Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The Saturday Night Jamboree
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2018
1. The Saturday Night Jamboree Marker (front)
Front
On this site during 1953 and 1954, the Goodwyn Institute Building Auditorium was home to "The Saturday Night Jamboree" a live country music show that debuted a group of unknown artists who later made music history. Among the artists who appeared were Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Johnny and Dorsey Burnett, Barbara Pittman. Eddie Bond, Charlie Feathers. Larry Manuel Lloyd (Arnold) McCollough, Bud Deckelman, and Harmonica Frank Floyd.
Continued
Rear
Joe Manuel, a popular country music star of that era, founded the show with his business partner M. E. Ellis. As audiences grew, radio station KWEM, with studios in Memphis and in West Memphis, Arkansas, broadcast the show. Backstage in the dressing rooms. the musicians experimented with new sounds, mixing fast country, gospel, blues, and boogie - woogie. Their performances on the Jamboree stage of this new type of music, later called "rockabilly," may have been the first public renditions of the genre.
Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4E 168.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment.
this page online
Location. 35° 8.676′ N, 90° 3.05′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. Marker is at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Maggie H. Isabell Street, on the right when traveling east on Madison Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 165 Madison Avenue, Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Marion Scudder Griffin (within shouting distance of this marker); Civil War Capitol (within shouting distance of this marker); Wildcats (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Hole in the Wall (about 400 feet away); Hattie Manely (about 400 feet away); WMC Radio Station (about 400 feet away); Greek Influence (about 400 feet away); Baseball (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.
Also see . . .
1. Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Website entry (Submitted on April 14, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Saturday Night Jamboree. Cabel County Doors to the Past website entry (Submitted on March 26, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2018
2. The Saturday Night Jamboree Marker (rear)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 8, 2018
3. Former site of Goodwyn Institute Building Auditorium.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 656 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 14, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
