Midtown in Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The Antenna Club
World Famous and Family Owned ⎯⎯⎯ An Original Punk Rock Venue
Photographed by Steve Masler, April 3, 2020
1. The Antenna Club—“World Famous” and Family Owned Marker
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The Antenna Club. World Famous and Family Owned, also, An Original Punk Rock Venue.
The Antenna Club–"World Famous" and Family Owned. Months ahead of MTV, the Antenna broadcast "Rock America” videos on five TV sets. They were turned on before and after live performances from such groups as The Crime, The Modifiers, Tav Falco and Panther Burns, Alex Chilton, The Randy Band, The Hellcats, Calculated X, Jim Dickinson, Quo Jr., The Marilyns, and many others. Steve McGehee booked touring bands, such as R.E.M., The Replacements, and Black Flag before they became internationally known. The clubs array of music attracted a diverse crowd, and this family-run business kept them coming back. Steve's brother, Mark McGehee, managed the daily business, and sister Robin McGehee worked the bar. Mark "Angerhead” Kallaher and Kenneth "Rebel” Weakley were the two doormen. The club was used for music videos, movie locales, and band reunions. It also is the subject of a 2016 documentary film, "Antenna.",
The Antenna Club–An Original Punk Rock Venue. The Antenna, otherwise known as "Memphis's original punk rock club,” operated on this site at 1588 Madison from 1981 to 1995. Before The Antenna, nightspots under other names-"The Library,” "The Mousetrap," "Detroit Rock City,” and “The Well"-were in business at this address. After the Sex Pistols performed in Memphis on January 6, 1978, “The Well” featured local bands as early as 1979 and it was the starting point for an underground music scene that The Antenna adopted and expanded. The Antenna opened on June 26, 1981,under the ownership of Steve McGehee, who would break new ground to elevate and energize the music scene in Memphis and place it on the national map and beyond. McGehee based the name of the club on television sets that had "rabbit ear” antennas. David Fisher designed the club's logo.
The Antenna Club–"World Famous" and Family Owned
Months ahead of MTV, the Antenna broadcast "Rock America” videos on five TV sets. They were turned on before and after live performances from such groups as The Crime, The Modifiers, Tav Falco & Panther Burns, Alex Chilton, The Randy Band, The Hellcats, Calculated X, Jim Dickinson, Quo Jr., The Marilyns, and many others. Steve McGehee booked touring bands, such as R.E.M., The Replacements, and Black Flag before they became internationally known. The clubs array of music attracted a diverse crowd, and this family-run business kept them coming back. Steve's brother, Mark McGehee, managed the daily business, and sister Robin McGehee worked the bar. Mark "Angerhead” Kallaher and Kenneth "Rebel” Weakley were the two doormen. The club was used for music videos, movie locales, and band reunions. It also is the subject of a 2016 documentary film, "Antenna."
The Antenna Club–An Original Punk Rock Venue
The Antenna, otherwise known as "Memphis's original punk rock club,” operated on this site at 1588 Madison from 1981 to 1995. Before The Antenna, nightspots under other names-"The Library,” "The Mousetrap," "Detroit Rock City,” and “The Well"-were in business at this address. After the
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Sex Pistols performed in Memphis on January 6, 1978, “The Well” featured local bands as early as 1979 and it was the starting point for an underground music scene that The Antenna adopted and expanded. The Antenna opened on June 26, 1981,under the ownership of Steve McGehee, who would break new ground to elevate and energize the music scene in Memphis and place it on the national map and beyond. McGehee based the name of the club on television sets that had "rabbit ear” antennas. David Fisher designed the club's logo.
Erected 2019 by Cindy and Steve McGehee, Adrienne and John Littlefield, and the Shelby County Historical Commission.
Location. 35° 8.249′ N, 90° 0.525′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Midtown. It is on South Willett Street just south of Madison Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 19 S Willett St, Memphis TN 38104, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Another marker is no longer nearby. First Congregational Church (was approx. 0.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Steve Masler, April 3, 2020
3. The Antenna Club—"World Famous" and Family Owned Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2020, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 4,965 times since then and 305 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 4, 2020, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
