June 13, 2024 • 10 mins
Memphis Industry icons, musician and film producer Martin Shore (Take me To The River) and Lawrence 'Boo' Mitchell (GRAMMY Award-winning engineer, producer, composer, award-winning movie producer, and owner of Royal Studios in Memphis) joined Tracey to tell us why MEMPHIS needs to be on your next overseas itinerary ...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Bold Asides Podcast, The Stories behind Just Great Rock.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome. You're obviously here in New Zealand because you are
en route to the Blues on broad Beach Festival. In
Australian tonight, you're at a Memphis tourism push and all
coincides with the tenth anniversary of Take Me to the River.
That's all aligned so nicely.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Really has and we're just real excited to be here
and to have ten years under our belts and it
just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. That's the
good news.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Obviously, Take Me to the River you produced and directed
Talking hiss Icon Jerry Harrison produces Well twenty fourteen. And
the reality was that people that you wanted to make
the movie around were starting to pass away, and you
needed to do it while they were alive, because it
was very important to you to accurately sort of document
and have the impass on the information the mental ship.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yes, absolutely, And the car to action really was when
Boos Pop, Willie Mitchell passed, Alex Chilton passed, Isaac Hayes
pass said, Jim Dickinson passed, all within twelve fourteen months.
It was a call to action that we really need
to get started, and we really found a great home
with Bowet Royal, and the attempt was to go to
several studios and we started that way, but once we
(01:18):
got to Royal, we couldn't lead.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, and on that sort of similar note, I've really
noticed less her soul with the passing of Lisa Marie Presley,
I've noticed that Priscilla Presley has really ramped up her
sort of speaking to us and talking to us as well.
I'm going to say for the same thing. I mean,
she's in her seventies, Jerry Shillings in his eighties. They
probably still want to make sure that they can get
out and pass on the legacy as accurately to as
(01:43):
many people as possible.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yes, Yes, Priscilla has definitely been more active in the
past couple of years, and it's been a lot to
Memphians to see her out active and you know, walking
amongst the people and passing on the information.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Of course, because I think as New Zealanders when we
think of Memphis, the first thing we do think of
is Elvis and Graceland or MLKA and obviously Sun's studios,
but there is another very iconic studio there in Royal
Studios and Boothies are your family studios of which you
work out of as a Grammy Award winning engineer, producer, composer.
Your dad Willie had the enormous success with al Green,
(02:21):
and it's still the oldest operating recording music studio in
the world.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Is that right? It's the third oldest operating studio in
North America and the fourth oldest in the world. Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
And with your family's legacy with al Green, have you
heard We've got a new Zealand artist, Lord and she's
just covered Take Me to the River. You heard that
on the tribute alpham Yeah, I did.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
It's really great, really great. I'm a big fan of Lord,
big fan. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I mean the legends that have come through the studios
that we just run through a quit list here because
we play most of them here on Gold Alton, Robert Plant,
Al Green, Chuck Burry, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, Robert Craikeith Richards, Icon, Tina,
Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Paul Rogers, even Uptown Funk. Yes,
I Love was largely written and recorded and you engineered
(03:09):
Mike ronson y tell us how that all came to
be so.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Mark Ronson was looking for singers, uh when he started
the album Uptown Special. They had the idea of renting
a car in New Orleans and driving up the Mississippi
Delta to find the next soul singer. And so they
were stopping at studios and open mics, choir, rehearsals, all
kinds of places. And he originally auditioned singers at Role
(03:34):
but when he walked in, you know, he was taken
away by He knew about it, but you know, we
still had Al Green's microphone number nine, We still had
the a people's I Can't Stand the Rain, the electric bongos,
and after a while he was like, man, I think
I wanna make my album here. Wow. And I didn't
know what he was doing and didn't know anything about
Bruno Morris being involved, and I was just like, okay,
(03:56):
gave him a card. He comes back ten days later
with trombone Shorty, Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks, Emil Heiney, just
a whole cast of characters. And during that session he goes, oh, yeah,
I got a song I want Bruno to come here
and do. And a couple of months later he comes
Bruno and they wrote the song over three days and
(04:18):
Bruno got the lyrics about four in the morning and
they ran out of chambers and they were drinking Jameson.
So I was like, oh my god, it's got to
be some booze somewhere. So I go in my dad's
office and next to his lifetime Achievement Grammy was a
bottle of four Roses Bourbon signed by the distiller, and
I was like, sorry, I'm take And Bruno happened to
(04:44):
be the first guy I got to and he was like, yeah, boo, Mitch,
you'll fill my cup, put some liquor in it, and
four lyrics in the song.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Story.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
So Uptown Funk was the first record made in Memphis
to win a Record of the Year Grammy, making me
the only Mephian currently out of Theresa al Green and
everybody to have a record of the yeogram, which is
kind of silly, but I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
That is incredible, incredible. I remember the first time I
heard that song, saying to my husband that song is
going to get a Record of the Year, and like
eight or nine months later it did, and I was
just like, how could it not a such a good song,
that's a great lyric story. I bloody love.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
It well deserved, well deserved.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I mean, Memphis is the hub, isn't it, these guys
in the fifties and sixties that we're making music does
inspire what we play here on Gold today, you know,
from Zeppelin to the Stones to Guns n' Roses. I mean,
it was, as you say, America that gave us popular music.
What we listened to today is thanks to what came from
that very small origin spot. And that is why you're
(05:50):
here in New Zealand to sort of remind us that
it all started with you guys.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Absolutely, the Mississippi Delta kind of came to a collecting point,
and it was Memphis was where the Mississippi Delta landed.
But it certainly did influence and inspire the world's popular music.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
And the rappers they fully acknowledge that. I mean, is
a great moment obviously in the film with Snoop Dogg,
who sees, you know, you've got the founding fathers in
the same room as these young rappers who aspire to
be what they are, and you brought them all together
to make music. That must be such a great feeling
having orchestrated that.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, you know, the idea of coming together and ripping
walls down genre, gender, generation. That's the gift that we
have as musicians, that comes natural to us. So to
be able to show that to the world that that's
what we do, is we come together in one room.
Getting legends together with stars of today was really really satisfying,
(06:48):
and back when we started it, it was not common.
Now there's no walls between genres. You're seeing rappers doing
country or you know, vice versa, and the reality is
is back then, putting Yogati with Bobby Lublin was definitely
something you didn't see.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
You must have filmed hours of footage that we haven't seen.
Are you releasing any additional footage for the tenth anniversary?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Good question and yes, simple answer is yes, And we
have a YouTube show every Thursday. We go back into
the vault sometimes and currently we're working on the third film,
Take Me to the River London, which talks about the
story and the narrative is all about the British invasion,
Why did it happen and how did it really happen?
(07:36):
And I don't think that story has really been told properly.
And of course we navigate the narrative through sessions again
and we make a new record and we're twenty two
songs deep and we're hot out of the gate and
can't wait to finish it.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Wow, that is exciting. I look forward to that. I mean,
talking to us here on Gold today, you've got an audience,
captive audience of classic rock fans and as Keywys. When
we typically go to America, we tend to visit LA
and New York. Nashville is definitely becoming much more popular
with music fans. Feel like a lot of musicians rock
outist still living there these days and recording there. People
really need to travel those extra couple of hours, though,
(08:12):
don't they out of Nashville and come to Memphis. Tell
us why it's so good for us to visit Memphis.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Memphis. You know, there's a feeling, a vibe and energy
in Memphis that is just unique. The name Memphis is
mentioned in more songs than any other city by a landslide,
like it's a magical feeling. We have some of the
most repeat tourists than any other city. It's like once
you come to Memphis one time, you kind of hooked
(08:41):
for life. It feels like home.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
And it's really a center point to go out and
really experience the Delta personally and like, get that feeling
that Boo's talking about an epiphany that I had to
even have take me to the river and to start
it was that feeling. It just comes up to the ground.
You can feel it. If you can't feel it, it's
(09:04):
going to be hard for you to feel anything. And
so if you want to see modern day culture, past,
present and future, come to Memphis.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Memphis, and you just referenced feelings there. I know your
dad Willie said, you're not selling music, you are selling feelings.
So sound is everything, and a Memphis Sounds It is
so unique and so magical and it is such a
treat to have you guys here. Thank you so much
for traveling to New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Wow, thank you so much for having us and it has
been a wonderful experience. We love New Zealand. I'm trying
to figure out how to come back.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Please soon come back and do it too. I mean,
obviously you're playing Blues and Broadbeach Festival with a high
rhythm section headlined by Melissa Etheridge. We love her as well.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
We recorded her as well. Oh you did, yeah, rhythm
played on Melissa Ethridge's rock and soul album and she's amazing.
So I grew up listening to ac DC and Rick
James and Michael Jackson. But that ac DC guitar sound,
I've been trying to get it for a while and
Melissa came in plugged her guitar and I was like,
(10:09):
oh my god, that's the sound.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
We need to put you in touch with Harry Vander
of Vander and Young Studios who recorded all the ACDC stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Really, Oh wow, Yeah, I was just.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
With him on the weekend actually, so he'd be a
great person.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yeah, I would love to meet him talk to Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And I think we can see your documentary. It's showing
now on Prime TV here in New Zealand, so highly
recommended for people.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
To watch that.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Please do and listen to the records, you know, anywhere
where you consume in Spotify, Apple and of course.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Gold Oh what a finale? Mic drop?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Is that what they said? Gold Asides podcast The Stories
behind Just Great Rock. If you enjoyed this podcast, click
to share with Fambly or friends. For Just Great Rock.
Listen to Gold FM anytime anywhere on iHeartRadio.
Bold Asides Podcast, The Stories behind Just Great Rock.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome. You're obviously here in New Zealand because you are
en route to the Blues on broad Beach Festival. In
Australian tonight, you're at a Memphis tourism push and all
coincides with the tenth anniversary of Take Me to the River.
That's all aligned so nicely.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Really has and we're just real excited to be here
and to have ten years under our belts and it
just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. That's the
good news.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Obviously, Take Me to the River you produced and directed
Talking hiss Icon Jerry Harrison produces Well twenty fourteen. And
the reality was that people that you wanted to make
the movie around were starting to pass away, and you
needed to do it while they were alive, because it
was very important to you to accurately sort of document
and have the impass on the information the mental ship.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yes, absolutely, And the car to action really was when
Boos Pop, Willie Mitchell passed, Alex Chilton passed, Isaac Hayes
pass said, Jim Dickinson passed, all within twelve fourteen months.
It was a call to action that we really need
to get started, and we really found a great home
with Bowet Royal, and the attempt was to go to
several studios and we started that way, but once we
(01:18):
got to Royal, we couldn't lead.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yeah, and on that sort of similar note, I've really
noticed less her soul with the passing of Lisa Marie Presley,
I've noticed that Priscilla Presley has really ramped up her
sort of speaking to us and talking to us as well.
I'm going to say for the same thing. I mean,
she's in her seventies, Jerry Shillings in his eighties. They
probably still want to make sure that they can get
out and pass on the legacy as accurately to as
(01:43):
many people as possible.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Yes, Yes, Priscilla has definitely been more active in the
past couple of years, and it's been a lot to
Memphians to see her out active and you know, walking
amongst the people and passing on the information.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Of course, because I think as New Zealanders when we
think of Memphis, the first thing we do think of
is Elvis and Graceland or MLKA and obviously Sun's studios,
but there is another very iconic studio there in Royal
Studios and Boothies are your family studios of which you
work out of as a Grammy Award winning engineer, producer, composer.
Your dad Willie had the enormous success with al Green,
(02:21):
and it's still the oldest operating recording music studio in
the world.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Is that right? It's the third oldest operating studio in
North America and the fourth oldest in the world. Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
And with your family's legacy with al Green, have you
heard We've got a new Zealand artist, Lord and she's
just covered Take Me to the River. You heard that
on the tribute alpham Yeah, I did.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
It's really great, really great. I'm a big fan of Lord,
big fan. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I mean the legends that have come through the studios
that we just run through a quit list here because
we play most of them here on Gold Alton, Robert Plant,
Al Green, Chuck Burry, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, Robert Craikeith Richards, Icon, Tina,
Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Paul Rogers, even Uptown Funk. Yes,
I Love was largely written and recorded and you engineered
(03:09):
Mike ronson y tell us how that all came to
be so.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Mark Ronson was looking for singers, uh when he started
the album Uptown Special. They had the idea of renting
a car in New Orleans and driving up the Mississippi
Delta to find the next soul singer. And so they
were stopping at studios and open mics, choir, rehearsals, all
kinds of places. And he originally auditioned singers at Role
(03:34):
but when he walked in, you know, he was taken
away by He knew about it, but you know, we
still had Al Green's microphone number nine, We still had
the a people's I Can't Stand the Rain, the electric bongos,
and after a while he was like, man, I think
I wanna make my album here. Wow. And I didn't
know what he was doing and didn't know anything about
Bruno Morris being involved, and I was just like, okay,
(03:56):
gave him a card. He comes back ten days later
with trombone Shorty, Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks, Emil Heiney, just
a whole cast of characters. And during that session he goes, oh, yeah,
I got a song I want Bruno to come here
and do. And a couple of months later he comes
Bruno and they wrote the song over three days and
(04:18):
Bruno got the lyrics about four in the morning and
they ran out of chambers and they were drinking Jameson.
So I was like, oh my god, it's got to
be some booze somewhere. So I go in my dad's
office and next to his lifetime Achievement Grammy was a
bottle of four Roses Bourbon signed by the distiller, and
I was like, sorry, I'm take And Bruno happened to
(04:44):
be the first guy I got to and he was like, yeah, boo, Mitch,
you'll fill my cup, put some liquor in it, and
four lyrics in the song.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Story.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
So Uptown Funk was the first record made in Memphis
to win a Record of the Year Grammy, making me
the only Mephian currently out of Theresa al Green and
everybody to have a record of the yeogram, which is
kind of silly, but I'll take it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
That is incredible, incredible. I remember the first time I
heard that song, saying to my husband that song is
going to get a Record of the Year, and like
eight or nine months later it did, and I was
just like, how could it not a such a good song,
that's a great lyric story. I bloody love.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
It well deserved, well deserved.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I mean, Memphis is the hub, isn't it, these guys
in the fifties and sixties that we're making music does
inspire what we play here on Gold today, you know,
from Zeppelin to the Stones to Guns n' Roses. I mean,
it was, as you say, America that gave us popular music.
What we listened to today is thanks to what came from
that very small origin spot. And that is why you're
(05:50):
here in New Zealand to sort of remind us that
it all started with you guys.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Absolutely, the Mississippi Delta kind of came to a collecting point,
and it was Memphis was where the Mississippi Delta landed.
But it certainly did influence and inspire the world's popular music.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
And the rappers they fully acknowledge that. I mean, is
a great moment obviously in the film with Snoop Dogg,
who sees, you know, you've got the founding fathers in
the same room as these young rappers who aspire to
be what they are, and you brought them all together
to make music. That must be such a great feeling
having orchestrated that.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, you know, the idea of coming together and ripping
walls down genre, gender, generation. That's the gift that we
have as musicians, that comes natural to us. So to
be able to show that to the world that that's
what we do, is we come together in one room.
Getting legends together with stars of today was really really satisfying,
(06:48):
and back when we started it, it was not common.
Now there's no walls between genres. You're seeing rappers doing
country or you know, vice versa, and the reality is
is back then, putting Yogati with Bobby Lublin was definitely
something you didn't see.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
You must have filmed hours of footage that we haven't seen.
Are you releasing any additional footage for the tenth anniversary?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Good question and yes, simple answer is yes, And we
have a YouTube show every Thursday. We go back into
the vault sometimes and currently we're working on the third film,
Take Me to the River London, which talks about the
story and the narrative is all about the British invasion,
Why did it happen and how did it really happen?
(07:36):
And I don't think that story has really been told properly.
And of course we navigate the narrative through sessions again
and we make a new record and we're twenty two
songs deep and we're hot out of the gate and
can't wait to finish it.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Wow, that is exciting. I look forward to that. I mean,
talking to us here on Gold today, you've got an audience,
captive audience of classic rock fans and as Keywys. When
we typically go to America, we tend to visit LA
and New York. Nashville is definitely becoming much more popular
with music fans. Feel like a lot of musicians rock
outist still living there these days and recording there. People
really need to travel those extra couple of hours, though,
(08:12):
don't they out of Nashville and come to Memphis. Tell
us why it's so good for us to visit Memphis.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Memphis. You know, there's a feeling, a vibe and energy
in Memphis that is just unique. The name Memphis is
mentioned in more songs than any other city by a landslide,
like it's a magical feeling. We have some of the
most repeat tourists than any other city. It's like once
you come to Memphis one time, you kind of hooked
(08:41):
for life. It feels like home.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
And it's really a center point to go out and
really experience the Delta personally and like, get that feeling
that Boo's talking about an epiphany that I had to
even have take me to the river and to start
it was that feeling. It just comes up to the ground.
You can feel it. If you can't feel it, it's
(09:04):
going to be hard for you to feel anything. And
so if you want to see modern day culture, past,
present and future, come to Memphis.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Memphis, and you just referenced feelings there. I know your
dad Willie said, you're not selling music, you are selling feelings.
So sound is everything, and a Memphis Sounds It is
so unique and so magical and it is such a
treat to have you guys here. Thank you so much
for traveling to New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Wow, thank you so much for having us and it has
been a wonderful experience. We love New Zealand. I'm trying
to figure out how to come back.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Please soon come back and do it too. I mean,
obviously you're playing Blues and Broadbeach Festival with a high
rhythm section headlined by Melissa Etheridge. We love her as well.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
We recorded her as well. Oh you did, yeah, rhythm
played on Melissa Ethridge's rock and soul album and she's amazing.
So I grew up listening to ac DC and Rick
James and Michael Jackson. But that ac DC guitar sound,
I've been trying to get it for a while and
Melissa came in plugged her guitar and I was like,
(10:09):
oh my god, that's the sound.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
We need to put you in touch with Harry Vander
of Vander and Young Studios who recorded all the ACDC stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Really, Oh wow, Yeah, I was just.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
With him on the weekend actually, so he'd be a
great person.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Yeah, I would love to meet him talk to Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
And I think we can see your documentary. It's showing
now on Prime TV here in New Zealand, so highly
recommended for people.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
To watch that.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Please do and listen to the records, you know, anywhere
where you consume in Spotify, Apple and of course.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Gold Oh what a finale? Mic drop?
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Is that what they said? Gold Asides podcast The Stories
behind Just Great Rock. If you enjoyed this podcast, click
to share with Fambly or friends. For Just Great Rock.
Listen to Gold FM anytime anywhere on iHeartRadio.
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