Acclaimed singer/songwriter/guitarist and ex cab-driver Mem Shannon has taken his unforgettable songs and funky soloing all over the world, from his native New Orleans to Europe and Hong Kong. Now, with a little help from Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love — the legendary Memphis Horns — and producer Dennis Walker (of Robert Cray fame), Mem Shannon’s musical journey travels to Memphis in the Morning.                                        

Memphis in the Morning is a fusion of the shared musical genius of two of America's most musical cities: New Orleans and Memphis. In his devastatingly syncopated guitar licks, Shannon channels the legacy of Booker T. & the MGs and the Meters. Through Love and Jackson's horns, the band nods to the burning R&B of Stax's heyday, and the jumping charts that Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew pioneered in the Crescent City.  But most importantly, Shannon's songwriting and aesthetic reflects the blue-collar grit and sense of Southern joy shared by Memphis and New Orleans. These two cities are still havens for neighborhood charm and regional pride -- and Shannon knows their people and terrain.

          The result is a breakthrough album in a career that just keeps rocketing skyward. Since retiring from his day (and night) job of driving a cab in the mid-90s, Shannon’s indelible mix of groove-heavy blues combined with alternately heartfelt and humorous songwriting has won over a sizable fanbase, and all corners of the print, television and radio universe.

          Shannon's one-of-a-kind musical fingerprint was captured at famed Ardent Studios in Memphis, with the help of heavyweight producer/engineer John Hampton (Gin Blossoms, Stevie Ray Vaughan) behind the boards mixing the album. The CD’s title track is a stirring road lament, with the brass lines giving the song the feel of a lost Stax track. “S.U.V.” is Shannon’s playful jab at road hogs, using a deftly rhymed acronym, while Shannon’s distinct vocals and phrasing on B.B. King’s “Why I Sing the Blues” turn it into his own personal mission statement. The tender stripped-down ballad “You Belong to Him” and the country-ready “Tired Arms” reveal Shannon’s cross-genre appeal, while “Shake Up the Floor” and “I Smell Something Funky” are prime Shannon throwdowns, bursting with New Orleans funk and a jazzy elasticity that sounds like George Benson meets the Meters’ Leo Nocentelli.

Mem Shannon had never even traveled outside of New Orleans before the release of his 1995 debut CD, A Cab Driver's Blues.  He'd driven a taxi in the Crescent City since he was 18 years old, playing gigs on Bourbon Street when his meter wasn't running.  But his powerful musical voice deserved to be heard beyond city limits and legendary producer Joe Boyd signed him to the Hannibal/Rykodisc label.  He followed up his first album with the no-nonsense 2nd Blues Album for Hannibal/Rykodisc before signing with Shanachie in 1999 for his third CD, Spend Some Time With Me.