10 Best Rock Songs About Memphis, Tennessee

Feature Photo: Frédéric Barriol

Memphis, Tennessee, founded in 1819 along the Mississippi River, is a city steeped in history and cultural significance. Once a critical hub for cotton trade and commerce, Memphis later became inseparable from the history of blues, soul, gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. Few American cities have had such an enormous impact on popular music, from Beale Street and Sun Studio to Stax Records, Graceland, and the generations of musicians who came through the city searching for a sound of their own.

Of course, when you think of Memphis, the first name that likely comes to mind is Elvis Presley. Graceland remains one of the city’s best-known landmarks, but Memphis’ musical story stretches far beyond Elvis. The songs on this list approach the city from very different directions: some use Memphis as a literal setting, some connect it to major figures and events in American history, and others treat it as a symbol of musical roots, longing, escape, and inspiration.

From Marc Cohn walking through the city and Paul Simon heading toward Graceland to Bob Dylan being stuck with the Memphis blues and John Hiatt longing for a shot of Memphis rhythm, these songs show how deeply the city lives inside American music. This is our look at 10 of the best rock songs about Memphis.

# 10 – “Dixie Chicken” – Little Feat

Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken,” the title track from the band’s 1973 album, opens with the bright lights of Memphis and the Commodore Hotel before unfolding into one of Lowell George’s great Southern stories of romance, whiskey, memory, and regret. Written by George with Martin Kibbee, who was also credited under the name Fred Martin, the song became one of Little Feat’s signature recordings and helped define the expanded lineup that included Paul Barrere, Kenny Gradney, and Sam Clayton. Produced by George, the track blends rock, funk, country, blues, and New Orleans-influenced rhythm into exactly the kind of musical mixture that makes Memphis such a natural setting for the story.

Read More: Top 10 Little Feat Songs

# 9 – “Pride (In the Name of Love)” – U2

U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” released in 1984 as the first single from The Unforgettable Fire, connects Memphis to one of the most important and tragic moments in American civil rights history. Written as a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the song refers directly to his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, although Bono’s famous “early morning” lyric is historically inaccurate; King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel shortly after 6 p.m. Produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, “Pride” reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of U2’s defining anthems, using Memphis not as musical scenery but as the site of sacrifice, history, and remembrance.

Read More: Discovering The Band U2

# 8 – “Truck Drivin’ Man” – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Truck Drivin’ Man” was written by Ed King and Ronnie Van Zant and recorded at Studio One in Doraville, Georgia, in 1973, but the track remained unreleased until it appeared on the 1987 compilation Legend. Produced by Al Kooper, the recording features Van Zant on vocals, Gary Rossington and Allen Collins on guitars, Billy Powell on piano, Ed King on bass, and Bob Burns on drums. The song’s road narrative moves south from Memphis toward New Orleans, making the city a starting point in a hard-driving Southern travel story, and the belatedly released track reached No. 12 on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart in 1987.

Read More: Top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs

# 7 – “Black Velvet” – Alannah Myles

Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet” became an international hit because it wrapped a tribute to Elvis Presley in a slow, bluesy groove filled with Southern imagery. Written by Christopher Ward and David Tyson and produced by Tyson, the song directly invokes Memphis as part of the world that created Elvis and the musical revolution around him. Released from Myles’ self-titled debut album, “Black Velvet” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, making it one of the most successful songs ever written about the mystique surrounding Elvis and the musical South.

Read More: Top 10 Alannah Myles Songs

# 6 – “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again,” from the 1966 double album Blonde on Blonde, uses Memphis less as a literal destination than as part of the song’s surreal language of frustration, repetition, wandering, and the blues. Recorded in Nashville with producer Bob Johnston and musicians including Charlie McCoy, Kenny Buttrey, Joe South, Al Kooper, and others, the track moves through a parade of strange characters and situations before returning again and again to its unforgettable refrain. Dylan’s official catalog confirms the song as part of Blonde on Blonde, and its combination of Memphis, Mobile, blues imagery, and dream logic makes it one of the most distinctive geographical songs in his entire catalog.

Read More: Best Bob Dylan Songs Of The 1970s

# 5 – “Memphis in the Meantime” – John Hiatt

John Hiatt’s “Memphis in the Meantime,” from his 1987 album Bring the Family, treats Memphis as the cure for musical restlessness. Recorded at Ocean Way in Los Angeles during the famously fast sessions that paired Hiatt with Ry Cooder on guitar, Nick Lowe on bass, and Jim Keltner on drums, the song finds its narrator craving the rhythm-and-blues energy associated with Memphis while poking fun at the country sound surrounding him. Produced by John Chelew, the track works because its humor never gets in the way of its real point: Memphis represents authenticity, groove, and the possibility of being musically recharged.

Read More: Top 10 John Hiatt Songs

# 4 – “Graceland” – Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” the title track from his 1986 album, turns a trip to Elvis Presley’s Memphis home into a journey through heartbreak, memory, family, and the hope of being received somewhere after loss. Simon’s own lyric explicitly places Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, while the recording blends American songwriting with the South African musical influences that shaped much of the album. Graceland won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and the title track went on to win Record of the Year in 1988, giving Simon one of the most acclaimed recordings ever built around a pilgrimage to Memphis.

Read More: Top 10 Paul Simon Songs

# 3 – “Walking in Memphis” – Marc Cohn

Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis,” released in 1991 from his self-titled debut album, is probably the most direct musical tour of the city on this list. Written after Cohn’s own trip through Memphis and the surrounding region, the song moves through Graceland, Beale Street, gospel, W.C. Handy, Al Green, and the unforgettable encounter with Muriel at the Hollywood Café in Mississippi. Produced by Cohn and Ben Wisch, the single reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100; Cohn won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, while “Walking in Memphis” itself received Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Read More: Top 10 Marc Cohn Songs

# 2 – “Memphis” – Johnny Rivers

Johnny Rivers transformed Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee” into one of the defining hits of his early career with the live recording issued simply as “Memphis” on 1964’s At the Whisky A Go Go. The original article incorrectly placed the track on Here We A Go Go Again!, but Rivers’ own discography confirms that “Memphis” came from his first Whisky album. His harder-driving version of Berry’s story about a man trying to reach his young daughter in Memphis became a No. 2 hit in the United States and helped establish Rivers as one of the signature performers associated with the Whisky a Go Go era.

Read More: Top 10 Johnny Rivers Songs

# 1 – “Guitar Man” – Elvis Presley

Closing our list is Elvis Presley’s “Guitar Man,” written by Jerry Reed and recorded by Elvis on September 10, 1967, at RCA Studio B in Nashville with Reed himself playing guitar. The song is not a Memphis recording, but Memphis appears directly in its story as the struggling musician heads there looking for work, which gives the track an obvious place on this list and an added layer of meaning when sung by Elvis. Released first on the Clambake soundtrack album and then as a single in early 1968, “Guitar Man” captured a tougher, more contemporary side of Presley and helped point toward the artistic resurgence that followed.