Graceland

I was once stranded at Memphis airport. Took the blow in my stride and decided to do something about it. Moved my alternate flight to the next day and whoa! - there I was all alone and ready to say Hi to Memphis. I have always loved Jazz and had not been that into Blues, so rented a car and drove around Graceland and downtown to see what the place known as the Birthplace of the Blues stood for. I was exhausted since I hadn't had a wink of sleep all night and was starving. So checked into a Blues Bar to get a bite, the first I could find open early in the AM.

As I sat dazed, peering into the glass of water, the plump Black waitress waded in. "What you lookin at the water for?" she demanded. I replied that the song that was playing sucked.

Gloria promptly changed it and said "Sonny, now listen to this. Now this is what we call Blues around 'ere...you listen to dis or you listen to nothin else".

For the next 5 minutes I forgot the water, I forgot that I was sleep deprived, I forgot I was in the middle of nowehere and that my destination was Toronto. I didn't notice that Gloria had placed a pint of beer in front of me. I was mesmerized by Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine. I had only listened to some other renditions of this song and never the original. The original in Bill Withers' voice was captivating. The song felt different, especially when I listened to it at the Birthplace of the Blues. It was brilliant. Totally unforgettable. Been getting hooked to the Blues ever since.

Here is the song:



Cheers.