STAX Museum of American Soul Music and the National Civil Rights Museum

So, what's so special about McLemore Avenue? Well, aside from being the name of an album by Booker T. & the MGs, it is also the heart of Soulsville USA. It is where, for a magical period during the 60's and 70's STAX Records made music.



The studio closed in the late 70's and the building was torn down sometime later. Its influence on the music world lived on, however, and recently the site became home to the STAX Museum of American Soul Music.

We spent several hours wandering through a fantastic retrospective of the label that gave the world artists suchs as Sam and Dave, the Staples Singers, Albert King, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the MGs, and Otis Redding.



Another museum not to be missed when visiting Memphis is the National Civil Rights Museum. It is located in the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. The outside of the motel has been left as it was, but the interior has been completely redone to create the museum.



Going through the museum is a fascinating, sobering experience. It is hard to believe that the fight for civil rights in the United States prompted so much conflict. And even harder to believe that so much of it took place less than 50 years ago.

Ribs In Memphis - Central BBQ and The Bar-B-Q Shop

At long last, our first ribs of the trip. While ribs had been available at other places, Memphis was our first stop where they were the main event.

The slab pictured above came from Central BBQ. It was kind of a strange place compared to other barbecue places we had visited on the trip - very much a college atmosphere, with employees wearing matching tie-dyed t-shirts.



But what about the ribs? As you can see, we had no trouble plowing through them:



They were good, but not eye-opening "this is Memphis" good. Maybe a little overcooked - they came off of the bone a bit too easily. They were also on the small side, and not super meaty.

Of course we weren't going to judge Memphis ribs by just one stop. Next up was The Bar-B-Q Shop:



It was July 4th, and the place was packed with people waiting for take-out orders. They were putting out a serious amount of barbecue, as almost every person walked out with a big box.



And the ribs? Take a look at that pink color and you know they've seen some smoke. They came sauced even though we ordered them dry, but with the place as busy as it was we weren't going to send them back.



Turns out, keeping them was the right thing to do. They were absolute perfection. The meat had an amazing smokey taste and was perfectly cooked: nice and moist, but still with enough backbone to give you something to gnaw on.

Ribs in Memphis on the 4th of July - it doesn't get much better than that...

Central BBQ
2249 Central Ave.
Memphis, Tennessee
(901) 272-9377‎

The Bar-B-Q Shop
1782 Madison Ave.
Memphis, Tennessee
(901) 272-1277‎

Bikes On Beale

Happy 4th from Memphis!

Even though it reveals the fact that we are way behind on road trip posts, happy 4th from Memphis - our current real-time location.