Thursday September 23, 2004

Stuck in the Middle

My hometown of Cincinnati (I grew up in the Kentucky suburbs of the Queen City, lest anyone doubt the Bluegrass bona fides discussed in yesterday’s post) is challenging Memphis (where I spent all of my 20s) as the city that invented rock and roll. Organizers of Cincy’s MidPoint Music Festival recently ran an ad in The Memphis Flyer, where I used to work, arguing that

Sure, rock ‘n’ roll was born in Memphis when Elvis Presley recorded “That’s All Right Mama” for Sam Phillips in 1954. But it was conceived in Cincinnati in 1947, when Wynonie Harris cut the hit “Good Rockin’ Tonight” at King Records.

The ad shows images of a “Do Not Disturb” sign and a maternity ward to illustrate the difference between conception and birth and asks, “Where would you rather spend your weekend?” Ooh, tough question. I guess it depends on whether you’re in the mood for a Klan rally or an obscenity trial.