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When you think of music states in America, Tennessee naturally comes to mind. Numerous music genres, from unheard to beloved around the world, started here, including country, bluegrass, rock n’ roll, gospel, and blues. While Nashville understandably gets a lot of attention, Memphis was where the blues took its first breaths. It wasn’t just anywhere in Memphis either. Beale Street, the iconic live music, bar, and dining strip in downtown, was the epicenter of blues music and remains integral to the genre’s performers and lovers today. However, this historic Tennessee district wasn’t always an icon and very nearly became abandoned in the 1980s.
Memphis is the best music city in Tennessee that isn’t Nashville thanks to the music history, culture, sights, and sounds along Beale Street. It’s odd to think that Beale Street was almost lost not so long ago. The neighborhood started really thriving between the 1890s and 1930s, when it was the main entertainment district for Black residents in Memphis. It attracted blues musicians, nine-to-five professionals, business owners, families, and entertainers. The neighborhood was really hitting its stride in the ’40s and ’50s, before becoming the Beale Street Historic District in 1966. This was the moment Beale Street and all its character, history, and culture were almost completely lost forever…