In 1914, Handy followed up Memphis Blues with his next hit, another 12-bar blues piece with a 16-bar habanera section.

BBC: WC Handy's Memphis Blues: The Song of 1912

For a night of Memphis blues and sinful "Southern comfort" food, make tracks to BB King's Blues Club on Beale St.

BBC: Music City to Dixieland: A musical roots run

And she explored the blues in her recent "Memphis Blues" CD.

WSJ: Cyndi Lauper just wants to have fun on Broadway

Last month, Taylor was named Traditional Blues Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis.

NPR: Blues Queen Koko Taylor Dies At 80

"You can draw a triangle from Nashville to Memphis to Muscle Shoals, and while Nashville is the country center, Memphis is generally known as the blues center, " Lair says.

NPR: The Legendary Muscle Shoals Sound

David Evans, a blues scholar at the University of Memphis, blames commercial developers.

ECONOMIST: Letter from the Mississippi Delta: The rebirth of the blues | The

From the playgrounds to the high schools to the University of Memphis, the city loves its barbecue, blues and basketball.

CNN: NBA's Grizzlies inspired by fans in flooded Memphis

Last year, fewer tourists than usual went to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the birthplaces of the blues, and this was widely blamed on the fact that nearby Tunica is awash in cheap liquor and discounted motel rooms.

ECONOMIST: The gambling industry: Neon in the Delta | The

The blues revival came too late to save such historic Memphis landmarks as the Stax Records studio, but Beale Street was still around technically speaking, anyway.

ECONOMIST: The music of poor blacks enriches America��s deep south