ONE HIT WONDERLAND: 'Walking in Memphis' by Marc Cohn

[jonothanthrace]

I'm impressed that somebody other than Weird Al mentioned the Batmobile in a song.

[memecreamdreamteam]

when i was 13 i had my alarm clock tuned to a local "alternative" station and for like 3 months this song was playing every time my 6am alarm went off and now i cant hear this song without experiencing rage

[Charmyte]

On the topic, an interesting series would be looking at the Best New Artist of a given year and seeing if the winner really did have it best of the nominees

[hucklebucklin]

Anyone in Ireland will know that Sunshine FM plays this about 10 times a day. A taxi driver once told me it is good for calming down angry drunks

[aiberlane]

My mother ADORES this song. It has piano (she plays it), it's her style of music, and basically a love letter to Memphis and that's where she moved when she got married and where she had me. Memphis holds a special place in her heart. The fact that she heard it when she was driving home after a final trip there (our house had just sold and she and I camped out there, and basically said goodbye to the city), literally in the middle of the pouring rain, just cemented that love. She bought the album and the sheet music.

Because of her love for it, I'll always have a special place in my heart for it. After she's gone I'll probably weep buckets when I hear it.

[ASProductionsLLC]

The other Best New Artist 1991 nominees were Seal and Boys II Men. I suppose they had a decent career.

[tanyazumstein]

I didn't hear this song until I started working at Rite Aid in 2014 and I LOATHE it. But like most songs in retail you may have once enjoyed a song and then it becomes a daily reminder of your pain and misery.

[kurenable]

this is truly one of those songs that makes you believe that artists can be selected by the Muse for divine inspiration... don't care if he never had another hit, this is a song of All Time

[WolfHreda]

The "ma'am I am tonight" line always hits hard. Partly because the way he sings it is great, and partly because it's like an illustration of what so many of us disaffected atheists once thought religion would feel like.

[bwagner]

"Did He Deserve Better?" Well, he certainly didn't deserve to be shot, so I'd say so.

[KhanadaRhodes]

growing up in memphis, i heard this song all the damn time. he does a pretty good job of name-checking not just the more popular stuff like beale street but stuff that would've been more obscure, at least at the time.

[Darmk]

The accents are what make that piano riff work.

[carprincess]

I didn't realize how simple the piano melody was for this song. It still sounds super beautiful though

[heyo]

Saw him last summer in a small venue with my wife and father in law. She grew up listening to the album and with her being pregnant, it really hit her and her father in all the feels. Not everyone's cup of tea I suppose but he does come off better live and if you like the type of music I would suggest seeing him perform.

[blackpeter]

You had me at, "The Grammys are a joke.".

[Swordsman]

Dude I laughed so hard my eyes watered at the "Take a vacation in Memphis" bit. Great job, man.

[newtpollution]

As a Jew I am obligated to love all songs that can be boiled down to "This is something that makes me feel good, therefore I'm conflicted about whether it's real." It's a total Jewish Mood. Do I really feel the way I feel? I dunno, but you bet I'm asking my rabbi about it and arguing with whatever their opinion is.

[noizyme]

I know its comprised of a simple arpeggio, and I always sing the wrong lyrics to this song, but man, i love it. His voice is just too good. Oddly I wasn't impressed by his other examples of work in this video, but I love the composition and production of "Memphis."

[jacktowers]

This song is played almost everyday on the radio in my town in Australia and for some reasons it never fails to fundamentally depress me, it just feels like the song version of a cold cloudy day with no wind that won't rain

[MegCazalet]

This was my FAVORITE SONG as a 10-year-old. I was just coming off my Beach Boys obsession (fueled by Full House). I moved into Genesis and Peter Gabriel and, whaddya know, Unplugged 90s Clapton, Tom Petty, Bruce Hornsby . . . Wow, I guess I was being pretty consistent. Then the mid-90s hit and I went a bit bonkers. But I still love singer-songwriters with pianos and guitars.

I friggin love this series.