Junior Abishek Menon sings his way through Beale St, home of the jazz and blues
Beale Street, Memphis, is about 1.8 miles long and is famous for its blues and jazz. Clubs are open until three in the morning and music floats out of the many restaurants and clubs that line the street.
From April 7 to April 12, the American Studies class was on Beale Street, listening to Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode." Up on the stage, jamming away at the guitar and singing was junior Abishek Menon.
During their free time, Menon and his friends were strolling down the road when they managed to find a band called "Nite-Life" that was taking a break.
"I was just screwing around, because that's what I do, and then I was like, 'I should ask that guy if they would jam with me'," Menon said.
Menon strolled up to the drummer, who was improvising on his drums, and asked to play with them. The drummer and his band agreed to let Menon play onstage if he bought their CD. He and his friends pooled their money and bought the band's CD. Menon borrowed a guitar and decided to play Chuck Barry's "Johnny B Good." As Menon stood onstage, the bass came up to him and asked, "You're going to sing, right?"
"I wasn't expecting to sing, and I wasn't even expecting to be standing up there playing," Menon said. "I'm not a singer, and so I went up there and sang it like Chuck Barry did. Or at least tried to."
Nearly the everyone in the American Studies class had showed up for his performance.
"[The experience] was amazing," Menon said. "And now, I can say that I've played on Beale Street."
