Memphis Mayhem

Memphis gave birth to music that changed the world — Memphis Mayhem is a fascinating history of how music and culture collided to change the state of music forever

“Music writer Less presents a fascinating history of the music of his native Memphis … Less brings to vivid life the music of Memphis.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“David Less has captured the essence of the Memphis music experience on these pages in no uncertain terms. There's truly no place like Memphis, and this is the story of why that is. HAVE MERCY!” — Billy F Gibbons, ZZ Top

Memphis Mayhem weaves the tale of the racial collision that led to a cultural, sociological, and musical revolution. David Less constructs a fascinating narrative of the city that has produced a startling array of talent, including Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Al Green, Otis Redding, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Justin Timberlake, and so many more.

Beginning with the 1870s yellow fever epidemics that created racial imbalance as wealthy whites fled the city, David Less moves from W.C. Handy’s codification of blues in 1909 to the mid-century advent of interracial musical acts like Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the birth of punk, and finally to the growth of a music tourism industry.

Memphis Mayhem explores the city’s entire musical ecosystem, which includes studios, high school band instructors, clubs, record companies, family bands, pressing plants, instrument factories, and retail record outlets. Lively and comprehensive, this is a provocative story of finding common ground through music and creating a sound that would change the world.

Short Description

The fascinating history of how so-called Black and white music came together in Memphis to change the state of music forever. David Less has conducted research on the history of Memphis music for more than 40 years and offers a unique and engaging perspective for blues and rock ’n’ roll fans.

Sales and Market Bullets

• Foreword by renowned music historian Peter Guralnick.


• David Less is a third-generation Memphian and has amassed extensive knowledge about his birthplace through interviews, research, and lived experience.


• “Memphis had a deserved reputation as a racist city, but it is also the place where Black and white musicians have traditionally made music together onstage and in recording studios. As the home to murderers and thieves, artists and entrepreneurs, old money and extreme poverty, Memphis gave birth to music that changed the world.” — excerpt from Memphis Mayhem

Audience

• Fans of blues, early rock and roll, and classic country music


• Fans of Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Sam Phillips, etc.


• People interested in the Memphis music scene history and the history of race relations in American music history


• Readers of Rolling Stone

• Excerpt and review pitching to music publications: long lead, weeklies, and digital


• Review pitching to lifestyle magazines, long lead, weeklies, and digital


• Author interviews on culture-focused talk radio (CBC and NPR)


• Targeted email newsletter outreach


• Outreach to influential musicians featured in the book for social media promotion


• Spotify advertising


• Author events in Tennessee


• ARC giveaways through ECW Insiders, LibraryThing, NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc.

David A. Less has studied Memphis music for over 40 years, and has conducted research for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Gibson Guitar Foundation. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, DownBeat, Blues Revue magazine and the Bulletin for the Society of American Music. He is a third-generation Memphian who still lives in Memphis, Tennessee.