The Memphis blues again

Memphis, the legendary birthplace of the blues, has throbbed with the sounds of some of the greatest American popular music in the twentieth century: from ragtime and jazz, through the blues, r&b, and rock and roll, to gospel, soul, and funk. And for over fifty years Ernest Withers has documented the Memphis music scene in and around Beale Street. So many of the great musicians and performers are included: W. C. Handy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and many more. And Withers photographed them in situ: in the dancehalls, recording studios, auditoriums, churches, and streets of Memphis. These photographs are a fundamental visual archive of the musical legacy of Memphis -- and one powerful aspect of the photographic legacy of Ernest WithersThe photographs are reproduced in stunning duotone plates and were selected by award-winning author Daniel Wolff who also wrote the introduction and the extended captions. See Ray Charles playing piano at the WDIA Goodwill Revue, Elvis Presley bumping and grinding at the Club Paradise in 1960, Aretha Fran