In an odd way, we might have Justin Timberlake to thank for 901 Day, our annual celebration of all things Memphis.

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Back in 2012, Jen Clarke and Kerry Crawford were friends and colleagues in the city’s nascent social media environment. In addition to that work, both also ran blogs that, at least in part, chronicled Memphis.

Just a couple of years earlier, Timberlake, the pop icon who hails from Millington, had launched his 901 tequila brand (named, obviously, after the Memphis area code) to much fanfare.

One night, Crawford and Clarke were sitting around and they just couldn’t get away from ads for 901 Tequila. That left them in a bit of a huff.

“There was some promotion where they were going to do some specials for Sept. 1 because it was 901,” remembered Clarke. “Kerry and I both were like, ‘Wait a minute. Why is this a thing about tequila and not actually the 901, as in Memphis?’”

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