Research Catalog

The Memphis blues again : photographs by Ernest C. Withers.

Title
The Memphis blues again : photographs by Ernest C. Withers.
Author
Withers, Ernest C., 1922-2007
Publication
  • Waltham, Mass. : Panopticon Gallery, 2004.
  • ©2004

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Request Appointment

Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.

Still imageUse in library Sc Photo Portfoilo (Withers, E.C. The Memphis Blues Again)Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints

Details

Additional Authors
Panopticon Gallery (Waltham, Mass.), publisher.
Description
  • 1 portfolio (10 photographic prints); 55 x 45 cm.
  • 8 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white, matted ;
  • 2 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white, matted ;
Summary
  • Portfolio depicts African American singers and musicians who performed in Memphis, Tennessee, or were part of the local music industry, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. The portfolio consists of portraits of performers, and views of concerts, many of which took place at either the Hippodrome, located on Memphis's historic Beale Street, or at Club Paradise on Georgia Avenue. Some images are related to WDIA AM radio, the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African American listeners.
  • The individuals depicted are musician/bandleader Lionel Hampton; R&B singer Ruth Brown; blues singer Howlin' Wolf in a group portrait with his band, which includes James Cotton and Little Walter; singer/songwriter Brook Benton with Elvis Presley at a WDIA event; R&B group The Ike and Tina Turner Revue; blues guitarist B.B. King; Memphis-based R&B singer Big Ella; soul singer James Brown at the Mid-South Coliseum; and singer/songwriter Isaac Hayes in his office at Stax Records. Also included are the WDIA twins, a pair of young African American boys standing on phone books and singing into a station microphone.
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Concerts – Tennessee – Memphis – 1950-1969.
  • Portrait photographs – 2000-2009.
  • Group portraits – 2000-2009.
  • Gelatin silver prints – 2000-2009.
Note
  • Title taken from title page insert.
  • Title page signed by photographer and hand-numbered 8/35.
  • Includes page insert with a brief introduction of photographer's career and a list of photographs.
  • All images were captured between 1948 and the early 1970s, and were printed at a later date.
Terms of Use (note)
  • Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.
Biography (note)
  • Ernest C. Withers, 1922-2007, was a Memphis, Tennessee, based African American freelance photographer, best known for documenting racial segregation and the civil rights movement in the American South during the 1950s and 1960s. His work depicting Memphis's Beale Street music scene was made during a time when it was being recognized by both Black and White music figures as a thriving musical center, which also saw the rise of rythmn and blues and rock and roll emerging from the city's gospel and blues musical traditions. Withers not only captured the talent from the local music scene, but also visiting jazz, blues, R&B, soul and rock vocalists and musicians who performed in Memphis, as well as the audiences and fans who attended these events.
Call Number
Sc Photo Portfolio (Withers, E.C. The Memphis Blues Again)
OCLC
1325593389
Author
Withers, Ernest C., 1922-2007, photographer.
Title
The Memphis blues again : photographs by Ernest C. Withers.
Publisher
Waltham, Mass. : Panopticon Gallery, 2004.
Copyright Date
©2004
Type of Content
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
sheet
Terms Of Use
Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.
Biography
Ernest C. Withers, 1922-2007, was a Memphis, Tennessee, based African American freelance photographer, best known for documenting racial segregation and the civil rights movement in the American South during the 1950s and 1960s. His work depicting Memphis's Beale Street music scene was made during a time when it was being recognized by both Black and White music figures as a thriving musical center, which also saw the rise of rythmn and blues and rock and roll emerging from the city's gospel and blues musical traditions. Withers not only captured the talent from the local music scene, but also visiting jazz, blues, R&B, soul and rock vocalists and musicians who performed in Memphis, as well as the audiences and fans who attended these events.
Connect to:
Request Appointment
Added Author
Panopticon Gallery (Waltham, Mass.), publisher.
Research Call Number
Sc Photo Portfolio (Withers, E.C. The Memphis Blues Again)
View in Legacy Catalog