"Maybe It Was Memphis" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist

Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful ...

on two occasions. The second recording was released in 1991 as the fourth single from her album '' Put Yourself in My Place''.

History

The song was first recorded by Phil Seymour whose bass player, Michael Anderson, wrote the song. Seymour's version was released posthumously in 2001 on the expanded version of his 2nd Boardwalk album "Phil Seymour 2." It was produced by Richard Podolor. Tillis first cut the song on Warner Bros. Records in the late 1980s under the production of

Josh Leo Josh Leo (born 1953 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, he moved to Chicago, Illinoi ...

, but did not release this version until Warner issued the album ''Pam Tillis Collection'' in the mid-1990s. Her second and most successful version of the song was recorded on her 1991 album '' Put Yourself in My Place''. It was released in November 1991 as the album's fourth single and became her third Top Ten hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts, peaking at number 3 in February 1992. "Maybe It Was Memphis" was also nominated for the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

's Song of the Year in 1992. This version also earned Tillis a Grammy nomination for

Best Country Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

. According to Arista Records' then-senior director of marketing Mike Dungan, executives were reluctant to release the song due to its more

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

sound, and held off on doing so until Tillis had established herself.

Content

The song is a mid-tempo ballad in which the female narrator recalls a former lover whom she met in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. It is composed in the key of A major with a vocal range of A-E. The main chord pattern on the verses is A-D twice, E-D twice, and E-G-A. Michael Anderson wrote the song in 1983. In an article for TAXI, he described the song writing process:

''American Idol'' & ''The Voice''

On May 24, 2011,

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, '' Wildflower,'' was released on Octob ...

performed the song during the finale of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...

''.

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single " Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bil ...

selected the song as part of the round of competition in which each contestant's idol chose their song. On May 8, 2013, during the live rounds of the fourth season of ''The Voice'',

Danielle Bradbery Danielle Simone Bradbery (born July 23, 1996) is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's ''The Voice'' in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Bradbery's record has since been eclipsed by Sawyer F ...

from

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

's team sang it as her song. On season 23 of ''The Voice'', Grace West sang the song for her blind audition.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Danielle Bradbery

References

{{authority control 1991 singles Pam Tillis songs Songs about Memphis, Tennessee Song recordings produced by Paul Worley Song recordings produced by Josh Leo Warner Records singles Arista Nashville singles 1991 songs