B.B. King in Memphis
On view July 24 – October 19, 2025
As part of Memphis’ 100 Days of Blues celebration honoring the 100th birthday of the King of the Blues, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music presents a special limited-time exhibit: B.B. King in Memphis.
This powerful exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the Memphis roots of B.B. King’s storied career. It features never-before-seen photographs, including twelve striking black-and-white images by photographer Alan Copeland, documenting B.B. King’s legendary late-night performance at the Mud Island Amphitheater during Labor Day Weekend in 1982. These images, scanned directly from the original negatives, are on public display for the first time.
Visitors will also experience:
- Live-on-air audio from B.B. King’s early days at WDIA Radio, where he earned the nickname “The Beale Street Blues Boy.”
- A custom-curated jukebox in the Stax Museum lounge featuring tracks from the 1982 performance.
- A rare, signed Gibson Lucille guitar, on loan from Lansky Bros., where B.B. King was known to shop for his signature style.
This exhibition, along with the preservation and digitization of the Alan Copeland Collection, has been made possible through a grant from the State of Tennessee.
Join us in celebrating a century of B.B. King’s legacy—where his blues story met Memphis soul.
