Memphis, the third largest city within the state of Tennessee and the third biggest in Southeast United States, is the county seat of Shelby County. It is in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is considered the youngest of the four major cities of Tennessee state consisting of Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.
The city of Memphis brings the character of the American South to the forefront of the regions culture. There are many legendary musicians who grew up around the Mississippi Delta area near Memphis. They comprise: Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, W.C. Handy, Robert Johnson, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Prestley and Muddy Waters. The American music genres, that comprise Crunk, Buck, Rock n' Roll, Gospel, and Blues originated from the city of Memphis. There are even well-known writer from Memphis City, like for instance John Grisham, Shelby Foote and Tennessee Williams.
Memphis City has numerous attractions in the city, consisting of: Downtown Memphis, Lichterman Nature Center, Mid-South Fair, Memphis Botanic Garden, Mud Island, Pink Palace Museum, The Memphis Zoo, The Memphis Queen, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Sun Studio where tourists could hear outtakes from sessions, touch Elvis' first microphone, see lots of memorabilia and hear the complete, real story of the studio which launched the careers of Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Charlie Rich, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Roy Orbison, Howlin'Wolf, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley & many others.
The location of Memphis City is lucrative for business development. It is located among the shipping and transportation industry, that makes it a great place for commerce. Memphis City is the home of nine Fortune 500 companies which comprise: International paper, Thomas & Betts, AutoZone Incorporated, Schering-Plough Corporation and FedEx Corporation. In the year 2000, Inc. Magazine rated Memphis number eight among the 50 best major U.S. metro areas for opening a company.