The Collection
The Memphis Listening Lab’s collection consists of 35,000 45rpm singles, 15,000 LPs, 25,000 CDs, 2000 books, and over 1000 unique pieces of musical history. The Collection represents an incredibly wide spectrum of musical genres, all of which are free to the public for listening and learning enjoyment.
Collection Highlights
Thanks to several music-loving donors, there are over 1,000 (and counting) historical music relics displayed throughout the Listening Lab. Many of these items are sure to incite nostalgia for music and history lovers alike! Here are just a few items you’ll find as you explore the space.
Ardent 45s
The Ardent record label was launched in 1959 by John Fry, John King and Fred Smith who were 15 years old at the time. Those first couple of years saw these teens issue a handful of wild rock ‘n roll 45s in small numbers that were distributed in the local area. They are rare and hard to find, but still sound fantastic today.
Big Star Acetate
Acetates are metal discs covered in a thin layer of lacquer and are produced as part of the mastering process of a vinyl record. These are made in very small quantities and this is an extremely rare example from the band Big Star. The disc is dated 07/26/74 and marked 45RPM. It was produced for the single September Gurls which was released the following month in August of 1974.
Al Greene - Back Up Train
The 1967 debut album by Al Green! His last name is actually spelled “Greene”, but he would drop the final “e” when he came to Memphis to make soul music history recording at Hi Records with Willie Mitchell. A really interesting glimpse of what was to come. This is a beautiful promotional copy in glorious mono.
Burn Baby Burn
We have a number of albums from the 1960s civil rights movement including one entitled Burn Baby Burn. It is a fascinating LP that gathers first hand accounts of the 1965 Watts riots and the culture surrounding it. We also have albums with speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. and various leaders of the Civil Rights movement.
Hustle & Flow
From our soundtrack collection comes this groundbreaking LP from Craig Brewer’s award-winning film, Hustle & Flow, showcasing some of Memphis’ hottest rap and hip-hop acts. Featured artist Three 6 Mafia became the first hip-hop group to win Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 2006. Essential Memphis.
Ike & Tina LP
This album may be billed as Ike & Tina Turner, but Tina is oddly absent from this amazing LP. Issued in 1962, the album is actually all dance themed instrumentals featuring Ike Turner’s absolutely stunning guitar work. Tina does make an appearance on the eye-catching cover art. Rare and recommended.
Ann Peebles
We are very proud to say the release event for this album was held at the Memphis Listening Lab! This album features a rare live recording of soul legend Ann Peebles backed by the Hi Rhythm Section at the Peabody hotel in 1992. The album is a total Memphis production released on the Memphis International label and manufactured by Memphis Record Pressing.
Radio Spots
Fans of B-movies will love our collection of radio spots.These were sent to radio stations and featured commercials that were wilder and crazier than the movies themselves. We have hundreds of them for horror, crime and exploitation films from the 1950s through the 1970s.
KCAT Letters
John King and John Fry worked with radio station KCAT in Pine Bluff, Arkansas during the early 1960s. As the program director, John King corresponded with record labels around the country and he amassed a great selection of letters from labels like Epic, ABC Paramount, Fortune and numerous small indie labels. Many are signed by legendary label owners like Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records and Don Robey of Duke Records.
Books
We have a large collection of books covering just about every aspect of the world of popular music. There are books on just about any genre of music from doo wop to punk, biographies, label histories and a particularly deep selection on the history of radio. A researcher’s dream!
Memphis Yearbooks
Our yearbook collection has proven to be very popular and we have a particularly good selection of 1960s Memphis yearbooks. You can find photos of your parents, musicians before they were famous and images of local bands playing at the prom. These feature a lot of great vintage ads from local businesses, too.
Radio Surveys
Algorithms recommend what you listen to today, but in the pre-internet days, you had these cool radio surveys to guide you. They were staples of record stores where you would find them stacked on the counter listing station’s top hits of the week. We have hundreds of these from not only Memphis but other radio stations from all over the country.
