Beale Street
Musicians from all over the world come to Memphis, Tennessee to visit Beale Street. They want to hear the music that made Beale Street famous. They want to listen to the blues.
Beale Street History
Beale Street was not always known for music. After it was built in 1841, it became a business center. Steamboats traveling up the Mississippi River would stop in Memphis. They would sell goods to merchants who owned shops on Beale Street.
After the Civil War, African Americans began moving to Memphis after leaving the plantations and farms of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. African American musicians who moved to Memphis played their music on Beale Street.
Soon, African Americans from all over the South were visiting Beale Street. They went to hear and play music. By the early 1900s, musicians and business people had started many music clubs on Beale Street. Bands from all over the country wanted to move to Memphis and Beale Street.
The music began to change as musicians from many parts of the South came to Memphis. The music used gospel and folk tunes but the words were often about the tough times African Americans faced. Beale Street became a center for this new music begun by African Americans. A musician named W.C. Handy gave that new music a name.
W.C. Handy and “The Memphis Blues”
In 1909, W.C. Handy came to Memphis with his band, the Knights of Pythias. Handy wrote a song for a man running for mayor of Memphis. He called it “Mr. Crump” after E.H. Crump, the candidate for mayor. The song became very popular.
In 1914, Handy published the song under a new title, “The Memphis Blues.” Some people said it was the first blues song. Handy himself said he did not invent the blues, but he brought it to a large audience.
Through the 1940s, many famous musicians played on Beale Street. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and B.B. King played there. Armstrong played jazz and King played blues. Other musicians began calling the music heard on Beale Street the Memphis Blues.
In the 1960s, Beale Street got run down. Many shops and clubs closed.
A Landmark Street
In 1966, Beale Street became a National Historic Landmark. Later, in 1977, the United States Congress named Beale Street the official “Home of the Blues.” Local lawmakers began spending money to clean up Beale Street. Businesspeople built new clubs and shops.
Beale Street is now the home of a chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Every spring the street hosts the Beale Street Music Festival. Visitors can hear famous musicians from all over the world as well as local musicians. One thing visitors know they will hear is the blues music that made Beale Street famous!