presley’s Graceland once again rises to the occasion of this great gathering of pilgrims. Check their website for a massive smorgasbord of events to choose from, all compelling in their own way: an Elvis tribute artist contest; The Conversations on Elvis series, featuring those who knew Elvis best sharing memories and stories; and of course the annual candlelight vigil on the night he died, Tuesday, August 15th (a Monday in 1977, the year of his death). This year, the same day will feature another event of mourning in remembrance of Lisa Marie Presley.
Yet Elvis Week also features, through the wonders of cinema, two brilliant concert films from the singer’s career, and thus two chances to witness his artistry very much alive and in full bloom. Such moments of bearing witness to what Elvis hath wrought help one lean into the celebratory side of the moment.
The Elvis ’68 Comback Special 55th Anniversary Enhanced Screening on Monday, August 14th, features an NBC television program that aired in December 1968, later dubbed “The Comeback Special.” But while filmed for TV, the high production values of Singer Presents … Elvis make it worthy of the cinematic treatment, especially with such iconic moments as his appearance in black leather with his Sun Records band, or bedecked in white, standing before his name in blazing red lights. Here’s a rare chance to see this era-defining show on a larger-than-life screen.
The enhanced screening on Monday will include special guest appearances by Allan Blye (writer),Gene McAvoy(art director), Mike Deasy (guitarist), and Tanya Lemani George(dancer), not to mention video interviews with those who were there.
The ’68 Comeback Special features brilliant performances, but can such a carefully crafted television production capture the electricity of a live concert? That’s where the Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii 50th Anniversary Concert film on Wednesday, August 16th, comes in. Elvis Presley’s Graceland doesn’t mess around with 50th Anniversaries, and this celebration is preceded with Sony’s Q&A listening event and an “Aloha” luau dinner.
The film itself captures the singer’s groundbreaking Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite concert, performed at the Honolulu International Center on January 14, 1973. Not including the short broadcast of “All You Need is Love” via satellite by The Beatles in 1967, Aloha from Hawaii was the first entertainment special by a solo artist to be broadcast live around the world.
That itself was a technological marvel at the time. This year, more such marvels will make it possible to see Elvis’ Aloha from Hawaii concert live on the big screen, featuring vocals by the king himself, backed by a live band on stage. That’s right, a live band will be matching Elvis’ voice beat for beat for the entire show. The night will also feature a guest appearance by original TCB Band member Glen Hardin.
And there you have it, two great ways to get your Elvis on. Now you can pay your respects in the most fundamental way possible — by listening to him sing.
On Thursday, three Memphis mayoral race candidates — Reggie Hall, Michelle McKissack, and Paul Young — shared their plans to address racial inequities and homelessness at the Symposium on Ending Homelessness.
The event was hosted by the Community Alliance For The Homeless (CAFTH) at Rhodes College on August 10th, with the mayoral candidate forum moderated by Shirley Bondon of the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis.
“The mayor of Memphis has an awesome responsibility,” said Bondon. “If they do their job well, they can prepare a vehicle of opportunity for the city and all its residents. Those housed and unhoused.”
Each candidate was allowed an opening statement to describe their plans to address homelessness in Memphis. Symposium participants also submitted their own questions prior to the event. The candidates shared their personal experiences with the issue as well.
Following candidate statements, Bondon asked about their commitment to racial and social equity in their proposed response to homelessness, as well as how they have addressed the problem in their previous work.
The CAFTH 2022 annual report said, “While Black, African-American, or African individuals account for 51 percent of the total Memphis population, they represent 74 percent of the population experiencing homelessness.” In contrast, “White individuals account for 35 percent of the total Memphis population, but represent only 21 percent of the population experiencing homelessness.
“In an equitable world, the total population would be equal (or close) to the population experiencing homelessness,” the report said.
McKissack said homelessness is not just a “one-size-fits-all” problem, and that no one group can address it. “The fact is you have to tap into all those types of agencies that are actually addressing homelessness and racial and social aspects of living,” she said. “Here in Memphis, we are a predominantly African-American community, but the wealth is not spread out in the way that it should be.” If elected, McKissack said she plans to bring all parties to the table to come up with a solution.
She added that her work to address these inequities started in her role as a parent, at Downtown Elementary, where she started a clothes closet for students experiencing homelessness. She also invited local artists to the school every six weeks to ensure all students were able to feel “whole.”
Hall said he will be the “bridge between wealth and sweat equity.” He saidin order for the city to work, we have to learn how to build relationships and partnerships.
“It doesn’t matter if you have wealth or if you don’t, at this moment,” he said. “Bullets are flying. Cars are being broken into. The homes are being broken into. And everyone is being terrorized at this moment. It has finally come a time where we must all build together, work together, put aside petty differences, and bring in a true leader who can bridge that gap.”
When asked to recall a relationship he has built in the city of Memphis to address inequity, Hall said he hasn’t built any on the professional level; everything he does is on ground level. “The people that I help are the disproportionate people and disenfranchised people.”
Young said his approach relies on changing the system, as people of color are “disproportionately represented” in all social systems. “What we have to do is make the process seamless,” Young said. “People just don’t know. They don’t understand our bureaucracy. That’s how we address the inequities.”
Young added there need to be more resources to address the problem, which, he said, he has been actively doing as a part of his work. Young referenced his previous role as director of Housing and Community Development for the City of Memphis, where they started the first Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Pressing LPs at Memphis Record Pressing (photo courtesy of MRP)
Music fans know all about Record Store Day, that occasional holiday when buyers flock to their favorite local brick-and-mortar shops to load up on playable media. And while the growth of Record Store Day’s popularity has gone hand in hand with a resurgence in vinyl sales over recent years (see last year’s cover story on the subject here), it’s worth remembering that RSD is media-agnostic. There are even those who come home with nothing but a load of CDs after the day’s grand events. Meanwhile, there’s one holiday for vinyl and vinyl only: National Vinyl Record Day, which falls on Saturday, August 12th this year. And, given the importance of Memphis to every step of the vinyl food chain, it comes as no surprise that there will be a unique celebration here.
Vinyl is clearly no joke here. Memphis Record Pressing (MRP) recently underwent a multimillion-dollar expansion, tripling the size of the company and bringing the total number of presses to 52 and the staff to more than 400. With these changes, the company’s on track to produce 20-25 million records this year. When running at full capacity, MRP can press as many as 125,000 records a day or more than 45 million a year, making it the largest vinyl record manufacturer by volume in North America.
A worker prepares to flatten a lump of vinyl into an LP (photo courtesy of MRP)
Having turned this monumental corner, MRP is now marking National Vinyl Record Day with a giveaway for record enthusiasts. In partnership with local record stores Goner Records, Shangri-la Records, and River City Records, MRP is giving away a limited-edition, specially designed National Vinyl Record Day commemorative pin, to be available on a first-come-first-served basis at the participating stores. MRP employees will also be sporting the pins at work in the week leading up to National Vinyl Record Day.
“National Vinyl Record Day, obviously, means a lot to us, and we thought this was a fun way to mark the occasion and thank all the vinyl enthusiasts who have helped our industry thrive in recent years,” noted MRP CEO and co-founder Brandon Seavers in a statement.
California radio host and vinyl enthusiast Gary Freiberg started National Vinyl Record Day in 2002 to promote the “preservation of the cultural influence, the recordings, and the cover art of the vinyl record.” The date was chosen to honor the reported date in 1877 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. This year’s celebration comes fast on the heels of the 75th anniversary of the long-playing album, or LP, marked this June.
The event also comes as the vinyl renaissance that began almost two decades ago has reached a new milestone. Vinyl record sales have been increasing steadily for 17 years, and only grew more during the pandemic. Last year, vinyl album sales overtook CD sales for the first time since 1987, with 43.46 million copies sold.
MRPs growth in recent years has been equally impressive. An offshoot of defunct CD manufacturer AudioGraphc Masterworks, MRP has expanded dramatically since opening its doors in 2015.
Meanwhile, what of the city’s veritable temple to vinyl culture and music, Memphis Listening Lab, on this day of tribute to the majesty of wax? “We don’t have anything planned,” says MLL head archivist Jim Cole. “But we’re here if anyone wants to come spin some records.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has rejected Starbucks’ challenge to a ruling that required them to rehire the Memphis Seven. The employees were originally fired for attempting to organize a union, which was publicized by a media event.
“The record contains sufficient evidence to support the district court’s order of temporary injunctive relief as necessary to return the parties to the status quo pending resolution of the Board’s proceedings. We affirm the judgement of the district court,” circuit judges said in the conclusion.
Court documents state that the employees were originally fired in February of 2022 for the following reasons:
Being in the store while off duty
Entering the back-of-house or counter area while off duty
Unlocking a locked door to allow an unauthorized person to enter while off duty
Activating the safe and handling cash while off duty
Supervising while these offenses were being committed.
A federal judge had ordered that the seven employees be reinstated in August of 2022. However, Starbucks challenged this ruling.
According to court documents, Workers United “filed an action with the National Labor Relations Board, charging that Starbucks’ firing of the Memphis Seven, and other anti-union actions, violated section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act.”
Not only did the court conclude that Starbucks had violated the act, but that the reinstatement of the employees was “just and proper.”
“The Act provides that [e]mployees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining,” the court documents stated.
The court also stated that “fear of retaliation” would exist unless the workers were reinstated.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In Stephen King’s novel It, a character named Beverly is in love with a man who projects a sense of authority but also listens well. He is strong-minded but receptive; confident but willing to be changed; self-possessed but open to influence. That’s an apt description of the allies I wish for you to attract into your life in the coming months. Whether they are lovers or partners, companions or collaborators, friends or colleagues, you need and deserve the high-quality, emotionally intelligent exchanges they offer.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Seventy-year-old Taurus-born Eric Bogosian is a prolific playwright and author renowned for his hard-edged satire. The title of one of his books is Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead. But one critic speculates he may be softening as he ages, noting that he “seems more amused than disgusted by the decaying world around him, as if his anger has been tempered by a touch of hope.” The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate a comparable reshaping, dear Taurus. Can you tenderize what has been tough? Is it possible to find redemption or entertainment in situations that have been challenging? Are you willing to add more levity and geniality to your perspective?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Decca is a UK-based record label that has produced the work of many major musicians, including Billie Holiday, the Rolling Stones, and Tori Amos. They made a huge mistake in 1962, though. A fledgling group named the Beatles tried to get signed to Decca. An executive at the company declined, saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Oops. The Beatles eventually became the bestselling and most influential band of all time. I don’t think you’re at risk of making as monumental a misstep, Gemini. But please be alert to the possibility of a key opportunity coming into view. Don’t underestimate it, even if it’s different from what you imagine you want.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’m a Cancerian who used to be overly reactive to people’s carelessness. If someone was in a bad mood and flung a rash insult at me, I might take offense too easily. If a friend misunderstood me, even with no malice intended, I may have sulked. Thankfully, over time, I have learned to be more like a honey badger, whose thick skin protects it well against stings and pricks. I bring this up because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice my approach. First step: Understand how people sometimes direct their frustration about life toward undeserving recipients. Second step: Vow to take things less personally. Third step: Give yourself regular compliments. Actually say them aloud.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments has now arrived. And it’s no accident that your energy matches mine. In other words, my power to consecrate you reflects your ability to bless yourself. So give yourself the ultimate gift, please.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the 17th century, Virgo musician Johann Pachelbel composed a piece of music he called the Canon in D. It soon went out of style and disappeared into obscurity. But over 250 years later, a French chamber orchestra rediscovered it, and by the 1980s, it was everywhere. Ever since, Pachelbel’s Canon has been used in many pop songs and is a common anthem at weddings and funerals. I’m predicting a comparable revival for you, Virgo. An influence, creation, or person that has been gone for a while will reemerge as a presence in your life. Be decisive in adopting it for your benefit.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Iain S. Thomas tells us, “There is magic even in gridlock, in loneliness, in too much work, in late nights gone on too long, in shopping carts with broken wheels, in boredom, in tax returns.” He says it’s the same magic that prompted Joan of Arc to believe that God spoke to her and empowered her to lead an army. I wouldn’t agree that it’s the same magic. But I do advise us all to be alert for enchantment and interesting mysteries even in the most mundane affairs. I am a champion of the quest for holiness, delight, and marvels in seemingly unlikely locations. In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have a special talent for finding these revelatory joys.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Self-transformation is precisely what life is.” If that’s true, you are in luck. Of all the zodiac signs, you are the most skillful self-transformer. Moreover, you are entering a prolonged phase when your instinct and talent for self-transformation will be even more potent than usual. I plan to observe you closely in the hope of learning your tricks for changing into an ever-better version of yourself. Show us all how it’s done, dear Scorpio!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Born under the sign of Sagittarius, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was one of history’s most influential composers of classical music. His elegant, lyrical works are still widely played today. He was also a revolutionary innovator who expanded the scope of many musical genres. One composition, Piano Sonata No. 32, prefigures elements of ragtime, jazz, and boogie-woogie — 70 years before those styles emerged. In this spirit, I invite you to plant a seed for the future. You will soon get glimpses of creative shifts that will someday be possible. And you will have an enhanced ability to instigate the inventive momentum that generates those shifts.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s be honest. Most of us — maybe all of us! — fail to grasp the world objectively. Our perceptions get filtered through our opinions and beliefs and habit minds. The events we think we see are shaped by our expectations about them. Our projections often overrule the possibility of unbiased impartiality. We are serial misinterpreters. But there’s no need to be ashamed! It’s a universal human tendency. Having said all that, however, I believe you will have a special knack, in the coming weeks, for observing reality with more clarity and open-mindedness than usual. You will have an unprecedented opportunity to see accurately and gather fresh, raw truths.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is this a phase of your cycle when you’ll be prone to saying things like “Why do you take me for granted?” and “I’m feeling cranky” and “It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it”? Or are you in a time when the following expressions are more likely to emerge from your mouth: “I have come to understand you in a totally new and interesting way” and “Life has blessed me by removing one of my unnecessary obstacles” and “I would love to learn more about the arts of cooperation and collaboration”? Here’s what I think, Aquarius: Which way you go will depend on how clearly you set your intentions. Life will respond in kind to the moods you cultivate and the specific requests you make.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Our bodies are imperfect. They are often less than 100 percent completely healthy. They don’t always do what we wish they would. Yet even when we feel less than our best, our body continually carries out millions of biochemical marvels, mostly below the level of our conscious awareness. As the creation of an evolutionary process that has unfolded for eons, our precious organism is an amazing work of art that we have every right to regard as miraculous. According to my astrological reckoning, the coming weeks are the best time this year to honor and celebrate your body. What does it need to flourish? Ask your intuition to show you.
“You’ve [always] got mail!” (Photo: Justin Morgan | Unsplash)
Sometimes Sundays feel like the eve of the first day of school. Like a kid anticipating a new semester, the nerves swirl and keep me awake before the “big day.” Working on a perpetual deadline, with a column due each week, it’s as if there’s an essay looming, to be graded — and I’m not always prepared for it. The “grade,” of course, will come from you, the readers — and my aim is to write something relatable, entertaining, or in line with current events.
But this Monday, as is occasionally is the case, I wasn’t sure where to begin. I stared at a blank document longer than I’d like to admit, pausing from that daunting task to edit stories as they traveled through our production process or to review articles awaiting publication on the website. Another distraction, albeit a necessary part of the job, is sorting through emails. Dozens come through my inbox daily, of varying degrees of importance — from promotional product pitches to local news items to (more rare) reader feedback.
One email, with the subject line “Checking In,” caught my eye. Typically if someone is checking in, it’s in relation to a previous conversation or a follow up to a prior email that I’ve not yet replied to. This, though, was something else entirely. Feedback of sorts, I guess you could say, but more just an airing of grievances on Memphis, its politicians, and crime. The note, from a person who no longer lives or works in the city, according to the sender, referred to “you” and “your” a handful of times, as if I or the Flyer has some kind of control over the issues listed within. And they were “checking in” to let me know they still can’t stand our “leftist bullshit.”
“The truth is, Memphis is a steaming, stinking, shithole caused solely by your demokrat [sic]/leftist policies,” the email reads, in part. “Amazing how you otherwise intelligent people, smart enough to write and publish, can be so stupid – or brainwashed – to think your leftist ways work. Liberalism IS a mental disorder and you are both administrators and patients of the socialist insane asylum.”
So this publication, a historically left-leaning alternative newsweekly, somehow, in this person’s mind, contributes to the problems they perceive to weigh on Memphis as a whole? Hmm.
I realized last week that it’s been nine months since I took the helm as editor-in-chief of this paper (and this was my first hate mail, a good run if you ask me). There have been growing pains, as is natural with any job, but particularly one in which you have a platform such as this. Writing something of substance in my column is top of mind, and I’d like to use my voice for good as often as possible. Anyone who has followed this space over the course of my tenure may have noticed I don’t make a habit of intentionally riling people up. I prefer not to promote division, but rather gently remind people that we’re all human, mere specks floating on a rock in space, trying to get by.
So I find myself wondering what would inspire a person to wake up one morning and think, “You know what? I’m pissed off and the editor of the Flyer needs to know this.” The message wasn’t directed at something in particular I had written or a specific piece composed by one of my many talented colleagues. There were no suggested solutions provided or any actionable critiques. Just an anger-dump, addressed to me, for reasons I can’t quite discern.
There was one thing I wanted to weave into my column last week about the congressional hearing on UAPs and the alleged discovery of “non-human biologics,” but with limited space, it didn’t make the cut. I wrote on how we simply don’t have the time to worry about that — unless UFOs land in our front yards, no big deal, who cares. But in reality, some people have a lot of time to worry about a lot of stuff — to be keyboard warriors berating others for their beliefs, to moan about “woke culture,” to bash people for their personal life choices.
I don’t venture to think I can change anyone’s mind, nor do I impose my opinions in ways that belittle others. But I do urge you to think for yourself, do your own research, and above all, be kind.
Hate is a choice. Imagine where we could be if more of us chose love.
Cowabunga! Mutant Mayhem shows off the best versions of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphel
in years.
I had one eyebrow raised as I walked into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. I’d been burned by the turtles before. I watched the classic ’80s cartoon as a kid, but their previous big-screen offerings have featured bright green costumes that seemed more the stuff of nightmares than a stylish interpretation of their indie comics origin.
Mutant Mayhem, luckily, has no such missteps. Director Jeff Rowe and producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver embrace the good kind of weirdness that comes with the turtle territory. The success of Into the Spider-Verse has opened the door to fresh approaches in animation, and Mutant Mayhem takes full advantage. The visible brush strokes in an early shot of the moon over New York City set the mood for a film filled with jagged, scratchy lines. The artistic mayhem captures both the glamor and grime of the city’s sidewalks and sewers, while adding an air of controlled chaos during the rapid movements of combat scenes. Mutant Mayhem’s doodle aesthetics harken back to scribbled drawings in the corners of middle-school notebooks.
As baby turtles, our quartet of heroes are exposed to radioactive ooze which transforms them into humanoid form. Their adoptive father Splinter (Jackie Chan), a rat who was also exposed to the ooze, discovers them in the sewers and trains them in martial arts. Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Raphael (Brady Noon) sneak their way through the streets of New York City to retrieve vital supplies like toilet paper and Cool Ranch Doritos. They watch humans from afar, idolizing Ferris Bueller during a movie night in the park and dreaming of one day joining the paradise that is high school. Like normal teenagers, they do things like bicker and film themselves as real life Fruit Ninjas slicing watermelons with a sword.
But the turtles are tired of living in the sewer. Their new human friend April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) needs to do something great to distract her classmates from an embarrassing high school moment. They hatch a plan to record the turtles performing heroic deeds and package it as the news story of the year. Luckily for their plan, a villain known as Superfly (Ice Cube) has been stealing fancy scientific equipment from armored cars around the city and needs stopping.
Sure, there are superhero elements, but Mutant Mayhem is a high school soap opera about a group of outcasts who just want to fit in. The turtles aren’t ready-made heroes or defenders of New York. Their teen angst eventually spirals into a large-scale city conflict, but it’s this grounded take that makes this the best TMNT film ever. According to Rogen, this is the first time that all the titular characters have been voiced by actual teenagers. It’s easy to tell when the voice actors are freed to riff off script, improvising with one another and bantering like kids at school.
Other longtime TMNT stalwarts pop up, including fellow mutants Rocksteady (John Cena) and Bebop (Rogen). As a fan of the original cartoon, I missed their arch enemy Shredder and members of the Foot clan, but really, they’re not needed here. Teen melodrama, cool visuals, and fancy fisticuffs earn Mutant Mayhem a deserved “Cowabunga!”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Now playing Multiple locations
Mayoral candidate J.W. Gibson with wife Kathy at headquarters opening (Photo: Jackson Baker)
In opening his headquarters on Quince Road in East Memphis last Saturday, J.W. Gibson — who is variously described as a businessman, as a developer, and as a philanthropist — sought to remedy one of the problems of his mayoral campaign.
The problem has been that, in a field overflowing with candidates of one stripe or another — a lawman, a local government veteran, a former mayor, a school board member, et al. — Gibson has lacked the focus that a single easy-to-digest descriptor might provide to distinguish him from his competitors.
He attempted to deal with that issue last Saturday by presenting a “six-point” plan and characterizing himself as a man of multiple dimensions, experienced in meeting a wide array of challenges.
“I’m a native Memphian, born in Dixie Homes, raised in South Memphis. I’m a Navy veteran, owner of three businesses, a wholesale distributorship, real estate development, and commercial printing.”
He proudly owned up to being the printer of the state’s lottery coupons. “Did y’all know that they were all printed here in Memphis?”
He identified himself with Memphis yet further by the very distinctive nature of his experiences — including, he pointedly noted, a successful, long-term “interracial marriage.” On hand last Saturday and prominently introduced were his wife Kathy and their two daughters, Savannah and Alicia.
Kathy Gibson is the president of Buckman Laboratories, one of the true ornaments of local industry. Buckman is a global specialty chemical company that conducts business in over 90 countries and employs approximately 1,700 associates.
Both the senior Gibsons are well known for the range of their contributions to numerous local arts programs and other causes.
Gibson’s six-point platform was unabashedly multiplicitous, as well. Among the points of it was the crime issue, the resolution of which depended on the coordinated activity of the entire community, he said, promising to invest in new crime-control technology and to hold a massive “crime summit” if elected.
Other platform points were economic and workforce development. Gibson lamented that the city had — some eight years ago, he said — divested itself of a workforce development program as such. (Others maintain that the city’s program was shifted over to the county under state mandate.)
Still another platform point was early childhood and youth development, apropos which Gibson proposed the restoration of direct city aid to Shelby County Schools — though not in the same measure as existed prior to the 2013 merger of city and county systems, followed by the creation of suburban municipal systems.
Gibson pledged to “bring back home” MLGW, which he called a “city division” but has enjoyed a partial autonomy of action. And he promised to create an annual showcase of Memphis music talent.
Last Saturday’s self-introduction was in the wake of a flurry of new yard signs advocating Gibson’s candidacy, and it will be followed up this week by ads on local TV.
Also hitting the tube this week was Sheriff Floyd Bonner with a 30-second biographical ad on all local stations pointing out that Bonner was the first African American to head the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
New TV ads were also purportedly imminent from candidates Paul Young and Van Turner, the latter of whom previewed one this week in online form.
That’s right, it’s everyone’s favorite time of the year again: Memphis Flyer Burger Week! For 2023’s celebration of the holy grail of classic American dining, we researched some of the best beef patties around and released our writers all over the city to sample some good ol’ Bluff City hamburgers. The usual suspects are out in force, while some newcomers showed off their tasty takes on ground chuck. All of the restaurants on the following pages are participating in Burger Week this year, so we went ahead and checked out what you can expect for some pretty cool $6.99 deals.
Old Bridge Burger – Loflin Yard
“Oh gee,” mused an indecisive diner during a night out on the town in Downtown Memphis. “What do I want to eat tonight? A hamburger? Some barbecue? Or maybe just a small snack of onion rings to tide me over?”
“Oh-ho!” chortled a voice just over his shoulder. “Trouble deciding what to eat tonight?”
“The Loflin Fairy!” the diner exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“Why, I’m here to solve your dinnertime woes with the Old Bridge Burger at Loflin Yard.” With a flourish, the Loflin Fairy snapped his fingers to conjure a plate out of thin air, topped with a hefty burger piled with all sorts of different accouterments. The diner leaned in, eyes wide, as his salivating gaze wandered over the myriad ingredients.
“It’s got a large Angus beef patty, coleslaw, pickles, barbecue sauce … wait, is that pulled pork on top of the burger? And some fried onion rings under the top bun?”
“Indeed it is,” laughed the Loflin Fairy.
“That’s so much food!” But when the diner looked up, the Loflin Fairy had vanished, leaving him alone with the large Old Bridge Burger, a side of fries, and a frozé for good measure. — Samuel X. Cicci 7 W. Carolina Ave.
The Celtic Burger (Photo: Jon W. Sparks)
The Celtic Burger – Celtic Crossing
Celtic Crossing’s old standbys — think shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash — are splendid, but if you’re hankering for a good ol’ hamburger, you’ll get a beefy serving of satisfaction at the classic Irish pub. The Celtic Burger starts with its blended patty that is nicely seasoned and sports a satisfying topper of American cheese. There is also a “secret sauce,” which implies a certain possible leprechaun involvement, but which my taste buds and some discreet inquiries revealed to have elements of ketchup and mayonnaise (probably not from County Mayo, though).
Verdict is: delicious. Rounding it out are pickles, tomatoes, and shaved lettuce. It all sits comfortably between two halves of a potato bun liberally festooned with sesame seeds. The dish comes with thick, savory fries, as one would expect from a Hibernian kitchen. The seeded bun itself is a delight, but, as will happen with robust burgers, might not stay intact through the end. This, however, is why the Irish invented forks, so you can enjoy it to the last morsel. — Jon W. Sparks 903 Cooper St.
World Famous Huey Burger (Photo: Shara Clark)
World Famous Huey Burger – Huey’s
When’s the last time you had a World Famous Huey Burger? For me, it’s been a year. Yep, when I signed up to eat this classic for this year’s Burger Week preview, I’d forgotten I volunteered to eat and write about the same burger last year.
Oops. Not to fret; it was a welcome change from my typical steak on a stick or potato soup order (I still got some soup to-go because, duh). And who doesn’t love a time-tested cheeseburger?
A perennial Flyer Best of Memphis “Best Burger” winner, the Huey’s standard features a 6-oz. certified Angus beef patty with all the fixings — mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickles, onion, and cheddar or Swiss cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. This is a somewhat hefty burger, so prepare to unhinge the jaw a tad to get a taste of all the goods in one go. The combination of juicy beef (medium-cooked for maximum results) and familiar condiments offers that summer backyard cookout flavor we all crave when a burger hankering hits.
Plan your Huey’s trip wisely. In a noon-hour lunch attempt, the line spilled into the lobby and out the front door at not one but three locations. Which on its own is a testament to the quality and longevity of this Memphis-favorite institution. — Shara Clark Multiple locations
Southern Smokehouse Burger (Photo: Michael Donahue)
Southern Smokehouse Burger – Tops Bar-B-Q
A regular Tops hamburger is now iconic. The Southern Smokehouse Burger is a cheeseburger with grilled onions, thick-cut bacon, and a sweet Southern glaze. That glaze drenching that bacon is over-the-top great. Or make that “over the Tops.”
They added the burger with its “smokey molasses-based glaze” as a limited-time offer for the summer, says Hunter Brown with Tops Operations LLC. He and Tops CEO Randy Hough were at the Tops location at 5144 Poplar Avenue the day I was there. Also at the restaurant were a bunch of guys from Christian Brothers High School. Hough and Brown let the guys sample the Southern Smokehouse Burger.
I asked the students what they thought. They liked the “nice texture,” “sweetness and flavor,” and the “sauce.” Another guy specifically said “glaze,” so he knows his cuisine. Brown says one of the guys told him it was “amazing.”
The Southern Smokehouse Burger is $5.99, which is below the Burger Week price point. “What we’re doing is giving the burger and a side of macaroni and cheese for $6.99,” Brown says. The mac and cheese is another new Tops item. — Michael Donahue Multiple locations
Sunrise Burger (Photo: Kailynn Johnson)
Sunrise Burger – Sunrise Memphis
Working for the Flyer has come with a lot of firsts, and this year’s Burger Week was no different. It was my first time trying an egg on a burger. Not too crazy, I know, but for someone who usually sticks to a regular cheeseburger, with the occasional addition of bacon, it can be intimidating. Alongside a sunny-side-up egg, the Sunrise Burger from Sunrise Memphis comes with a double smash patty, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, and jalapeño cream cheese spread, all served on a brioche bun.
When I told my dad about how nervous I was to try all these elements together, his reaction was, “I’m not going to lie, that sounds good,” and per usual, he was right. The ingredients seemed to work together in a way that “breakfast for dinner” does, and it was a nice mix of sweet and savory. The star of the burger would definitely have to be the bacon jam, as the sweetness doesn’t overpower the other elements, and works really nicely with the jalapeño cream cheese spread. While it’s not usually my first thought to visit a breakfast spot to satiate burger cravings, I think a new 20-minute commute is now in the rotation. — Kailynn Johnson Multiple locations
Soul Burger (Photo: Earnestine & Hazel’s)
Soul Burger – Earnestine & Hazel’s
Earnestine & Hazel’s iconic Soul Burger is a dose of Memphis magic served on a blanket of crinkly deli paper.
The ingredients are simple: a bun, patty, onions, cheese, pickle, and “Soul Sauce.” The bar says that’s “all that’s needed to make our delicious burger.” And it has been for years. But there’s something … else about the Soul Burger. Something transportive. But something also elusive. Just what, exactly, has made this humble burger such an essential stitch in the fabric of Memphis culture? Again, it’s hard to define.
But you feel it when the barkeep slides that little paper basket your way. The warm, little burger is just how you remembered. That first bite hits your taste buds and magically unlocks some core Memphis memory.
And never a bad memory. It’s beers and buddies, and the jukebox, and Mr. Nate upstairs, and the peeling paint, the “no dope smoken” sign, and how “ragged but right” (the bar’s ethos) fits it and the city so well, and somehow you feel at home in it all.
Have you been drinking? Probably! But that’s not what makes a Soul Burger taste so good. And neither, really, is it just pure nostalgia.
It’s the perfect blend of simple, savory ingredients done just right every single time. That’s what has brought generations of Memphians coming back for more soul. — Toby Sells 531 S. Main St.
DaLabSpecial (Photo: Chris McCoy)
DaLabSpecial – Dexter’s Lab 901
It’s a hot August night on Shelby Drive. Dexter’s Lab 901 food truck is posted up in a corner of the Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lot. As soon as the blue LEDs light up, cars gather around in a semicircle, waiting for Allante Armstrong’s grease and griddle to get hot enough to cook his signature wings and burgers. “And guess what? I ain’t even posted that I’m open yet!” says Armstrong. “That’s a blessing.”
Armstrong named Dexter’s Lab 901 after his younger brother who passed away from lupus. On the side of the truck, millennial cartoon science hero Dexter shares space with a smiling Dexter Wooten, eternally young.
The burger Armstrong serves up, DaLabSpecial, is a classic griddle burger with the traditional fixings served on two thick, buttered slabs of Texas toast. “I do it just to be different because everybody else put it on regular cheeseburger buns,” says Armstrong.
The burger is thick, but not overwhelming, and super juicy. The buttered buns soak up the ample drippings without falling apart. (Structural integrity is an underrated trait in all sandwiches.) Served half-buried in spicy crinkle fries, it’s ideal street food.
Armstrong gets into a groove, taking orders and juggling burgers on the grill and wings in the fryer. “It’s just something that turned into a hustle. I don’t really know how to cook. If you put me in a real kitchen, I wouldn’t know what to do. But I’m learning,” he says.
The guy next to me in line seems amused when he hears that. “[Armstrong] catered my sister’s wedding,” he says. “You tell ’em he’s good. He’s real good.” — Chris McCoy 6990 E. Shelby Dr.
The Memphis Belle (Photo: Michael Donahue)
TheMemphis Belle – Belle Tavern
They call them “designer burgers” because of their high quality, but they usually cost more than $10. These are hamburgers made with prime beef trimmings. They’re usually available at high-end restaurants.
Well, for Burger Week, Belle Tavern at 117 Barboro Alley (on the flipside of Union’s 117 Prime) is offering its hamburger, the Memphis Belle. According to the description from the restaurant’s general manager Jake Smith, who designed the burger, the hamburger is a quarter-pound patty of ground beef “from the trimmings of our USDA prime steaks, smoked Gouda, caramelized onion, house-made dill pickles, Prime sauce, on a toasted onion kaiser bun.”
Diners can tell the difference when they take a bite, Smith says. “You get all those textures and flavors working together.” The trimmings come from their whole rib-eye New York strips at 117 Prime. “We take these trimmings and get this grind.” USDA prime, he says, “is all about flavor and tenderness.”
They’re considering permanently adding the Memphis Belle to their menu at Belle Tavern. “We’re looking at this as a test drive. Get some feedback from our guests and see what they think.” But it will cost more. And, man, oh, man, those fries that come with it. “Fries are the secret weapon.” — MD 117 Barboro Alley
The Crazy Coop (Photo: Alex Greene)
Build Your Own Burger – The Crazy Coop
The Crazy Coop, which only opened its two locations this February, offers a back-to-basics take on the classic American burger. It’s a no-frills, artisanal approach that focuses on freshness, but one can build on that foundation to create the custom burger of your dreams. That’s because The Crazy Coop is much more than a burger joint. As the name suggests, they specialize in chicken, and especially wings (indeed, they only serve burgers at their Bartlett location). But while all their flavorful options, which include both classic wings seasonings and unique creations like BBQ Bacon Bourbon or Honey Habanero BBQ, originated in their dedication to hot wings, they encourage customers to apply them to burgers as well.
But I wanted to get down to the fundamentals: their basic, unadorned cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The flavor was exquisite. Owner/chef Darius Buckner explained that, having cooked since childhood, then working with a chef in Atlanta for decades, he was committed to seasoning and shaping the patties by hand himself. That attention to detail pays off in the nuanced flavors of their burgers. You could order up a bunch to go for a backyard cookout without ever firing up your grill. — Alex Greene 7199 Stage Rd. (Not available at Ridgeway location)
When Keisha Jackson isn’t baking and lavishly decorating cakes, she’s driving her 72-foot-long tractor trailer.
“I’m a trucker,” she says. “I’m owner/operator. I drive a semi. I drive a Freightliner.”
She’s also the owner of Tasty Pastry. She bakes cakes, cookies, and other items in her Cordova home.
Jackson, 35, who is married and the mother of four children, packs a lot into her day. On a recent Monday, she baked and decorated a 12-inch “number” cake for a sweet 16 birthday party and then made salmon lasagna for the family dinner before she left home at 9 p.m. to drive to Olive Branch, Mississippi, to pick up her truck and then head to West Memphis, Arkansas. “I run trailers from Memphis to West Memphis. The rail yard. Drop off one and pick up another. And I do that four times [a night].”
She finished about 7 a.m. Tuesday. She then returned home, cooked breakfast for her husband, showered, and went to bed. Growing up in Memphis, Jackson didn’t like to cook. “Because I’m the only girl. I have three brothers. So, I was a ‘little boy’ running around with them. We wrestled a lot. We watched wrestling on TV.”
She also liked to draw “little people.” She drew “little girls and boys. Mostly girls ’cause I would change their hairstyles.”
Jackson, who wanted to be a tattoo artist, drew tattoos on her arm with gel pens when she was in middle school. She also charged 25 cents to draw tattoos on other children’s arms.
Jackson got serious about cooking when she met her future husband. She already had one child and he had two. “I went from just being a mother of one to three overnight. With a live-in boyfriend, I had to learn how to cook.”
So, she says,“I started making meals that my mom made for us as a kid.”
Jackson began baking two years ago, after she had another baby. Since she was home every day, she decided to start baking and decorating cupcakes as a hobby. She bought a decorating kit on Amazon.
She was asked if she sold her cakes after she posted photos of her first elaborately decorated batch of “red roses with green leaves” cupcakes on Nextdoor. The cake she baked for that woman led to more cake and baked goods commissions.
Jackson, who is known for her over-the-top colorfully decorated cakes, says a “divorce cake” was the “most outlandish” cake she ever made. A woman had requested a two-tier teal-and-pink cake to celebrate the occasion. Jackson ordered a cake topper of “a woman spanking the man” as one of the decorations.
“She loved it. And she ordered a dozen cupcakes to go with it. She wanted little penises on the cupcakes. Oddly, they have a penis mold. So, I guess her husband was a dick.”
Jackson baked one of her cakes for the recent New Beginnings and Friends of Horn Lake Animal Shelter Hollywood Gala at Theatre Memphis. She made a Hollywood-themed cake decorated with “a red carpet. There were mini dogs on the cake. And I had cameras, popcorn, and a director’s chair.”
The only cake request that stumped her was from a woman who wanted a cake shaped like a shoe. “She wanted a tennis shoe for her son. A Nike Jordan.”
Jackson doesn’t feel she’s adept enough at this point to work with fondant, which she’d need to “make shoe strings and the little badges on the shoe and the holes on the shoe.”
She’d “literally have to try to make an exact replica of a shoe” if she wanted the cake to fit her standards.
Jackson made her own cake for her 35th birthday. “I put mini liquor bottles all over it,” she says. And, she adds, “It was all white with clear and silver liquor bottles with silver sprinkles and silver roses.”
But, she says, “My husband drank one of the mini liquor bottles before I put it on my cake.”
Jackson, who requests seven days advance notice for cakes and other baked goods, can be contacted at 901tastypastry.com.
