Beale Street

. Beale Street was created in 1841 by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp (1807–1876), who soon named it later in the decade for Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a military hero from the Mexican–American War. (The original name was Beale Avenue.) Its western end primarily housed shops of trade merchants, who traded goods with ships along the Mississippi River, while the eastern part developed as an affluent suburb. Speakers at the Church Park Auditorium included Woodrow Wilson, Booker T. Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1938, Lewis O. Swingler, editor of the Memphis World Newspaper, a Negro newspaper, in an effort to increase circulation, conceived the idea of a "Mayor of Beale St.," having readers vote for the person of their choice. Matthew Thornton Sr., a well-known community leader, active in political, civic and social affairs and one of the charter members of the Memphis Branch of the NAACP, won the contest against nine opponents and received 12,000 of the 33,000 votes cast. Mr. Thornton was the original "Mayor of Beale St." an honorary position that he retained until he died in 1963 at the age of 90. One notable white musician who drew inspiration from the music of Beale Street was Elvis Presley. By the 1960s, Beale had fallen on hard times and many businesses closed, even though the section of the street from Main to 4th was declared a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1966. The day-to-day management of Beale Street was turned over to the City of Memphis in an October, 2012 court decision after a long legal dispute involving the city, BSDC and Performa. During the first weekend of May (sometimes including late April), the Beale Street Music Festival brings major music acts from a variety of musical genres to Tom Lee Park at the end of Beale Street on the Mississippi River. The festival is the kickoff event of a month of festivities citywide known as Memphis in May. In 2020, in Memphis, the Beale Street Historic District and the WDIA radio station were added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. ==Attractions==

• Hard Rock Cafe (126 Beale) • Blues City Cafe & the Band Box (138-142 Beale) • Blues City General Store (144 Beale) • B. B. King's Blues Club (143 Beale) • Memphis Music (149 Beale) • Club 152 (152 Beale) • The Shadows - 3rd floor of Club 152 (152 Beale) • Tater Red's (153 Beale, permanently closed) • Walking Pants Curiosities (151-153-155 Beale Street) • Miss Polly's Soul City Cafe (154 Beale; permanently closed) • Alley Katz (156 Beale) • King Jerry Lawler's Hall of Fame Bar & Grille (159 Beale) • King's Palace Cafe (162 Beale) • A. Schwab's (163 Beale) • The Pig (167 Beale) • Beale Street Tap Room (168 Beale) • The Black Diamond (153 Beale) • Johnny G's Creole Kitchen (156 Beale) • Strange Cargo (172 Beale) • Rum Boogie Café (182 Beale) • Silky O'Sullivan's (183 Beale) • FedExForum (191 Beale) • Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum (191 Beale) • Alfred's on Beale (197 Beale) • Beale Street Blues Gifts (200 Beale) • Dyer's Famous Hamburgers (205 Beale) • Wet Willies (209 Beale) • People's Billiard Club (323 Beale) • Coyote Ugly (326 Beale) • Historic Daisy Theatre (329 Beale) • The New Daisy Theatre (330 Beale) • Mr. Handy's Blues Hall • Eel Etc. Fashions (333 Beale) • Withers Collection Museum and Gallery (333 Beale) • Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk (310 Beale) • Lil Anthony's Cafe (341 Beale) • W.C. Handy historic home (352 Beale) • Red Rooster (340 Beale; permanently closed) • The Beale Street Flippers ==Musical references==

• A 1920s blues duo, Beale Street Sheiks, comprising Frank Stokes and Dan Sane • The song "Beale Street Blues", written by W. C. Handy, contains the oldest known references to Beale Street. • Joni Mitchell's song "Furry Sings the Blues" is a lamentation of the redevelopment of Beale Street in the late 1960s. It references W. C. Handy and both the Old and The New Daisy Theatres, among others. • Cab Calloway's song "Beale Street Mama" is all about Beale Street. • Todd Agnew's song "My Jesus" says that the singer thinks Jesus would prefer Beale Street to the stained glass crowd. Agnew's song "On a Corner in Memphis" also references Beale Street. • Marc Cohn's 1991 single "Walking in Memphis" includes the lyric "walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale" in the chorus. • Eric Church's 2015 song Mr. Misunderstood featured the lyric "Every soul on Beale Street danced". • Arkells 2016 song "Drake's Dad" featured the lyric "We were rolling down Beale street/In the Tennessee summer heat". • Self's song "Sophomore Jinx", a critique of the music industry, mentions "all the blues down on Beale". • Jimmie Rodgers' "Standing on the Corner (Blue Yodel No. 9)" references the "corner of Beale and Main". • Jimmy Buffett song “Cinco de Mayo in Memphis” featured the lyric “Meanwhile down on Beale Street”. • Bette Midler's song "Midnight in Memphis", from the 1979 film The Rose: "Runnin' down on Beale Street. Can you hear that engine roar". • John Lee Hooker's 1952 song "Walkin' The Boogie (Alternate Take)": "I was walkin' down Beale Street". • Clutch's song "The Devil & Me", on the album From Beale Street to Oblivion, contains a reference to Beale Street. • In 2002, David Nail's song "Memphis music video featured images of Memphis. • Beginning in the year 1987, local band FreeWorld, led by Richard Cushing and featuring prominent saxophonist, Herman Green, is the longest, continuously performing band in Beale Street's history. • The Guy Clark 2006 song "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis", on his album Workbench Songs includes the lyrics, "Meanwhile down on Beale Street / Drinking in a Beale Street bar". ==See also==