Memphis is a State of Mind

“I came from a period where people who looked like me, in
order to connect in a market that didn’t have all the access of internet and
all of those kind of things had to find a way to make the possibilities of that
more real. The best way to do that based on the evidence of time was to find
the individuality that created the essence of uniqueness for you. In many
instances, when people would find that, they would find themselves and they
would know where that pocket was.”

-Legendary STAX Records Producer David Porter speaking to
Quest Love on his podcast

“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play
like yourself”

-Miles Davis

“You blows who you is”

-Louis Armstrong

Memphis is it's Own State. It's a State of Mind.

Words Jeff Merrill

Photos Nicky Atkins

At last year’s Ed Murphey Classic press conference, Anna Hall let the audience in on a phrase that had been occupying her mind: “His Timing.” She’d written it on her shoe.

The phrase jives with Memphians. Housekeepers listen to worship service in hotel hallways without headphones, their phones pressed up against their ears. It’s a city of believers.

“I’ve been really close to things in meets that I wanted to do but haven’t done yet.”  Consistency is a common theme in a sport where you need to perform on a single day.

At the same press conference, Jamaican sprinter Oblique Seville said: "When you're consistent, you show people you're a world class athlete". It takes a long time to become consistent, to become who you are.

"There’s a depth of craft attained by simply doing it
night after night."

-Bruce Springsteen

Athletes travel around the country to meets in Memphis, Atlanta, Portland, Nashville, Los Angeles, never knowing when the timing will be right, when they’ll be touched by the angels. WDIA in Memphis was the first black radio station in the United States. David Porter of Stax Records said that the individuality from artist to artist heard on the station was impactful to young kids at the time. It was for him. The artists played blues joints around Memphis and up and down the Delta and recorded in the studios on Beale Street. You’ve gotta keep doing the thing to get better. Getting better is finding your way. Individuality comes from confidence and confidence comes from practice.

It can be tempting to run fewer meets to maximize paydays- there’s nothing wrong with getting a house in the hills- but what could be gained in riches is lost in style, craft and influence.

The athletes who show up become legends in these communities and they find themselves in the process. They make a difference. They become who they are.  They hit the road and perform in cities who choose to love and welcome the sport as part of the fabric of their community, like the juke joints and blues bars. Trying different things they picked up from other artists on the road. Honing their craft. Becoming a professional.

The musicians heard on WDIA influenced the next generation. David Porter produced Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin. He influenced the Wu-Tang Klan, Eminem and Drake. Quest Love had him on his podcast because he and the Memphis sound were so impactful. It didn't have to happen in Memphis, but it did, because people did it, and kept doing it.

No one knows where the best riffs were laid down, when the magic struck and the atmosphere was just right. There are tales floating through the cicada screaming groves along the Mississippi told by those who saw something.

The timing isn't exactly invited by the work, but it tends to favor it, and you can’t receive it if you don’t show up. You’ve got to show up and play you in order to get closer to your true self. Once in a while, the supernatural strikes in the sweltering midsummer evenings on the western edge of Tennessee.

The good lord helps those who help themselves.