In "It Came From Memphis", Robert Gordon seeks to provide a context for the more often told stories about Memphis music. Memphis icons Elvis, B.B., Otis, et al are certainly present, but Gordon focuses attention on the type of history that is assumed common knowledge by locals and seldom studied by outsiders.
While Memphis experienced its first "golden age" as a mecca for country blues artists during the 1920s, Gordon loosely chronicles a timeline from the late 1940s through the 1970s with an eclectic history that includes, among other things, the significance of Sputnik Monroe and Lash LaRue to Memphis music. Gordon makes an excellent defense for his premise that Memphis music is the direct result of the collision of cultures in Memphis: black and white, rural and urban, rich and poor. Gordon describes the unique alliances and tensions that made (and continue to make) the city fertile musical ground.
Gordon occasionally wanders outside even his loosely defined bounds, and it is here that the book suffers. When he describes the West Memphis club scene, and chronicles the current generation of Memphis musicians' introduction to blues, jazz, and soul he's right on target. These stories serve to frame the larger story of the birth of rock and roll and soul music. Indeed, even Sputnik Monroe's peculiar rantings give an insight into influences often ignored.
But Gordon's treatment of the early to mid 1970s frequently overindulges in stories of reckless drug abuse and wanton parties. Not that he doesn't get it right (I was there. It really was like that.), its just that there really isn't much difference in a stoned guitarist in Memphis and a stoned guitarist in Wichita. In particular, Gordon's treatment of Campbell Kensinger is puzzling. Although Kensinger was an integral part of the Memphis music scene during the early 1970s, Gordon's account focuses on Kensiger's drug problems and his inability to pass up a fight.
Despite these weaknesses, "It Came From Memphis" offers insight into the music scene that gave birth to rock and roll and southern soul. Recommended for Memphis music fans of all stripes.