and Calvin – provides all three of these incredibly talented musicians with long overdue accolades. Gordon paints soul singer James Carr as the tragic figure that he was, while an interview with Mama Rose Newborn – wife of Phineas and mother of Phineas, Jr. Where Memphis Rent Party really shines, for this reader, is in Gordon’s tales of the eccentric and original talents that make Memphis a musical melting pot that has long struggled for the respect the city deserves. His chapter on Jerry Lee Lewis provides a deep assessment of the rock legend’s life and career without actually interviewing the subject, while Gordon’s conversation with singer Cat Power swings the pendulum in the exact opposite direction, providing a starkly revealing glimpse at the artist’s psyche. Still, Gordon fills in the edges with insightful anecdotes courtesy of a personal history with many of his subjects, and chapters on all of the aforementioned provide a greater understanding of their music or, in the case of Dickinson (an underrated figure in rock ‘n’ roll overall, IMHO), deeper knowledge of the individual. I admittedly brought a fair degree of familiarity with many of the musicians that Gordon profiles here, as I have also written about artists like Alex Chilton, Junior Kimbrough, Jim Dickinson, and Robert Johnson throughout my 45 years as a music journalist. Although, in my opinion, Gordon shorts bluesman Furry Lewis (one of my longtime faves) by relegating him to the book’s preface, the remainder of Memphis Rent Party more than makes up for this relative oversight by covering both non-musical trailblazers like Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, and outsiders like the late Jeff Buckley and indie-rock darling Cat Power whose fates are inextricably linked to the city on the big Mississippi River. Gordon’s Memphis Rent Party is a collection of essays, many of them previously-unpublished, that cover the gamut of musical styles and larger-than-life personalities that make Memphis a virtual breeding ground for unique and exciting American music.
With his latest effort, Memphis Rent Party, Gordon digs into his archives to spin a paean to the rich musical heritage of the Bluff City. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Gordon has spent 30+ years writing about Southern art and music, with an emphasis on his hometown sounds and the talented and eccentric artists who make the music. Grammy® Award-winning writer, filmmaker, and music historian Robert Gordon (no relation) is the author of some of my favorite books on music, including It Came From Memphis, Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion, and Can’t Be Satisfied, the very best Muddy Waters bio, bar none.
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