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#99 (tie): Memphis, "race records," and DJs with Melissa Chase
Manage episode 472155482 series 3465488
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It's about music, it's about race relations, but it's NOT about how to be a good radio disc jockey. In giving a very loose account of the rise and fall of true-life music pioneer Dewey Phillips, the musical "Memphis" amps up the conflicts - which you would expect - in part by making the Phillips surrogate, Huey Calhoun, kind of an asshole. Still, the story of a DJ breaking conventions of the 1950s by playing "race records" on white radio stations is very compelling, has great songs and downright electrifying choreography. So how did I not even know about this show?
I explore that question, and many much more interesting ones, in my conversation with true-life radio DJ and amazing human, Melissa Chase. While Huey Calhoun becomes a sensation in "Memphis" by breaking into the DJ booth at a radio station and locking everyone else out, Melissa became a star by being really good at her job. A lot of being a good radio DJ comes down to a person's voice and I am a big fan of Melissa's as it was a near-constant refrain during the mid-2000s in my life running kids to and from school. She has that wonderful quality of always having a smile in voice.
One of the best things related to this show is that a very high-quality filmed version of the Broadway show is available to stream. I highly recommend it for what is about as close to a live theater experience as you can get.
You're going to want to check out the video clips from this show at my website, Chasing Phantom.net. And if you want to stream "Memphis," here's a link to the YouTube version.
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