Beale Street is a street in
Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
music. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are major
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
attractions in Memphis. Festivals and outdoor concerts frequently bring large crowds to the street and its surrounding areas.
History

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
Edward Fitzgerald Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was an American naval officer, frontiersman, rancher and diplomat. He fought in the Mexican–American War, emerging as a hero of the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. He achieved n ...
, a military hero from the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
.
(The original name was Beale Avenue.) Its western end primarily housed shops of trade merchants, who traded goods with ships along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, while the eastern part developed as an affluent suburb.
In the 1860s, many
black traveling musicians began performing on Beale. The first of these to call Beale Street home were the
Young Men's Brass Band,
who were formed by Sam Thomas in 1867.
In the 1870s, the population of Memphis was rocked by a series of
yellow fever epidemics, leading the city to forfeit its charter in 1879.
During this time,
Robert Church purchased land around Beale Street that eventually led to his becoming the first black millionaire from the south.
In 1890, Beale Street underwent renovation with the addition of the Grand Opera House, later known as the
Orpheum. In 1899, Church paid for the city to create
Church's Park near the corner of 4th and Beale. It became a recreational and cultural center, where blues musicians could gather. A major attraction of the park was an auditorium that could seat 2,000 people.
[Barlow, William. ''"Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture''. Temple University Press (1989), p. 208. .] Speakers at the Church Park Auditorium included
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
,
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...
, and
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
.
At the corner of 4th and Beale, adjacent to the park, is
Beale Street Baptist Church. It is
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
's oldest surviving African American Church edifice built beginning in 1869, was also important in the early
civil rights movement in Memphis. In 1889,
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
co-founder
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advance ...
was a co-owner and editor of an anti-segregationist paper called ''
Free Speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
'' based on Beale before her presses were destroyed by a white mob.
In the early 1900s, Beale Street was filled with many clubs, restaurants and shops, many of them owned by African-Americans. In 1903, Mayor Thornton was looking for a music teacher for his
Knights of Pythias Band and called
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...
to talk to his friend, Booker T. Washington, who recommended a trumpet player in
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...
named
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...
. Mayor Thornton contacted Handy, and Memphis became the home of the musician who created the "Blues on Beale Street". Mayor Thornton and his three sons also played in Handy's band.
In 1909, W. C. Handy wrote "Mr. Crump" as a campaign song for political machine leader
E. H. Crump. The song was later renamed "
The Memphis Blues." Handy also wrote a song called "
Beale Street Blues
"Beale Street Blues" is a song by American composer and lyricist W.C. Handy. It was named after Beale Street, a center of African-American music in Memphis, Tennessee, and was published in 1917.
Background
The title refers to Beale Street in Mem ...
" in 1916 which influenced the change of the street's name from Beale Avenue to Beale Street. From the 1920s to the 1940s,
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
,
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...
,
Albert King
Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...
,
Memphis Minnie
Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being " ...
,
B. B. King,
Rufus Thomas
Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...
,
Rosco Gordon
Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002),
sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), " No More Doggin'" (1952), and " Just a Littl ...
and other blues and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
legends played on Beale Street and helped develop the style known as
Memphis Blues
The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...
. As a young man, B. B. King was billed as "the Beale Street Blues Boy." One of Handy's proteges on Beale Street was the young Walter
Furry Lewis
Walter E. "Furry" Lewis (March 6, 1893 or 1899 – September 14, 1981) was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the earliest of the blues musicians active in the 1920s to be brought out of ...
, who later became a well known blues musician. In his later years Lewis lived near Fourth and Beale, and in 1969 was recorded there in his apartment by Memphis music producer
Terry Manning
Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...
.
In 1934, local community leader
George Washington Lee authored ''Beale Street: Where the Blues Began''; the first book by a black author to be advertised in the ''
Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...
News''.
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.
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
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
on May 23, 1966.
[ and ] On December 15, 1977, Beale Street was officially declared the "Home of the Blues" by an act of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. Despite national recognition of its historic significance, Beale was a virtual ghost town after a disastrous urban renewal program that razed blocks of buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, as well as a number of buildings on Beale Street.
In 1973, the Beale Street Development Corporation (BSDC) was formed by George B. Miller and others as a racially diverse, cooperative effort for the redevelopment of Beale Street. The corporation was selected by the City of Memphis to participate in the redevelopment of the blocks on Beale between Second and Fourth streets in August, 1978. The corporation dedicated its efforts to the success of the Beale Street project for the preservation of the street's rich history, and to its cultural as well as physical development. The BSDC secured $5.2 million in grants for the renovation of Beale Street.
In 1982, the City of Memphis recommended that the BSDC hire a management company led by
John A. Elkington to assist in the development of the street by securing new tenants, collecting rents and handling certain maintenance and security issues. Each new lease had to be agreed upon by BSDC, the City of Memphis and the management company, Performa.
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
Tom Lee Park is a city park located to the immediate west of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi River. Encompassing about parallel to the Mississippi River for about , it offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River and ...
at the end of Beale Street on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. The festival is the kickoff event of a month of festivities citywide known as
Memphis in May
Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting South Korea in 2025, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Fest ...
.
In 2020, in Memphis, the Beale Street Historic District and the
WDIA
WDIA (1070 AM) is a radio station based in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since 1947, it soon became the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured black radio personalities; its success ...
radio station were added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.
Attractions
*
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...
(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
Rum Boogie Café is a night club on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of the main venues for the International Blues Challenge and is the favored performance location of singer James Govan. It was named "Blues Club of the Year" by th ...
(182 Beale)
*Silky O'Sullivan's (183 Beale)
*
FedExForum
FedExForum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NCAA Division I Memphis Tigers men's ba ...
(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
The New Daisy Theatre is a music venue located on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. It plays host to both local and national acts, as well the site of rental events.
The theater opened in 1936 and has featured artists such as John Lee Hooke ...
(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
Dan Sane (possibly September 22, 1896 – February 18, 1956) was an American Memphis blues and country blues guitarist and songwriter. He was an associate of Frank Stokes. According to the Music journalist Jason Ankeny, "they had emerged am ...
* The song "
Beale Street Blues
"Beale Street Blues" is a song by American composer and lyricist W.C. Handy. It was named after Beale Street, a center of African-American music in Memphis, Tennessee, and was published in 1917.
Background
The title refers to Beale Street in Mem ...
", written by
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...
, contains the oldest known references to Beale Street.
*
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
'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 Theatre
The New Daisy Theatre is a music venue located on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. It plays host to both local and national acts, as well the site of rental events.
The theater opened in 1936 and has featured artists such as John Lee Hooke ...
s, among others.
*
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...
's song "Beale Street Mama" is all about Beale Street.
*
Todd Agnew
Todd Wilson Agnew (born March 15, 1971, in Dallas, Texas) is a contemporary Christian musician and songwriter.
Early life
Agnew was born in Dallas, Texas and was adopted at birth. He was raised in Dallas, but began traveling to Memphis to h ...
'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
Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song " Walking in Memphis", from his 1991 album '' Marc Cohn'', which was a To ...
's 1991 single "
Walking in Memphis
"Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year tha ...
" includes the lyric "walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale" in the chorus.
*
Eric Church
Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billb ...
's 2015 song ''
Mr. Misunderstood'' featured the lyric "Every soul on Beale Street danced".
*
Arkells
Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Music Canada. They have released nine albums: '' Jackson Square'' (2008), '' Michigan Left'' (2011) ...
2016 song "Drake's Dad" featured the lyric "We were rolling down Beale street/In the Tennessee summer heat".
*
Self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
's song "
Sophomore Jinx
A sophomore slump (also known as a sophomore jinx or sophomore jitters) is when a sophomore fails to live up to the relatively high standards that occurred during freshman year.
It is commonly used to refer to the apathy of students (second year ...
", a critique of the music industry, mentions "all the blues down on Beale".
*
Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...
' "
Standing on the Corner (Blue Yodel No. 9)" references the "corner of Beale and Main".
*
Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...
song “
Cinco de Mayo in Memphis” featured the lyric “Meanwhile down on Beale Street”.
*
Bette Midler
Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...
'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
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
's song "The Devil & Me", on the album ''
From Beale Street to Oblivion'', contains a reference to Beale Street.
* In 2002,
David Nail
David Brent Nail (born May 18, 1979) is an American singer/songwriter and country music artist. In 2002, he debuted the single "Memphis" from an unreleased album for Mercury Records Nashville. Five years later, he signed with MCA Nashville, fo ...
'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.
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Tennessee
Following is a list of sites and structures in Tennessee that have been designated National Historic Landmarks. There are 31 National Historic Landmarks located entirely in the state, and one that includes elements in both Tennessee and Mississipp ...
*
References
External links
Beale Street
{{Authority control
Blues
Music of Memphis, Tennessee
Entertainment districts in the United States
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
National Historic Landmarks in Tennessee
National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee
Tennessee culture
Tourist attractions in Memphis, Tennessee
Streets in Memphis, Tennessee
Historic trails and roads in Tennessee
Roads on the National Register of Historic Places
Streets of African American history