Get the lowdown along with exclusive photos and videos on the Memphis Boys’ 2014 hometown concert held during Elvis Week at Graceland. The session cats and maverick producer Chips Moman revived Elvis Presley’s moribund recording career with “In the Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds” in 1969 at American Sound Studio. In the accompanying still the smoldering 33-year-old matinee idol pauses for a wardrobe fitting in character as resourceful newspaper photographer Greg Nolan between takes of director Norman Taurog’s final film, “Live a Little, Love a Little,” at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood sometime between March 13 and May 1, 1968. It is debatable whether the beard stubble is genuine, but according to For Elvis CD Collectors forum user Bripet56, the scene can be found when Presley “wakes up after having slept for three days on Bernice [Michele Carey]´s couch, and the white sport shirt is the one he wears just before singing ‘Edge of Reality.’” Image Credit: FECC messageboard / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
It was a long time coming for the Memphis Boys, the band solely responsible for resurrecting Elvis Presley’s moribund recording career in the spring of 1969 with incendiary jewels like “In the Ghetto,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “Kentucky Rain.”
Mere hours after basking in the limelight of a hometown ceremony bestowing historical marker status on the location where American Studios once stood before being unceremoniously torn down in 1989 and rebuilt as a Family Dollar store, pianist Bobby Wood, organist Bobby Emmons, drummer Gene Chrisman, and guitarist Reggie Young returned to the Graceland property on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, for their first concert at Presley’s beloved home since Elvis Week two years earlier. Or more precisely, the Elvis Week Main Stage was directly across Elvis Presley Boulevard from the Graceland mansion.
With all tickets reserved as general admission for $40, the rare hits-packed performance was attended by fiercely independent producer Chips Moman, who encouraged his musical comrades from the front row. Incidentally, two other renowned musicians, Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood and saxophone player Jim Horn [e.g. the Beatles, John Denver, Eric Clapton], were onstage, preferring to stay in the shadows.
The exhilarating, sold out concert in the 1,200 seat air-conditioned venue was fronted by Terry Mike Jeffrey — also supplying acoustic guitar — Scat Springs, and Jennifer Chi, who took vocal turns throughout the evening depending upon the musical genre. Springs displayed a propensity for squeezing every ounce of emotion from a soul lyric.
Pianist Bobby Wood, bassist Mike Leech, bassist-producer Tommy Cogbill, drummer Gene Chrisman, Elvis Presley, organist Bobby Emmons, guitarist Reggie Young, American Sound engineer and harmonica player Ed Kollis, and songwriter Dan Penn pose together on January 13, 1969, inside the funky American Sound Studio during the historic sessions that yielded Presley’s “In the Ghetto,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Don’t Cry, Daddy,” and “Kentucky Rain.” Photography possibly by Marty Lacker using Dan Penn’s Polaroid camera / For Elvis CD Collectors Forum
The Memphis Boys are capable of tackling soul, rock, pop, country, gospel, and jazz with nary a drop of perspiration, having supported such diverse artists as B.J. Thomas, Neil Diamond, The Box Tops, Billy Swan, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett, James & Bobby Purify, Bobby Womack, Dobie Gray, Crystal Gayle, Dusty Springfield, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson.
All were represented in the nearly two-hour show — including intermission. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll frequently covered many of the afore-mentioned artists, so Elvis Week fans didn’t mind if the Memphis Boys casually threw in Thomas’s “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” Swan’s “I Can Help,” Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” or Nelson’s devastatingly fragile “Always on My Mind.”
It was not uncommon to spot the musicians sneaking smiles of unmitigated joy at one another as the crowd showed their appreciation in spades. Wood jumped during the introductory verse of Elvis’ “Any Day Now,” causing Emmons to playfully reciprocate. Impromptu dancing and audience sing-alongs were rampant.
“Suspicious Minds” songwriter Mark James was name-checked early in the evening by SiriusXM deejay Argo, the master of ceremonies who provided insightful commentary between most songs. During the “Suspicious Minds” finale — the ultimate show closer aside from the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” — James was invited onstage by Jeffrey. James gamely took over lead vocal duties on the final chorus and shattered fans’ perceptions with his soulful interpretation.
Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is long overdue for the Memphis Boys. Only Wood, Chrisman, and Young survive. Emmons, the band’s unsung most valuable player, lamentably passed away a mere six months after rockin’ Elvis Week of an undisclosed blood-related illness in a Nashville hospital at age 72, followed over the ensuing two years by Moman and bassist-arranger Mike Leech.
Reggie Young picks a trusty black and white 1969 Fender Telecaster with body binding and a maple neck during the Memphis Boys’ sold out Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Young played with Elvis Presley’s first bassist Bill Black in the instrumental Bill Black Combo, contributed distinctive guitar licks to Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” and cut 31 acclaimed masters at Chips Moman’s American Sound Studio in Memphis with the King of Rock ’n’ Roll in January and February 1969 including “In the Ghetto,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Don’t Cry, Daddy,” and “Kentucky Rain.” Photography by Jon Waterhouse / Elvis Presley Enterprises
Setlist: The Memphis Boys in Concert, August 13, 2014, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee
“Mystery Train” [Instrumental; Elvis Presley, No. 11 C&W, 1955]
Formidable “Moody Blue” songwriter Mark James is a last minute surprise frontman during the chorus finale of “Suspicious Minds,” his most enduring composition besides “Always on My Mind,” at the Memphis Boys’ sold out Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Seen in the background are acoustic guitarist-lead singer Terry Mike Jeffrey and his wife, backing vocalist Debbie Jeffrey. Photography by Jon Waterhouse / Elvis Presley Enterprises
Keyboardist Bobby Wood is seen with compadre Reggie Young, playing a trusty black and white 1969 Fender Telecaster with body binding and a maple neck, during the Memphis Boys’ sold out Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Wood has been a key contributor to Garth Brooks’ studio albums for decades while Young was a member of Waylon Jennings’ Waymore Blues Band and toured with the country super group the Highwaymen. The duo also recorded “Suspicious Minds” with Elvis Presley at American Sound Studio in January 1969. Photography by Jon Waterhouse / Elvis Presley Enterprises
Organist Bobby Emmons, part of the instrumental Bill Black Combo during his formative years and the co-writer of George Strait’s “So Much Like My Dad” along with American Sound Studio producer Chips Moman, feels the music coursing through his veins during the Memphis Boys’ sold out Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Photography by Jeremy Roberts
Organist Bobby Emmons, the heart and soul of the Memphis Boys as well as the co-writer of “Luckenbach, Texas [Back to the Basics of Love]” with producer-engineer Chips Moman, dispenses some hot licks during the Memphis Boys’ Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Photography by Jeremy Roberts
Elvis tribute artist Terry Mike Jeffrey tackles rhythm acoustic guitar with aplomb during the Memphis Boys’ Elvis Week concert at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 13, 2014. Photography by Jeremy Roberts
Reporter Jeremy Roberts meets Memphis music producer Chips Moman on August 13, 2014. The cigarette-clasping maverick and family were waiting for their ride home after an exhilarating Memphis Boys concert held directly across the street from Graceland during Elvis Week. Moman sat in the front row during the sold out show and was acknowledged by guest vocalist Terry Mike Jeffrey from the stage. Although in poor health after overcoming several strokes, Moman’s beaming smile and twinkling eyes were still as present as ever. He succumbed to emphysema two years later on June 13, 2016, the day after his 79th birthday. Image Credit: The Jeremy Roberts Collection
Ima Roberts Withers, Chips Moman, Memphis Boys lead guitarist Reggie Young, and Memphis Boys organist Bobby Emmons are surrounded by fans and the media alike on August 13, 2014, during the unveiling of the legendary session crew’s Shelby County historical plaque marking the site where American Sound Studio once stood, which is currently home to a Family Dollar store. According to Young, Withers became Moman’s secretary after her mother dropped the newly minted high school graduate off at American Sound. Withers worked at BMI until recently and retired to Florida. The musicians consider Withers to be a dear friend. Young’s wife, cellist Jenny Lynn Young, reveals that “Ima never fails to make us laugh.” Moman and Emmons both sadly passed away within two years after this shot was taken. Photography by Jeremy Roberts
Memphis Boys pianist Bobby Wood, songwriter Mark James [e.g. “Suspicious Minds,” “Always on My Mind,” and “Moody Blue”], drummer Gene Chrisman, and guitarist Reggie Young collide backstage at Graceland during Elvis Week on August 14, 2014, the day after the sold out Memphis Boys Salute concert. James was on hand to receive a Beale Street Brass Note bestowed during a surprise appearance at the Official Elvis Insiders Event. Photography by Jim McCarter
Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Boys debut a rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” on August 13, 2014, during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Video Credit: YouTube user IvonElvis Presley
Watch a partial video capturing Scat Springs and the Memphis Boys bringing a bucketful of soul to Graceland during Elvis Week in Memphis on August 13, 2014. “I Gotcha” was originally a massive hit for Joe Tex at No. 2 POP, No. 1 R&B in 1972. Video Credit: YouTube user IvonElvis Presley
See a video capturing part of Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Boys’ faithful cover of B.J. Thomas’s “I Just Can’t Help Believing” on August 13, 2014, during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis Presley unleashed a live version which can be found in the “That’s the Way It Is” 1970 documentary. Distributed as an A-side in the United Kingdom, “I Just Can’t Help Believing” rose to No. 6. Video Credit: YouTube user IvonElvis Presley
Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Boys, featuring Reggie Young on electric sitar, debut a winning cover of B.J. Thomas’s “Hooked on a Feeling” on August 13, 2014, during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Video Credit: YouTube user Little Walter Tube Amps
Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Boys debut a rendition of “Any Day Now,” covered by Chuck Jackson, Ronnie Milsap, and Elvis Presley, on August 13, 2014, during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Presley wisely selected the pleading soul pop tune as the B-side of “In the Ghetto.” Video Credit: YouTube user IvonElvis Presley
See a video capturing part of Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Boys’ finale of “Suspicious Minds” on August 13, 2014, during Elvis Week at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Songwriter Mark James takes over the lead vocals in a wonderful, impromptu moment. “Suspicious Minds” was Elvis Presley’s final Billboard pop number one single in America and probably played a pivotal role in making James a millionaire. He penned four other tunes for Presley — all singles — “It’s Only Love,” “Always on My Mind,” “Raised on Rock,” and “Moody Blue.” Video Credit: YouTube user Little Walter Tube Amps
Retro pop culture interviews & lovin’ someone fierce sustain this University of Georgia Master of Agricultural Leadership alum. Email: jeremylr@windstream.net
Retro pop culture interviews & lovin’ someone fierce sustain this University of Georgia Master of Agricultural Leadership alum. Email: jeremylr@windstream.net
