Can anything really change in twenty-four hours? Can everything? What if a woman, tired of bad choices and broken hearts, traveled a thousand miles to the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, and spent a night forgetting her past in the blues clubs of Beale Street? What if a man who lost his wife to cancer ventured to Beale Street's social scene for the first time in over a year? And what if they met and realized love was still possible for them both? Both Dakota James and Ethan Meriweather have given up on finding happiness in a relationship. When they meet in downtown Memphis, neither has romance on the brain. But as the evening unfolds, and small talk turns to the stuff of hopes, dreams, and shared loss, a kinship grows that neither expects. Before the night is over, though, Dakota's past will catch up with her in the form of a violent ex-boyfriend. As dawn approaches and tragedy threatens to tear Dakota and Ethan apart, both will have to make a snap decision that could change their lives-forever. Warning: Mild profanity

An assistant curator of Munich's National Museum, Vicky Bliss is no expert on Egypt, but she does have a Ph.D. in solving crimes. So when an intelligence agency offers her a luxury Nile cruise if she'll help solve a murder and stop a heist of Egyptian antiquities, all 5'11" of her takes the plunge. Vicky suspects the authorities really want her to lead them to her missing lover, the art thief and master of disguises she knows only as "Sir John Smythe." And right in the shadow of the Sphinx she spots him. . . with his new flame. Vicky is so furious at this romantic stab-in-the-back, not to mention the sudden arrival of her meddling boss, Herr Dr. Schmidt, that she may overlook a danger as old as the pharaohs and as unchanging. . . a criminal who hides behind a mask of charm while moving in for the kill.

“Reveals the stories and legends of conjurers and healers from the arrival of African slaves on Memphis plantations to blues musicians on Beale Street.” —Preston Lauterbach, author of Beale Street Dynasty Widely known for its musical influence, Beale Street was also once a hub for Hoodoo culture. Many blues icons, such as Big Memphis Ma Rainey and Sonny Boy Williamson, dabbled in the mysterious tradition. Its popularity in some African American communities over the past two centuries fueled racial tension—practitioners faced social stigma and blame for anything from natural disasters to violent crimes. However, necessity sometimes outweighed prejudice, and even those with the highest social status turned to Hoodoo for prosperity, love, or retribution. In this book, Tony Kail traces Memphis's colorful Hoodoo heritage from the arrival of Africans in Shelby County to the growth of conjure culture in juke joints and Spiritual Churches. Includes photographs

Million Dollar Quartet’ is the name given to recordings made on Tuesday December 4, 1956 in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The recordings were of an impromptu jam session among Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.The events of the session. Very few participants survive. Includes interviews with the drummer and the sound engineer. A detailed analysis of the music played – and its relevance to subsequent popular music. The early lives and careers of the quartet – where they were in 1956. Relevant social and economic factors which meant that a massive audience of young people were keenly looking for a new kind of music they could call their own. The “reunions” of surviving members of the quartet. The emergence of the tapes, first on bootleg and then on legitimate CDs. The genesis of the stage show and its reception – the enduring appeal of the music.

This is the first of two volumes that make up what is arguably the definitive Elvis biography. Rich in documentary and interview material, this volume charts Elvis' early years and his rise to fame, taking us up to his departure for Germany in 1958. Of all the biographies of Elvis - this is the one you will keep coming back to.

Musical performance has been a part of television since the introduction of the medium. The styles and production requirements of music and of television have long influenced the other. Murray Forman gives the history of this interaction, going back to the early years of television, before the broadcast networks, up through the late fifties. He explores the full range of popular music from show tunes to Latin in a wide variety of television programs, and shows how the standards of presentation and performance developed.

"Courageous." -Ilan Stavans, author of Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez came from opposite sides of the tracks of race and class that still divide Americans. Both optimists, Kennedy and Chavez shared a common vision of equality. They united in the 1960s to crusade for the rights of migrant farm workers. Farm workers faded from public consciousness following Kennedy's assassination and Chavez's early passing. Yet the work of Kennedy and Chavez continues to reverberate in America today. Bender chronicles their warm friendship and embraces their bold political vision for making the American dream a reality for all. Although many books discuss Kennedy or Chavez individually, this is the first book to capture their multifaceted relationship and its relevance to mainstream U.S. politics and Latino/a politics today. Bender examines their shared legacy and its continuing influence on political issues including immigration, education, war, poverty, and religion. Mapping a new political path for Mexican Americans and the poor of all backgrounds, this book argues that there is still time to prove Kennedy and Chavez right.

(Book). In 1957, Buzz Cason formed The Casuals, one of the first rock bands in Nashville. Over the next four decades, he worked successfully as a performer, songwriter, producer, actor and recording studio pioneer. He wrote the hit song "Everlasting Love," published the award-winning songs "Honey" and "Little Green Apples," sang with Roy Orbison, Kenny Rogers, Brenda Lee and Jimmy Buffet, and recorded with such artists as Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard and The Gatlin Brothers. This book is about freedom, adventure and, above all, music and the fun Buzz Cason has had being an integral part of it for almost 50 years. This book is an insider's view of the early days of rock'n'roll, from a man whose experiences influenced music history. Buzz's story is for everyone, from the aspiring young musician looking to break into the business as a performer or songwriter, to the fan, reflecting on life, music and dreams. Endorsed by Kris Kristofferson!

MEMPHIS THE MUSICAL: THE COMPLETE BOOK AND LYRICS

Marking a dramatic new direction for Jones, a riveting tale set in the Post WWII South, narrated by a Black soldier who returns to Jim Crow and searches for a mythical ideal Set in the early 1950s, this latest novel from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Gayl Jones follows the witty but perplexing army veteran Buddy Ray Guy as he embodies the fate of Black soldiers who return, not in glory, but into their Jim Crow communities. A cook and tractor repairman, Buddy was known as Budweiser to his army pals because he’s a wise guy. But underneath that surface, he is a true self-educated intellectual and a classic seeker: looking for religion, looking for meaning, looking for love. As he moves around the south, from his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, primarily, to his second home of Memphis, Tennessee, he recalls his love affairs in post-war France and encounters with a variety of colorful characters and mythical prototypes: circus barkers, topiary trimmers, landladies who provide shelter and plenty of advice for their all-Black clientele, proto feminists, and bigots. The lead among these characters is, of course, The Unicorn Woman, who exists, but mostly lives in Bud’s private mythology. Jones offers a rich, intriguing exploration of Black (and Indigenous) people in a time and place of frustration, disappointment, and spiritual hope.