ABSTRACT
MEMPHIS Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the largest inland cities of the American South, and since the Civil War it has become one of the country’s largest African American urban communities. In speech pattern and dialect, religious traditions, and cuisine-highlighted by its barbecued ribs-but especially in its music, shares the cultural attributes not only of the South in general but also those of the Mississippi Delta cultural region on whose northern edge it lies in particular. Its geographic location has made Memphis an economic and cultural crossroads that has marked its history and character. The city claims to be the birthplace of several musical styles, from blues to rock ’n’ roll to soul, and the home of a vibrant and diverse religious community associated with that music.
