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“Walking in Memphis”
“Walking in Memphis” cover
Single by Marc Cohn
from the album Marc Cohn
Released 1991
Genre Rock
Length 4:18
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Marc Cohn
Marc Cohn singles chronology
"Walking in Memphis"
(1991)		 "Silver Thunderbird"
(1991)

"Walking in Memphis" is the signature song of American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, from his self-titled 1991 album Marc Cohn. Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959) is a Singer-songwriter and Musician. Marc Cohn is the self-titled debut album by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, released in 1991 See also 1991 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1991 Record labels A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Atlantic Records ( Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American Record label best known for its many recordings of Rhythm & blues, Rock A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959) is a Singer-songwriter and Musician. Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959) is a Singer-songwriter and Musician. A signature song is the one Song (or in some cases one of a few songs that a popular and well-established The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959) is a Singer-songwriter and Musician. Marc Cohn is the self-titled debut album by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, released in 1991 The song became Cohn's biggest hit, peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, after being re-released in fall 1991, reached #22 on the UK chart. The popularity of this song helped Cohn win the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1991.

Contents

Story

The story behind this song: the singer, Cohn, was a young aspiring singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state He'd never been to Memphis before; in fact he'd never traveled at all. Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Upon reaching the south he was very moved emotionally after seeing an Al Green sermon, and underwent both spiritual transformation and professional growth. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Al Green is referenced in the lyrics as "Reverend Green. " It was there in Memphis he met his first wife Cindy, about whom he wrote the acoustic cult classic "Cindy Sue, I Love You". Acoustic music refers to music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means as opposed to Electronic means A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. The evocative song contains references to Elvis Presley and W. C. Handy. William Christopher Handy ( November 16 1873 &ndash March 28 1958) was a Blues Composer and Musician, often

Many people believe "Walking in Memphis" to be by Bruce Springsteen, and many websites and fan sites credit the song to him. This is, in fact, not true. Bruce Springsteen has never even covered "Walking in Memphis"; his association with the song is an urban myth proliferated by internet downloads.

The song is often misattributed to Bruce Hornsby on peer-to-peer file sharing networks and elsewhere. Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23 1954 in Williamsburg Virginia) is an American singer Pianist, Accordion player and songwriter For other uses of the term see Peer-to-peer (disambiguation For peer-to-peer networks used for file sharing see File sharing See Shared resource for the conventional meaning of file sharing File sharing refers to the providing and receiving of digital files over a Hornsby has in fact never recorded a version of the song despite the extreme similarity between the vocals. [1]

Meaning

The song opens with an allusion to Elvis referencing the protagonist putting on his "blue suede shoes. " Blue Suede Shoes " is a Rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955. " The reference to "Blue Suede Shoes" is not actually about Elvis Presley, but about Carl Perkins, who recorded the song in Memphis for Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Carl Lee Perkins ( April 9, 1932 &ndash January 19, 1998) was an American pioneer of Rockabilly music a mix of Rhythm Perkins' ill-luck in a car wreck stopped him from touring to promote the record, allowing Elvis' cover version to become a massive hit. Presley's copy was recorded at RCA studios in Nashville. The narrator tells of seeing "The ghost of Elvis up on Union Avenue and followed him up to gates of Graceland. " Sam Phillips' studios were called "Memphis Recording Service" and were at 706 Union Avenue. Elvis' start on the journey to fame and fortune (i. e. Graceland) is usually attributed to the success of "Blues Suede Shoes" - and that of "Heartbreak Hotel. " "Security didn't see him" is probably a comment on the story that Bruce Springsteen once successfully scaled the wall at Graceland, trying to deliver a song he wrote. Apparently, Elvis wasn't there. "There's catfish on table and gospel in the air" marks the dichotomy between secular and sacred. Catfish is the standard Blues metaphor for sexual intercourse. (The word is also interchangeable with the slang expression for the female sex zones). "Catfish" thus would appeal to the bodily instincts, whereas "gospel" would be to the intellect. The metaphor gains more credence since Al Green supposedly renounced secular music after being scalded with grits by a jealous girlfriend. The lyrics refer to the girl waiting in the Jungle Room. This was the name of the play area at Elvis' Graceland mansion where he and the crew would take care of business (TCB).

After touching down in the "land of the Delta Blues," he asks W. The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of Blues music. C. Handy to "please look down over me. " Although he has a first class ticket, he's as "blue as a boy can be. "

From this opening verse, the narrator seems to be following in the footsteps of Elvis Presley, and his plea to W. C. Handy would appear to reflect his desire to work in music. After the second chorus, the narrator talks about Memphis, ending with the line "but, boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis," reflecting his hopes, and the probable reason he made the journey. In the chorus, he describes himself as "walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale," a reference to the famous street in Memphis and to the fact that in times of happiness, one can be described as walking ten feet off the ground. Beale Street is a street in downtown Memphis Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street a distance of approximately.

The second verse describes a visit to Elvis' home, Graceland, where the narrator sees the ghost of Elvis and follows him up to the gates. Graceland is the name of the 138 acre estate and large white-columned mansion that once belonged to Elvis Presley, located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis He also describes a "pretty little thing, waiting for the King, down in the jungle room," which could be a reference to Lisa Marie in the famous Graceland jungle room (It is believed that Lisa Marie would sit waiting for Elvis to return in the Jungle room - her teddy bear can still be seen located on her chair in the room). Lisa Marie Presley (born February 1 1968 is an American Singer-songwriter.

The final verse describes the narrator being asked to "do a little number" for Muriel who plays the piano at the Hollywood, a cafe in what is now Tunica Resorts, Mississippi. Tunica Resorts is an unincorporated community located in northern Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, north of the county seat of The line, "Muriel plays piano every Friday at The Hollywood" is a reference to a local artist who played at the Hollywood Cafe, which is a small diner/music joint in Tunica County, Mississippi. Muriel has passed away, but The Hollywood is still there - you drive right past it to go to several of the casinos now located in Tunica. In arguably the song's most memorable line, when she asks Cohn, who was born Jewish, whether he's a Christian, he replies, "Ma'am, I am tonight. "

Cher version

“Walking in Memphis”
“Walking in Memphis” cover
Single by Cher
from the album It's a Man's World
Released October 13, 1995
Recorded 1995
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:59
Label Warner Music
Writer(s) Marc Cohn
Producer Craig Kostich
Cher singles chronology
"Love Can Build a Bridge"
(1995)		 "Walking in Memphis"
(1995)		 "One by One"
(1996)

Cher released the song as the first UK single release from her thirtieth album It's a Man's World. Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 It's a Man's World is the twenty-second album by American singer-actess Cher, released on November 6 1995 by Warner Bros Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 See also 1995 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1995 Record A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 " Love Can Build a Bridge " is a hit single from American Country music mother-daughter duo The Judds from their 1990 album of the same name " One by One " is the first US and second European official single release from American singer/actress Cher's twenty-second album It's a Man's World on January Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It's a Man's World is the twenty-second album by American singer-actess Cher, released on November 6 1995 by Warner Bros The song peaked at #11 on the British charts. Cher also performed it on her Do You Believe? Tour and some legs of her three-year Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. The Do You Believe? Tour, sometimes also known as The Believe Tour, was Cher ’s third solo Concert tour. The Living Proof Tour, more famously known as The Farewell Tour, after a while known as The Never Can Say Goodbye Tour, was Cher ’s final career Concert

This version is noteworthy in that it is reversed in regard to gender, replacing Muriel with Gabriel and "ma'am, I am tonight" with "man, I am tonight. "

The Cher version of the song was a notable part of the conclusion of The X-Files episode "The Post-Modern Prometheus. The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter " The Post-Modern Prometheus " is the fifth episode of season 5 of television series The X-Files. "

Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Turkey (Airplay) 2
Norway 7
UK 11
Sweden 13
Austria 17
Europe 36
Germany 63

Other covers

External links

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