Us: The Musical
It’s been a while since Fly on the Wall has mentioned Memphis’ namesake musical. Then again, it’s been a while since the Tony-winning show by New Jersey playwright Joe DiPietro and Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan has inspired a headline as preposterous as this one from Utah’s Salt Lake Tribune: “Memphis tells of making black music cool — before Elvis.” Inspired by the life of Memphis deejay Dewey Phillips, Memphis tells the fictional Romeo & Juliet story of white deejay Huey Calhoun who falls for Felicia, an African-American singer he meets in a club on Beale Street.
Scooped By Cleveland
News Net 5 in Cleveland scooped the world last week reporting the word that cost 14-year-old Justin Timberlake a win in the 1995 Memphis-Shelby County Spelling Bee, blocking his path to nationals and dashing the singer’s hopes of ever making it big in the highly competitive world of professional spelling. It was “wharf.”
Heresy!
In case you missed it, Travel + Leisure ranked Nashville at the top of the list for “America’s Best Cities for BBQ,” ahead of usual suspects like Memphis and Kansas City. T&L‘s loving tribute to music city ‘cue included a shout-out to Edley’s “Tuck Special,” a brisket sandwich topped with pimento cheese, a “red and white sauce,” pickles, and an over-easy egg.
Oz in Memphis
Happy belated 30th birthday to Ozzy Osbourne’s Memphis mug shot. Ozzy was arrested for public drunkenness on Beale Street May 15, 1984, following a concert at the Mid-South Coliseum.