Category: Flyer Flashback

In late February 2000, city officials were planning the rebuilding of the legendary Stax recording studio in South Memphis. In conjunction with that plan, the city hoped to revitalize the blighted neighborhood surrounding the old Stax site at McLemore and College.

In the February 24, 2000, issue, writer Chris Davis issued a call to artists in his “Artists Sought for Soulsville Gateway Project” story: “The plan is to create a series of murals (though other art forms may be considered) that will reflect the ‘Soulsville’ neighborhood’s unique history.”

The project was headed by the UrbanArt Commission. Murals were planned for the neighborhood’s four gateways: the railroad trestles on Bellevue, north of Severson; a trestle on Mississippi Boulevard near Booker T. Washington High School; an area of Porter Street near LeMoyne Gardens; and the overpass at Walker near LeMoyne-Owen College.

Eventually, artist Arnold Thompson was selected for the project. Thompson created a mural — featuring Warhol-esque portraits of Isaac Hayes, Aretha Franklin, and other Stax stars — on the retaining walls under the railroad trestle on Bellevue.

But the UrbanArt Commission was unable to raise enough funds to cover the other three murals, and according to project manager Elizabeth Alley, the commission was unable to get permission to paint on some of the other railroad properties.

Said Alley: “If we were ever able to revisit that project, I think we would, since the neighborhood has changed so much over the years.”

— Bianca Phillips

Twenty years ago this week, the Memphis Flyer made its debut with a 20-page inaugural issue.

In a letter to readers, then and current publisher Kenneth Neill promised a “bold, sassy, controversial, entertaining, and informative” publication that would serve as “a community bulletin board.”

The issue, which covered February 16-22, 1989, was led by a cover story from associate editor David Lyons called “Poison for Profit,” about the local Velsicol Chemical Corporation’s export of “possibly carcinogenic” pesticides that had been banned from agricultural use in the U.S. to Third World countries in South America and Africa, something that had prompted Greenpeace protests at the local plant.

It wasn’t all heavy stuff though. Columnist Lydel Sims set a familiar tone by waxing sarcastic about the in-progress Pyramid arena project: “Here we are with the beginnings of a pyramid, and what are we going to do about it?” Sims wrote. “For a start, let’s change the title of one or both of our mayors to pharaoh. What other city has a pharaoh? We could have two. Pharaohs [Dick] Hackett and [Bill] Morris would electrify the country.”

In a “Rumor Mill” column, the paper dished on the return of Moonlighting star Cybill Shepherd and heralded the arrival of a new political entity that had “become a force to be reckoned with in West Germany” and was supposed to “clash interestingly with the traditional black and white of Memphis politics.” Yes, that paradigm-shifting political game-changer: the Green Party, which was forming its first local chapter. — Chris Herrington

The Memphis Flyer‘s first ever “Hotties” issue may have made its debut only five years ago but skimming through past Valentine’s Week stories shows that from the beginning our paper has been rather obsessed with things bold, beautiful, naughty, nice, and downright nasty.

In February 1991, to celebrate the Flyer‘s “Terrible Twos,” the staff assembled a “What’s Hot” list that included “obscene art,” “dirty music,” and “flat-tops on jocks.” Noting that the economy was in recession, the hot-list entry for topless bars included some semi-serious speculation that strip joints like Tiffany’s (RIP) had a better year than First Tennessee Bank.

In 1997, Leonard Gill leafed through Inter Courses, a cookbook devoted to aphrodisiacs. Inter Courses included entries for favorites like oysters, chilies, grapes, and honey, as well as surprises like pine nuts, black beans, and rosemary. But truth be told, nobody was buying this book for the recipes. To show just how sexy food can be, Memphis photographer Ben Fink shot a variety of male and female nudes clothed in nothing but delicious looking edibles.

The term “wardrobe malfunction” was coined in 2004, when Memphian Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast during halftime at the Super Bowl. Afterward, Bill Bomar, Timberlake’s grandfather, supported his grandson’s claim that Jackson’s northern exposure was an accident, saying, “I’m as proud as I can be [of Justin]. I’m so proud sometimes I could just bust the buttons on my shirt.” The Pesky Fly responded to Bomar’s comments, saying, “No you don’t, Grandpa. NO YOU DON’T!” — Chris Davis

In honor of the Flyer‘s 20 anniversary, we’re looking back at past stories.

On January 17, 1998, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally downtown to demonstrate against Martin Luther King Day. The Flyer had several reporters on the scene. This is from Phil Campbell’s cover story in the January 22, 1998, issue:

“The Ku Klux Klan won, and most Memphians couldn’t even get close enough to see them in their sheets, screaming their racial epithets.

“The American Knights of the KKK won because they accomplished exactly what they had set out to do. As police shot canisters of ‘Clear Out’ tear gas into a growing crowd of anti-Klan protesters, Memphis Police Director Walter Winfrey had the white supremacists escorted from the courthouse steps to their cars more than a block away.

“And, as anti-Klan protesters — some gang members, most not — ran through the streets of downtown chased by police, Klan members were able to set their VCRs so they could watch themselves on the evening news. The Klan had gotten the media attention they wanted, both locally and nationally, without so much as stubbing a toe in the process. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which city officials had hoped to celebrate with dignity and some pomp, was mostly forgotten. …

“The event was, all at once, a spectacle, a significant moment in history, an insult the mayor should have prevented, a sign that racism is dying in America, an indication that Memphis had been set back 30 years, a chance to express nonviolent protest, a potential opportunity to cause trouble. It was a moment of unity and another example of our divided society. Whites clustered together with whites and chanted left-wing ideology while blacks stayed with other blacks, played Tupac Shakur, and danced a hip-hop of protest.”

This week in 1995, in “Games People Play,” columnist Richard Cohen confessed to a relatively new addiction: computer solitaire.

At the time, Microsoft included two games — Minesweeper and solitaire — in its Windows computer package. But it was solitaire that sucked Cohen in.

“I warn you not to start [playing solitaire], not to move even a single black queen onto a red king, lest, before you know it, you’ll have missed your deadline for a book, imperiled your marriage, and neglected your family. …

“In a casual way, I would from time to time mention solitaire to others. I found, both to my joy and my horror, that many others were similarly addicted. One of my editors, a person of immense erudition and onetime voluminous reader, has turned over her life to the game. She sits before her computer, playing solitaire over and over when, of course, she should be reading fine books and otherwise improving herself. Worse, she cheats.”

Now, almost 15 years later, with the proliferation of e-mail, reader comments, and social networking, one can only wonder how much time Cohen spends on Facebook.

— Mary Cashiola

To celebrate the Flyer‘s 20th anniversary year, we will be revisiting articles from the Flyer archives each week. This week, we take a look at the late Dennis Freeland’s sports column, “Troubled Tigers,” from the January 7, 1999, issue. The Tigers, under new coach Tic Price, had lost three games in a row, and team chemistry was lacking:

“The sky was the limit back in those heady days of November. Even with a home loss to Gonzaga, Memphis started out 6-2. After an overtime win over Ole Miss, the future still looked bright. But in a week’s time, three events completely altered the course of the season. Marcus Moody injures a knee in practice, [Jimmie ‘Snap’] Hunter becomes eligible to play and joins the team in time for a trip to Arkansas just as word leaks out that freshman Paris London is thinking of transferring to another school. …

“Price will quickly learn that Memphis fans don’t like to settle for the NIT. And they absolutely will not stand for losing seasons. ‘Tic Finch,’ some fans were heard to grumble as they left the Pyramid following the UAB loss. Of course, that isn’t fair to either coach, but Memphis fans are not always fair. They see a group of talented players and wonder why the record is 6-6, why Memphis has lost home games to Gonzaga, Southern Miss, and UAB. Yes, Finch used to win those games.”

Ten years later, Tiger fans have a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which is that Tic Price is gone and John Calipari has transformed the U of M program into a consistent national power.

— Bruce VanWyngarden

Although the battle over the riverbluff walk seems to have drawn to a close, Jacqueline Marino explains why the fight may not be over.

Read the full story in our pre-2000 archives