Memphis is a city with an identity problem. Though conservative and traditional, it has spawned several of the most important musical forms of the 20th century (blues, rock 'n' roll, and soul). And although it has been unable to cash in on this musical heritage (in the profitable way Nashville has with country), Memphis is still the mecca of American music. Memphis started out as an important Mississippi River port, but urban sprawl has carried the city's business centers ever farther east -- so much so that the Big Muddy has become less a reason for being than simply a way of distinguishing Tennessee from Arkansas. With a population of a million people in the metropolitan area, Memphis is reinventing itself.
Memphis is primarily known for being the city where Graceland is located, but how long can the Elvis craze sustain itself? A city needs diversity and an identity of its own. To that end, in the past few years Memphis has made considerable progress. One of the greatest hurdles to overcome has been the legacy of racial tension that came to a head with the assassination here of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the rioting that ensued. Racial tensions are still frequently named as the city's foremost civic problem, even though the casual observer or visitor may not see any signs of these difficulties. Racial tensions combined with post-World War II white flight to the suburbs of East Memphis left downtown a mere shell of a city, but today, this is changing.
These days, downtown is the most vibrant area in the metropolitan Memphis area. A new baseball stadium, the renovation of Beale Street (known as the home of the blues), and a spate of newly constructed museums, hotels, restaurants, and shops are breathing fresh life into downtown Memphis. This has succeeded not only in keeping office workers after-hours to enjoy the live music in the street's many nightclubs, but luring residents in the outlying suburban areas to flock downtown as well -- a concept that was unheard of 10 years ago.
For the time being, though, Elvis is still king in Memphis. A quarter-century after the entertainer's death, Graceland remains the number-one tourist attraction in the city. Throughout the year, there are Elvis celebrations, which leave no doubt that this is still a city, and a nation, obsessed with Elvis Presley. Less popular but equally worth visiting are such attractions as Sun Studio, where Elvis made his first recording, the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, which has displays on Elvis and many other local musicians who made major contributions to rock, soul, and blues music.
