Memphis Mayhem:
A Story of the Music that Shook Up the World by David A. Less
Michael Hepworth
HOLLYWOOD (Perfect Music Today) 5/28/20/–Foreword by Peter Guralnick, author of Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley The definitive story of the birthplace of rock and roll
Memphis Mayhem weaves the tale of the racial collision that led to a cultural, sociological, and musical revolution. Lively and comprehensive, this is a provocative story of finding common ground through music and creating a sound that would change the world.
Beginning with the 1870s yellow fever epidemics that increased racial imbalance as wealthy whites fled the city, David Less moves from W.C. Handy’s codification of blues in 1909 to the mid-century advent of interracial musical acts like Booker T. and the MG’s, the birth of punk, and finally to the growth of a music tourism industry.
Billy Gibbons: “There’s truly no place like Memphis and this is the story of why that is. HAVE MERCY!”
The definitive tale of the birthplace of rock and roll
David A. Less has studied Memphis music for over 40 years, and has conducted research for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Gibson Guitar Foundation. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, DownBeat, Blues Revue magazine and the Bulletin for the Society of American Music. He is a third-generation Memphian who still lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
Title: Memphis Mayhem | Subtitle: A Story of the Music that Shook Up the World Author: David A. Less | Pub Date: October 6, 2020 | ISBN: 978-1-77041-508-9 Specifications: 6 x 9″, 232 pp, paper | Price: $16.95 U.S. / $21.95 CDN US Distributor: Baker & Taylor Publisher Services CAN Distributor: Jaguar Book Group
Susannah Ames at ECW Press: susannah@ecwpress.com
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