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 are performers are included: WC Handy, Muddy Waters, BB King, Elvis Presley, Same 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 Withers.
