I’m walking in Memphis. Walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale!
I’m a Marc Cohn fan and have been singing this song since it came out. Now I know what he’s talking about, as I’ve just walked along Beale Street.
This song launched Marc Cohn’s career as a struggling musician when he met 70-year old Muriel playing piano in a bar and poured his heart out to her. Have a listen on YouTube. You’ll be hooked if you’re not already!
I’ve also written a post with a bunch of great things to do in Memphis that you might like to see. And after four visits to Graceland, you can see my photos inside the Mansion in this post, plus info on the types of tickets and tips for your visit.
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Iconic Beale street is a just couple of blocks from the famous Peabody Hotel, where most people go to watch the famous ducks who live in a luxury house on the rooftop, then walk a red carpet into the lobby fountain every day. I’ve stayed four times, and it’s my total favorite!
The pedestrianised part of Beale Street, where all the action is, runs from S Second Street down Beale to S Fourth. BB King’s Cafe sits on the corner of S Second and Beale, so start there and wander on down, letting your ears guide you.
Beale Street is the main drag of music bars, closed to traffic for two blocks so you can wander along the road, pop into souvenir stores and follow your ears to the bar that has the sound you’re after. I have a couple of suggestions …
On selected Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm, they charge $5 to enter and also have security scanning in place.
Start at BB King’s Cafe, grab a drink here with whoever’s playing live (when my husband visited back in the 1990’s BB King himself turned up and joined the band on stage for a jam!)
Or better yet, make a reservation to dine upstairs at Itta Bena, with white table cloths and a wonderful menu. I’ve eaten here twice, bringing my group on a hosted tour. It was a highlight of our Memphis visit.
Then they will let you walk downstairs with skip-the-line passes to get the next table.
You might be here when the Beale Street Flippers, flip their way the length of the street. This group of young guys are outstanding athletes who started just doing backflips down Beale Street for tips.
When I was here once, a group of really young boys were doing flips, but the main group and founders are in their late 20s now and perform at halftime in NBL games across the country.
We had a tip to make our way down to Silky O’Sullivans, which was so good we had a couple of cocktails here while two guys played grand pianos, and came back the next afternoon for lunch outside with a local musician.
Across the road from Silky’s is Rum Boogie Cafe and that had some great sounding rock playing too.
You’ll also pass an open air venue, where a band will probably be onstage. Sometimes there’s a cover charge, sometimes not.
Check out BealeStreet for a calendar of events to see what’s on when you’re visiting.
See my other Memphis posts
See my list of 25 fab things to do in Memphis!
Visit the Civil Rights Museum in the Lorraine Motel since its major renovation
You can’t visit Memphis without seeing Graceland! Here is a peek through the Mansion plus tips you need to know.
We stayed in Tupelo on my last tour there to visit the birthplace of Elvis. Read this to see if it’s worth it for your trip.
Memphis was the middle stop on our music road trip from New Orleans to Nashville. This post covers that 10-day itinerary.
