This summer, we invited Oxford American supporters to enter for the chance to curate a playlist for the 2024 edition of our beloved annual Southern Music Issue. We’re thrilled to introduce our winner, Jim Colbert, and his playlist—plus a short introduction to the selections, in his own words. The playlist is also featured in the print edition of the Memphis Music Issue, which you can order here. 

_Memphis music is not a dusty archive to be paged through while wearing white gloves. The city’s musical history is so monumental that it can be difficult to get past; one tends to linger among the ghosts of W. C. Handy, B. B. King, Elvis, and Otis Redding. But right now, today, the arc of Memphis music continues to span from its origins—whirling, twisting, gaining texture. It lifts modern Memphians to build on the incredible legacy left to them, while also captivating outsiders like me who want to hear more, learn more, and somehow be a part of it. In this small handful of songs, I’ve tried to capture the grit and groove of Memphis music, regardless of era or genre.

“Grit” is commonly used to classify Memphis music, but it also describes Memphians’ resilience and perseverance in the face of hardship. It’s easy to see the grit of musicians like Memphis Minnie and Gangsta Boo, artists who overcame misogyny and racism to become the queens of their respective genres, Memphis blues and Memphis rap. The grit of the Million Dollar Quartet—Presley, Perkins, Cash, and Lewis—who escaped crushing rural poverty and harsh judgement while embracing the rhythms of formerly segregated sounds. Or the grit of up-and-comers like Memphissippi Sounds, a duo preserving the cultural impact of their forebearers and working hard to make a legacy for themselves. “Groove” is the inherent vibe of Memphis music, the hard-to-describe feeling that forces us to tap our toes to an infectious rhythm, sway to a beautiful voice, or raise our fists to a punk riff. Joyful groove bursts from the harmonies and syncopation of the Spirit of Memphis Quartet and from the piano virtuosity of Lil Hardin Armstrong. Soulful groove flows gently from Otis Redding as he laments his “Dreams to Remember.” A driving groove chugs forth from Reigning Sound as they slam through their blues-punk hybrid.

Memphis, we love being captivated by your grit and groove—then, now, and always.