“Memphis Soul Stew” by King Curtis

"Memphis Soul Stew" finds King Curtis handing out the recipe for the Memphis sound, cut at American Sound Studio and released in 1967, the year it also turned up on his album King Size Soul. Curtis produced it himself and plays head chef, calling each instrument into the pot in turn, and the kitchen staff is choice: Tommy Cogbill on bass, Gene Chrisman on drums, Bobby Emmons on organ, Bobby Wood on piano, Reggie Young and R.F. Taylor on guitars, Charles Chalmers and Jimmy Mitchell on tenor sax beside Curtis, Floyd Newman on baritone and Gene "Bowlegs" Miller on trumpet. It simmers, it thickens, and then it boils right over.

As a single it went top 50. Curtis was still cooking it up onstage at the Fillmore West in 1971, not long before he died, and that take landed on Live at Fillmore West.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.