Back in 1991, I played my cassette of Marc Cohn’s debut self-titled album until it nearly wore out. I loved the entire album, but like everyone else, I especially was mesmerized by his song “Walking in Memphis.” The song has held up well through the years in both the original and cover versions.
I still love the version by Marc Cohn, who continues to tour. But I am happy that some other folks have introduced the song to a new generation, as Lonestar did with their 2003 version, which appeared on their album From There to Here: Greatest Hits.
One of my favorite covers of the song is the one by Cher, who, of course, has the pipes to sing almost anything. Cher originally recorded “Walking in Memphis” not long after Cohn’s version was released, and the song appeared on her 1995 album It’s A Man’s World.
Cher often played the song in concert, as she does in this video from a 1999 performance, where she follows it with her song “Just Like Jesse James.” Check it out.
Cher’s performance was filmed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada and appeared on the DVD Live in Concert.
Illustration of Memphis by Henry Lewis, public domain. What is your favorite cover of “Walking in Memphis”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On June 16 in 1903, Henry Ford signed the papers incorporating Ford Motor Company. A month later, the first Ford car was manufactured in Detroit. But it would not be until later when the company really began doing well, following the 1908 introduction of the Model T and the 1913 creation of an assembly line allowing mass production.
The automobile is intertwined with American history as well as with popular culture, as there are numerous songs about the highway and cars. Some popular songs are specific about the vehicles, such as Janis Joplin’s desire for a Mercedes Benz, Don McLean’s Chevy at the levy, and Prince’s Little Red Corvette.
Ford Motor Company products appear in songs too. In the video below, Marc Cohn sings about Ford’s Thunderbird car in “Silver Thunderbird.”
The title of the song “Silver Thunderbird” focuses on the car, which began manufacturing in 1955 and ended its run in 2005. But the lyrics of the song address Cohn’s childhood memories of how his father loved his car. “Great big fins and painted steel;/ Man it looked just like the batmobile,/ With my old man behind the wheel.”
“Silver Thunderbird” captures what a car can mean to a family. And I can relate, having grown up with parents who for some reason thought it was important to be loyal to one car company.
“Silver Thunderbird” is from Marc Cohn’s self-titled album from 1991 that also included the hit, “Walking in Memphis.” “Silver Thunderbird” later was covered by Jo Dee Mesina.
The most famous song about a Ford car is also one of the greatest car songs ever. “Mustang Sally” was written by Mack Rice and immortalized by Wilson Pickett in 1966.
The song, which asks Sally to slow her Mustang down, is not quite as wholesome as Cohn’s song about the Thunderbird. But the difference in song themes matches the different reputations of the two cars. Check out this amazing live Wilson Pickett performance.
Although nobody can surpass Pickett’s version, there are a number of good covers of “Mustang Sally.” For example, in the excellent rise-and-fall-of-an-Irish-soul-band movie The Commitments (1991), the band’s performance of the song is one of the highlights of the film, which came out the same year as Cohn’s song about the Thunderbird.
The movie scene with The Commitments performing the song is no longer available on YouTube. But here is one of the group’s live performances, featuring lead singer Andrew Strong.
Unfortunately, some of the biggest pop culture news recently has been about the deaths of Mike Wallace, Dick Clark and Levon Helm. But in case you missed some of the other recent news, check out the following.
Finally, here is Marc Cohn’s song about Levon Helm, who passed away last week. “I was was lost/ I was gone/ Listening to Levon/ I was looking at the girl/ But I was listening to Levon.” -Marc Cohn.
