The Memphis Music Hall of Fame aims to pay tribute to those Memphis icons whose enduring contributions to music are still inspiring and influencing people worldwide. Each year, the MMHOF Nominating Committee selects from among those many artists and visionaries whose impact on music and pop culture merits recognition. No city compares to Memphis regarding our wealth of musical talent, a fact proven by the hundreds of legendary groups and individuals whose music placed Memphis on the world map and changed the cultural complexion of the planet forever.
The Memphis Music Hall of Fame announced nine 2024 Inductees, which will increase The Hall’s roster to 106 musical icons, representing just about every genre of music on the planet. The 2024 Inductees announced include James Carr, one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced; The Gentrys, the pop/rock band of the 60s and 70s composed of classmates from Memphis’ Treadwell High School; Jazze Pha, songwriter, rapper and record producer who, in the 1990s began racking up hits and became one of the country’s hottest beat-makers; and Spooner Oldham, songwriter and pivotal player in 1960s Southern soul who has continued to work with a who’s who of A-list musicians. The list of Inductees announced also included “Wicked” Wilson Pickett, one of the most influential Southern soul artists of the 1960s; Kallen Esperian, who has performed in every major opera house in the world, performing all of the major female roles; and Rhodes, Chalmers, Rhodes, the singers, producers and songwriters who laid down background vocals for practically every hit record to come out of Willie Mitchell’s Hi Records of Memphis. The two final 2024 Inductees have each played pivotal roles in the explosion of Memphis, Tennessee home of the world’s ultimate musical pilgrimage. Jack Soden, CEO of Graceland for over 40 years rescued Elvis’ Graceland home from almost certain bankruptcy, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S., and Kevin Kane, the CEO of Memphis Tourism preserved and elevated Memphis’ unique musical brand as the “Home of the Blues, Soul & Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which helps draw over 13 million tourists annually.
The 2024 Memphis Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Memphis music’s biggest night of the year, was held on Friday, September 27 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Memphis.
Each year, new, world-changing inductees are honored at the annual Memphis Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and presented with the Mike Curb Award, or “The Mic,” the official trophy of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, made possible by the Mike Curb Foundation (above being presented to Sam Moore by former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, presented by Keith Richards, and received by Justin Timberlake). Handcrafted by Lugar Foundry in Memphis, this 8-pound trophy is now in the homes and studios of over 97 honored inductees, including being displayed at Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis.