New York, NY (Top40 Charts) When Memphis' Beale Street - a hub of music and activity since the 1860s - was being plowed under for "urban renewal" in 1976,
James Luther (Jim) Dickinson - who had played with the Stones, Ry Cooder, and the Flamin' Groovies (later with
Bob Dylan and the Cramps among others), as well as produced Big Star, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Alex Chilton (also, The Replacements, Green On Red, and Mudhoney) — decided to not only celebrate the legacy of great
Memphis music, but make the mythic street back into the place where both the blues and rock 'n' roll originated.
A cadre of
Memphis musicians, photographers, artists, thespians, and "appropriate weirdos" gathered under Dickinson's direction to record the heart of Beale Street, past and present. From blues legends Furry Lewis and Sleepy John Estes to singer-songwriter Sid Selvidge and Dickinson's own Mud Boy & the Neutrons, Beale Street Saturday Night is an unparalleled audio trip through
Memphis music history.
Recorded in places varying from artists' homes, to Ardent Studios, to the Orpheum Theatre, Beale Street Saturday Night was originally created as a fundraiser for the
Memphis Development Foundation to help restore Beale Street's legendary Orpheum Theater. This reissue will serve a similar purpose, as a portion of the proceeds will go to support the radio program Beale Street Caravan, which focuses on
Memphis music, new and old.
Omnivore Recordings' April 14, 2015 reissue of Beale Street Saturday Night (on CD, digital, and LP on clear vinyl with download card) features new liner notes from producer Jim Lancaster (who worked on the original release) and previously unseen photos by Omnivore's resident
Memphis expert Pat Rainer, who also worked on the original recording, as well as a cover photo by
William Eggleston.
This first-ever reissue of Beale Street Saturday Night was curated under the supervision and with the blessing of the Dickinson family. It finally makes widely available this important music and historical
Memphis document for new audiences to discover.
According to Luther Dickinson, "Only in
Memphis would young white record producers put such raw black music and storytelling together to create an integrated southern masterpiece. Only in the grooves of this record does this
Memphis exist, the ghosts telling the stories to the kids, aged memory and youthful fantasy combining to create a world all its own. Only
James Luther Dickinson could have produced Beale Street Saturday Night. World
Boogie is coming."
To read more from Luther Dickinson, visit
https://www.omnivorerecordings.com/music/beale-street-saturday-night
In 1977,
Memphis was officially declared "Home of the Blues" by an act of Congress.
So, welcome home.
Track Listing
1. Walkin' Down Beale Street — Sid Selvidge
2. Hernando Horn — Fred Ford
3. Beale Street Blues — Grandma Dixie Davis
4. Big Fat Mama/Liquor Store — Sleepy John Estes
5. Ol' Beale Street Blues —
Prince Gabe
6. Furry's Blues — Furry Lewis
7. Rock Me Baby— Teenie Hodges
8. Rock Me Baby — Alex
9. "Ben Griffin was killed in the Monarch . . ."
—
Thomas Pinkston
10. Frisco Blow — Johnny Woods
11. On the Road Again — Mud Boy & the Neutrons
12. "Mr. Handy Told Me 50 Years Ago . . ."
—
Thomas Pinkston
13. Chicken Ain't Nothin' But a Bird — Furry Lewis
14. Roll on, Mississippi — Grandma Dixie Davis
