The first documented instance of a recording company
moseying on down south to Memphis to record the Memphis Sound occurred when
Victor Records came to cut the Memphis Jug Band almost 80 years ago at the Ellis
Auditorium in February, 1927. (That’s according to blues historian and
University of Memphis music professor Dr. David Evans.) Since then, Memphis as
a city has had one of the strongest recording careers in the whole industry of
recorded music.
Sam Phillips’ success really inspired others to come to Memphis
to record, including: Los Angeles’ Bihari brothers, who opened up Meteor
Records on Chelsea in the early ’50s; Jerry Wexler and his crew of Atlantic
clients who first recorded at Stax Records in the early ’60s and then at
American after Stax refused his business; and Larry Uttal, whose Bell Records
cut dozens of pop and soul hits at American in the ’60s and early ’70s. Today,
Memphis studios continue to have national and international recording stars come
to guzzle the heady stuff in our vineyard.
One of the most surprising
clients of recent note comes straight outta The O.C. Peter
Gallagher, he of the beetle brows. Gallagher, long a Broadway star and more
recently the father on the wildly popular The O.C., came to
Memphis this past June to soak up the Memphis Sound at Ardent Records. He hung
with Stax vets Steve Cropper and arranger Lester Snell, along with 3rd-generation
soul stars of Joss Stone’s band. Another testimonial to the great musicians and
studios that Memphis continues to have.
How did this session come about? Apparently Gallagher sang
Solomon Burke’s “Don’t Give Up on Me” on The O.C. last fall and an
enterprising producer, Mike Mangini (also Joss Stone’s producer), came up with
the idea of cutting Gallagher doing a whole record of soul covers and classics.
Mangini brought Stone’s band to town and partnered them up with a couple of
Memphis soul legends, producing what will soon be out as a dual disc (a disc
with video on one side; music on the other) as well as a CD. The CD is
7 Days in Memphis. The dual disc features video of Gallagher cruising
around Memphis musing on his career, as well as on Solomon Burke, on Memphis
soul, and why he is singing soul music.
The music itself is solid Memphis soul — with input
from Betty Wright as well as some of Memphis’ finest players. While many
critics will dismiss the idea of an actor having a singing career (even though
Gallagher has sung on stage for years), the bigger point of all this, for
Memphis at least, is that the big shots know where to come to get the authentic
soul sounds: Memphis studios with Memphis musicians (Another film star, Steven
Seagal, is also one who knows a good thing in Memphis when he hears it —
having announced last week that he is doing a blues record in Memphis).
Astonishingly, the Memphis Sound will probably be featured some time this
fall on one of TV’s hottest teenie-bopper show — more proof of the
staying power of Memphis soul. Surely, the idea of having a hit record promoted
by a hit TV show crossed Mangini’s mind when booking the sessions; it’s
something any major record label would die for in these difficult days of record
sales. The O.C. has been breaking indie rock bands like Modest Mouse and
Death Cab for Cutie. Will they be able to sell soul music to this group of
kids? 7 Days in Memphis comes out next week on Epic. It’s not easy
getting Steve Cropper back to Memphis for a recording session. Let’s hope there
are more to come.
Secret Stuff:
Did one of the members of the White Stripes cut music for a commercial in a
Memphis studio for an unnamed product in an unnamed country this summer? Is
there a major positive announcement forthcoming for an historical outdoor
mid-town Memphis amphitheater?
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