Backroads of American Music

• Homes of the Stars! Memphis Style

  Article by Preston Lauterbach Photos by Justin Fox Burks As you know, we here at Backroads deeply value the unmarked landmarks of our grand music history. Owing to the Bluff City's unparalleled legacy as a foster of talent, Memphis, Tennessee contains... Posted Apr 13 2008, 02:19 PM by Preston with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Memphis, Sites, Johnny Ace, Regions: Memphis, Booker T. Jones, Aretha Franklin, Memphis Minnie

• Sam "Black Smoke" Wiggins

  We ran up on Black Smoke one night at the Boom Boom Room on Thomas Street in North Memphis, back when it was called the J&J . Nice enough dude. We chatted awhile, emptied intoxicating golden liquid into our bellies from chilled aluminum cylinders... Posted Apr 13 2008, 01:21 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Blues, Sam "Black Smoke" Wiggins

• James "Brick" Brigance: South Memphis Muralist

  [Words and photos by Justin Fox Burks] While working on a story about Memphis rappers 8Ball and MJG for Wax Poetics , I started to notice all the hand-painted signs on buildings around the neighborhood Orange Mound. The ones that stood out to me were... Posted Mar 31 2008, 02:23 PM by Preston with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Brick, James "Brick" Brigance

• "Big" Don Valentine

  Don Valentine’s nickname won’t blow anyone away. The drummer-entertainer behind the Hollywood All-Stars, Valentine keeps it simple and honest with his tag: Big. When we chatted about meeting up for an interview, Valentine seemed accommodating about the... Posted Nov 12 2007, 07:02 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Blues, "Big" Don Valentine

• O.T. Sykes: "The Singing Dentist"

  O.T. Sykes has the finest nickname this side of Jessco White. The similarities between Sykes and the "Dancing Outlaw" end there, though. Sykes comes from a family of professionals who stress hard-work and education. He's been a successful... Posted Oct 22 2007, 05:00 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Soul, O.T. Sykes

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