''Memphis'' is the seventeenth album recorded by

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

, and his tenth for

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. The album was released in November 1972. The album was released on compact disc by Diablo Records on October 25, 2004, as one of three albums combined on one CD with '' Roy Orbison Sings'' and ''

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

'' being the other two. ''Memphis'' was included in a box set entitled ''The MGM Years 1965-1973 - Roy Orbison'', which contains 12 of his MGM studio albums, 1 compilation, and was released on December 4, 2015.

History

The album took three weeks to make in March and April 1972. The album had one single, "Memphis, Tennessee", which reached No. 84 in the US. Also included was a new, re-recorded version of

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...

's "

I Can't Stop Loving You "I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by the country musician Don Gibson from his 1958 album ''Oh Lonesome Me'', who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side ...

", which previously appeared on his 1960 album '' Lonely and Blue''. This was Orbison's final album that was released for

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

let Orbison out of their contract on June 30, 1972.

Reception

Bruce Eder of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said that the album "moves on to more familiar sentimental country-pop territory of the kind that Glen Campbell had been charting with and filling his albums with for a few years -- and after that comes a hot, beat-driven, chorus-laden, big-sounding number. nderstated interpretation of Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You" that shows how less can be more with a voice like Orbison's, and then there's the pop/rock country "Run the Engines Up High," which incorporates some heavy, rock-style fuzz guitar, and a version of "I Fought the Law," complete with phased drums." ''

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 ...

'' described the album as "one of rbisonbest efforts in years"

Track listing

;Side one #"

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

" – (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) #"Why A Woman Cries" – (Jerry McBee) #"

Run, Baby Run (Back Into My Arms) "Run, Baby Run (Back Into My Arms)" is a song written by Joe Melson and Don Gant and performed by The Newbeats. It reached #4 in Canada, #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and #66 in Australia in 1965. The song was also released in the United K ...

" – (

Joe Melson Joe Melson (born May 11, 1935) is an American singer and a BMI Award-winning songwriter best known for his collaborations with Roy Orbison, including "Only the Lonely" and "Crying", which are both in the Grammy Hall of Fame and have both been inc ...

, Don Gant) #"Take Care of Your Woman" – (Jerry McBee) #"I'm The Man on Susie's Mind" – (Joe Melson, Glenn Barber) #"

" – (

) ;Side two #"Run The Engines Up High" – (Jerry McBee) #"It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)" – (Neal Merritt, Alice Joy Merritt, Shorty Hall) #"

I Fought the Law "I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the ''Rolling Stone'' li ...

" – (

Sonny Curtis Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include " Wa ...

) #"

The Three Bells "The Three Bells", also known as "The Jimmy Brown Song", "Little Jimmy Brown", or simply "Jimmy Brown", is a song made popular by the Browns in 1959. The song is an English adaptation of the French language song " Les Trois Cloches" written by ...

" – ( Jean Villard; English lyrics by Bert Reisfeld) #"

Danny Boy "Danny Boy" is a folk song with lyrics written by English lawyer Frederic Weatherly in 1910, and set to the traditional Irish melody of " Londonderry Air" in 1913. History In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, England, the English lawyer and lyricist ...

" – (

Frederic Weatherly Frederic Edward Weatherly, KC (4 October 1848 – 7 September 1929) was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted the spelling 'F ...

)

Production

*Produced by Joe Melson & Roy Orbison except "Danny Boy" produced by Don Gant *Arranged by Joe Tanner

References

{{Authority control Roy Orbison albums 1972 albums MGM Records albums Albums with cover art by Drew Struzan