Memphis, Tennessee

From the desk of  Ned P. Rauch

Here's a nice piece in Monday's NY Times by Verlyn Klinkenborg about Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee." I quite like how ol' Verlyn writes (and I love his name). He's both clear and descriptive, never veering into the dry on one side or purple on the other. As for his thoughts on Chuck's tune, I'm with him—it deals with some heavy, heavy stuff with just the right details and the perfect amount of narrative information. The version that first carried me away is by Bill Morrissey and Greg Brown. It's on their album Friend of Mine. One point of contention: Verlyn refers to the song's bridge; I don't think it has one. It's got a few different parts, yes, but nothing that functions as a bridge, per se. Just sayin'.