If Beale Street could talk, if Beale Street could talk, Married men would have to
take their beds and walk, Except one or two who never drink booze, And the blind man on the corner singing "Beale Street Blues!" I'd rather be there than any place I know...
- W.C. Handy/Beale Street Blues
The Blues were born on Beale Street, and it was the home to famous blues musicians such as W.C. Handy who wrote the first blues song here in 1909.
Beale Street is one of the most famous streets in Memphis, and it is the soul of old Memphis. Aside from the bustling cotton trade on the cobblestone banks of Front Street along the Mississippi, no other Memphis landmark has held such mystique, intrigue, fame and infamy over the years.
As immigrants from many countries flocked to Memphis bluffs in the 1800's, homes, businesses, theaters, clubs, produce stands, houses of prostitution, churches and pawnshops appeared along Beale Street. By the 1840's, Beale Street was an affluent suburb of Memphis. The Hunt-Phelan home, which still stands today near the east end of Beale Street, is an example of this affluence that once graced this street.
During the Civil War, Memphis fell quickly to Union troops, and many African American freed men settled in this area of the city. In addition to African Americans, a large Irish population made up part of early Memphis. Many Irish men who settled in the area chose to work for the Police Department. In 1866, the death of an Irish boy fueled race riots between African American and Irish Memphians when African American Union troops stopped the mainly Irish police form arresting an African American boy who was a suspect in the death. Many African Americans fled as Irish immigrants burned, looted, and murdered Beale Street residents in retaliation.
