Anyone who has ever listened to Rock and Roll, Soul, Rhythm, and Blues or Country Music should run not walk to the amazing Rock and Soul Museum in Memphis. The address is Beale St but in reality, it is about a block off, right across the street from the Gibson Guitar Company.
Your visit begins with a video that lasts about 15-20 minutes. When it is over you are handed an audio tour that you follow through the museum.
You begin your journey traveling through the rural south in the 1920-s and 30-s where the life of the sharecropper was hard and their music was a way to take them away from the harsh realities. In the fields and on the front porches both black and white they made music that was the roots of rhythm and blues and also of Country Music.
By the 1940's the invention by the Ford Motor company of a tractor that could plow the cotton fields had decimated the tenant farmers of the south. The landlords no longer needed them and many families moved to cities like Memphis, Detroit, and Chicago. They brought their musical style with them and the North was introduced to the likes of which they had never heard.
It wasn't until 1953 that they found what they had been looking for, a white man who sang like a black man. His name was Elvis Presley and in him, all the pieces came together. Once Elvis had opened the door, there were many singers who went rushing through it and a whole new sound was born.
What this museum is all about is the development of that sound. You will see and hear about the record studios where the sound was born, the radio stations that promoted it and the singers and songwriters who made rock and roll and soul what they are today.
Names like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Al Green, and B.B. King are found and expounded upon. All along the way, you will have the opportunity to not only read about the history of Rock and Soul but to hear the songs that made the 50's and 60's such a revolutionary time.
Your audio tour tells the story but there are over 90 opportunities to play songs through that audio guide. Groups like the Carter family and singers like Jerry Lee Lewis bring the sound right to you.
Rock and Roll was a revolution built on the poverty in the rural south and on the disapproval of parents. Without this combination, Rock could have never thrived the way it did.
If you only have time for one museum in Memphis, make it this one. All the music that we enjoy today had its start in Memphis over 50 years ago and it is a nostalgic trip down the musical memory lane for any baby boomer.
This Museum is part of the Smithsonian Museum so you can be assured that everything is done well. Allow at least two hours and if you love music, allow more.
The entrance is $12 for adult and they do have an AAA discount but they won't offer if you don't ask. The tour finishes at the gift shop which is small but has a few interesting items.
A parking garage is located near the Peabody Hotel or if you are lucky there is metered parking along the street. This may be my favorite museum of all times; I guess that remains to be seen.
Tennessee was a very active state during the Civil War. Many of the sites where battles were fought in this state had to do with transportation. The fact that the western border of the state of Tennessee is the Mississippi River made it vital to both the Union and to the Confederacy.
Part of the Union's plan for winning the war was to control the Mississippi River. It was one of the early decisions that proved successful and helped to win the war for the Union.
The Union began their campaign in Cairo, Ill. and worked their way down the Mississippi River. In February 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant led a Union force of 15,000 against first Fort Henry and then Fort Donelson. This was a major blow to the Confederacy as it opened the door to Union control of this part of the Mississippi River.
Fort Henry was a minor skirmish with only 119 casualties. The Confederates had a force of over 12,000 at Fort Donelson and this was a major confrontation that lasted several days. Union forces had swollen and though reports differ, it is believed to have been between 25,000 and 35,000. Casualties were high, a total of almost 4,000 from both sides not including the missing.
The war moved south along the Mississippi River and in April, one of the major battles of the Civil War was fought. Up to this point, casualties had been relatively light, that was going to change. When the two sides met at Shiloh Church, devastation followed. Before the fighting was over, almost 24,000 men had died. The first day of the battle favored the Confederates but they suffered a major blow in the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston.
Overnight, reinforcements arrived at the Union Army from Nashville and the second day went to the Union with the Confederates retreating by days end. Both sides were stunned by the ferocity of this battle and it was a wake-up call to those who thought this was going to be a shortived and relatively bloodless war.
Chattanooga was a major rail center and controlled a vital spot on the Tennessee River. Once the western part of Tennessee was under Union control, it was deemed time to control the eastern part and put a strangle hold on the ability of the Confederacy to ship goods and men.
In June 1862, the first skirmishes took place at Chattanooga, but it wasn’t until over a year later in November 1863 that the major battle for the control of Lookout Mountain took place. It was to be a Union victory and the south never controlled this area again.
The Battle of Franklin took place in and around Carnton Plantation. It was one was the most savage battles of the war. On November 30, 1864 40,000 men met on the field of battle. Much of the combat was hand to hand. The battle only lasted for 5 hours but it left 2500 dead, 7000 wounded and 1000 missing. The hurting that it placed on the Confederate Army would lead to the eventual end of the war in April 1865.
These are just some of the Civil War battlefields in Tennessee. Tennessee was the site of many other battles, both small and large, and to this day retains many of the scars and memorials to the many Americans who lost their lives there on both sides.
