Tuesday Top Ten: Songs Recorded in Memphis

Having just visited the self-proclaimed "Home of the Blues" and "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" (the latter of which I agree with, and the former of which is partially correct), it seems appropriate to pay homage to the many great songs recorded in Memphis. I had the pleasure of visiting Sun Studios and the Stax museum (which stands on the same location as the former Stax Records studio), so it's fresh on my mind. So many great artists have recorded in Memphis, from Howlin' Wolf to Elvis to Isaac Hayes to U2 to Johnny Cash to Otis Redding, to name a few. In fact, when I thought of this list, I had certain songs in mind. Then I started doing some research -- since I'd hate to leave anything out -- and I found that there were even more great songs recorded in Memphis than I had previously known about.

Without further ado, here are what I think are the ten greatest songs recorded in Memphis:

10 (tie). "LaGrange" by ZZ Top.
An unmistakable riff and a song about a whorehouse. I'm not sure if there is a better formula for creating a great rock song.

10 (tie). "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley.
This was The King's last of 18 #1 hits, and it has always been one of my favorites. Cool off, bitch. She's just an old friend stopping by to say hello.

9. "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes.
This is just a badass song about one bad mother. I'll shut my mouth, even though I'm just talkin' 'bout Shaft.

8. "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The MGs.
Arguably the greatest instrumental song in rock history, "Green Onions" happened by accident, while the band (who was the house band for Stax Records, and played on just about every Stax recording in the '60s) was jamming after another recording session. Incidentally, Booker T. Jones is an IU grad. Holla.

7. "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave.
Co-written by Isaac Hayes, this is yet another soul classic brought to you courtesy of Stax, the MGs, and the Memphis Horns.

6. "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green.
This is Al Green's signature song, and it was also the song that Jessie and I played during our first dance, so obviously it has some special meaning to me.

5. "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats.
Recorded at Sun Studios and widely considered to be the first rock and roll song, this 1951 song might be the most historically important song on this list.

4. "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins.
This is a rockabilly classic, widely recognized as one of the most important and influential early rock songs.

3. "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash.
"I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." That might be the greatest line in recorded music history outside of Wesley Willis.

2. "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis.
This is a balls-out, sexually charged, rollicking one minute and fifty seconds of wailing and boogie-woogie piano. I guess we shouldn't have expected less from a man nicknamed "The Killer," who is insane enough to marry his 13-year-old cousin (his third wife by the time he was 23, mind you).

1. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.
Recorded in the weeks before Redding's untimely death, this song is simply a classic, even though it was unfinished (the now-famous whistling was simply meant as a placeholder for a verse that Redding hoped to later write). Nonetheless, it was released after Redding's death and went on to become his only #1 hit, as well as the first U.S. song released posthumously to crack Billboard's Hot 100.

This was a tough list. It was really hard not to put another Elvis song on there, but most of his great songs were recorded outside of Memphis. Plus, there wasn't a song on the list that I could rationalize taking off. Here are the other songs considered, but ultimately rejected: "Cry Like a Baby" by The Box Tops; "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash; "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd; "Moanin' at Midnight" by Howlin' Wolf; "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Albert King; "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" by Jerry Lee Lewis; "Last Night" by The Mar-Keys; "Ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison; "Honey Don't" by Carl Perkins; "In the Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett; "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley; "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding; "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding; "Stand" by R.E.M.; "Alex Chilton" by The Replacements; "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam and Dave; "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers; "Who's Makin' Love" by Johnnie Taylor; "Do the Funky Chicken" by Rufus Thomas; "Angel of Harlem" by U2; "When Love Comes to Town" by U2 and B.B. King; "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top; "Legs" by ZZ Top.

With all of the great songs recorded in Memphis, I'm bound to have missed some. Let me know.