From the London Hard Rock to Kudzu’s, Steve Edmondson saw it all
Steve Edmondson saw the bar scene in Memphis in the 1970s like few others.
He worked with the Grisanti family. He bartended in the beer clubs and supper clubs that preceded Tennessee in allowing liquor to be sold by the drink. He went to London and worked as the first-ever American bartender at the Hard Rock London. He founded Kudzu’s.
And a whole lot more.
Edmondson joined me on this week’s episode of “The Sidebar,” which is back after a big break. Edmondson has more amazing stories about Memphis bars and clubs than I even imagined. He worked with Mick Jagger’s brother. At the London Hard Rock, producers and artists would play tapes of studio sessions by the biggest names in rock and roll. He started Kudzu’s. He worked in Overton Square when the clubs and bars were four people deep, waiting for drinks that cost a dollar.
Take a listen or watch the video.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
“The Sidebar” airs every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. on WYXR-FM 91.7 and is also available as a video podcast here on the website, as a video on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Editor’s Note: WYXR is a partnership between Crosstown Concourse, the University of Memphis and The Daily Memphian. As part of that partnership, I serve on the board of Crosstown Radio Partnership, which owns and oversees WYXR.
Topics
The Sidebar Hard Rock Cafe Kudzu's Overton SquareEric Barnes
Eric Barnes is editor-at-large of The Daily Memphian, host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO-TV, host of The Sidebar on WYXR 91.7, and the author of four novels.
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