At one time, A. Schwab General Store and Soda Fountain was the only store open for business on Beale Street. Founded in 1876, it has been in continuous business since then, and is still independently owned, with two Schwab family members still on staff. It has been closed for business only twice: during the Yellow Fever epidemic of the late 1800’s and during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It only makes sense, then, for the establishment to champion all things Memphis. And if you’re on Beale Street, Memphis means music. The store has carried records since the 1930s, and has a large collection of vintage records once sold there, including “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith, arguably the first blues record ever recorded. Indeed, A. Schwab’s archives pre-date the age of phonography, holding several player piano rolls, including W. C. Handy’s “Beale Street Blues,” and numerous examples of sheet music.
In keeping with this fine legacy, the store has announced a significant new focus on such holdings, the “Memphis Music Vinyl” department, to be celebrated in a special event, an official Record Store Day Launch Party on June 12th, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., staged in partnership with Shangri-La Records. The event will include door prizes, special event sales, an exclusive ticketed evening concert AND free chocolate “45 rpm records” made by Memphis chocolatiers Dinstuhls to be given to the first 45 people purchasing vinyl.
Terry Saunders, owner of A. Schwab’s, first contacted local musician Amy LaVere about the idea of expanding the music department. “Jake [Saunders] and I are so in love with the rich music history of Memphis, as well as the depth and breadth of talent in the contemporary music scene,” she says. “We felt it should be showcased in vinyl in keeping with the store’s long history of selling records.”
Consulting Shangri-La Record’s John Miller, and other Memphis music aficionados such as It Came From Memphis writer Robert Gordon, and label owner Bruce Watson (Fat Possum, Big Legal Mess, Bible & Tire Recording), LaVere curated the new “All Memphis Then and Now” vinyl record collection and it is impressive. No genre or era is left behind.
The special ticketed event begins at 5 pm and features a live interview and brief performance by Gospel Soul artist Elizabeth King, hosted by charismatic WYXR DJ Reverend Juan D. Shipp. Elizabeth King’s latest release Living In The Last Days recently reached #2 on the Billboard Blues Charts. At 77 years old, the gospel singer and mother of 15 children has a fascinating life story, recently detailed in this Memphis magazine profile.
Ms. King will be followed by John Paul Keith, who will be playing songs from his stellar brand new LP release, The Rhythm Of The City.
Tickets for the special event can be purchased directly through Amy LaVere, via A. Schwab’s General Store.
