Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing covers and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own material, as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965), and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international number-one hits. Aftermath (1966) – their first entirely original album – is considered by The Daily Telegraph to be the most important of their formative records. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. They returned to their rhythm and blues roots with hit songs such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums such as Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil", and Let It Bleed (1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter". Let It Bleed was the first of five consecutive number-one albums in the UK.
Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor. That year they were first introduced on stage as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". Sticky Fingers (1971), which yielded "Brown Sugar" and included the first usage of their tongue and lips logo, was their first of eight consecutive number-one studio albums in the US. Exile on Main St. (1972), featuring "Tumbling Dice", and Goats Head Soup (1973), yielding the hit ballad "Angie", were also best sellers. Taylor was replaced by Ron Wood in 1974. The band continued to release successful albums, including their two largest sellers: Some Girls (1978), featuring "Miss You", and Tattoo You (1981), featuring "Start Me Up". Steel Wheels (1989) was widely considered a comeback album and was followed by Voodoo Lounge (1994), a worldwide number-one album. Both releases were promoted by large stadium and arena tours, as the Stones continued to be a huge concert attraction; by 2007 they had recorded the all-time highest-grossing concert tour three times, and as recently as 2021 they were the highest-earning live act of the year. From Wyman's departure in 1993 to Watts' death in 2021, the band continued as a four-piece core, with Darryl Jones playing bass on tour and on most studio recordings, while Steve Jordan became their touring drummer following Watts' death. Their 2016 album, Blue & Lonesome, became their twelfth UK number-one album.
The Rolling Stones' estimated record sales of 200 million make them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The band has won three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Billboard magazine and Rolling Stone have ranked the band as one of the greatest of all time.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones
Studio albums
The Rolling Stones / England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)
12 X 5 (1964)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 / The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
December's Children (And Everybody's) (1965)
Aftermath (1966)
Between the Buttons (1967)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Let It Bleed (1969)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Exile on Main St. (1972)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
Black and Blue (1976)
Some Girls (1978)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Tattoo You (1981)
Undercover (1983)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
A Bigger Bang (2005)
Blue & Lonesome (2016)
Hackney Diamonds (2023)
Memphis Tennessee
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Help me find the party tryin' to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
'Cause the phone boy took the message and he wrote it on the wall
Help me, information, get in touch with my Marie
She's the only one who'd phone me here from Memphis, Tennessee
Her home is on the south side, high up on a ridge
Help me, information, more than that I cannot add
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
But we were pulled apart because her mama did not agree
She tore apart a happy home in Memphis, Tennessee
Well last time I saw Marie, she's wavin' me goodbye
With "hurry home" drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
Oh try to get her number back in Memphis, Tennessee
The Rolling Stones's song Memphis Tennessee is a poignant tale about a man who is trying to reconnect with a woman he loves who lives in Memphis. He starts off by requesting "long distance information" to "give me Memphis, Tennessee" so he can "find the party tryin' to get in touch with me." However, he does not have her number and cannot leave a message for her. He only knows that she called the phone boy and left a message for him, which he notes on the wall.
In the second verse, the man pleads for help in finding his beloved Marie. She is the only one who phones him from Memphis and he longs to speak to her again. He gives information about her home, which is located on the south side, high up on a ridge and is a half-mile from the Mississippi Bridge. He also mentions that he misses her and the good times they shared together.
The final verse adds a somber note to the song as the man explains that Marie is only six years old and asks for help in finding her. He wants to "hurry home" to see her and tries to get her number back in Memphis. The song ends on a wistful note, highlighting the power of love to transcend distance and time.
Line by Line Meaning
Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee
Asking for help from the phone operator to connect to someone in Memphis, Tennessee.
Help me find the party tryin' to get in touch with me
Asking for assistance to locate the person who tried to contact the singer.
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
The person who called did not leave a number but the singer has an idea of who it might be.
'Cause the phone boy took the message and he wrote it on the wall
The phone operator took a message and wrote it down for the singer to see.
Help me, information, get in touch with my Marie
Asking the phone operator to connect to the singer's friend named Marie.
She's the only one who'd phone me here from Memphis, Tennessee
Marie is the only person who contacts the singer from Memphis, Tennessee.
Her home is on the south side, high up on a ridge
Marie's residence is located on a high ridge on the southern part of Memphis.
Just a half a mile from the Mississippi Bridge
Marie's home is situated within half a mile from the Mississippi Bridge.
Help me, information, more than that I cannot add
The singer is asking for further help from the operator but has no additional information to provide.
Only that I miss her and all the fun we had
The singer misses Marie and recalls the enjoyable times they had together.
But we were pulled apart because her mama did not agree
Marie and the singer were separated due to her mother's disapproval.
She tore apart a happy home in Memphis, Tennessee
Marie's mother destroyed the once happy home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Well last time I saw Marie, she's wavin' me goodbye
The singer saw Marie for the last time as she waved goodbye to him.
With "hurry home" drops on her cheek that trickled from her eye
Marie had tears streaming down her face and begged the singer to come back soon.
Marie is only six years old, information please
Asking the operator for information to reach a six-year-old Marie.
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
The singer requests to be connected to Marie in Memphis, Tennessee and is advised to try to obtain her phone number.
Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Greg Halder
on 2000 Light Years From Home
Totally underrated track and album..