Walking in Memphis

"Walking in Memphis"
Single by Marc Cohn
from the album Marc Cohn
B-side
  • "Dig Down Deep"
  • "Silver Thunderbird" (live) (reissue)
ReleasedMarch 1991
Genre
Length4:18
LabelAtlantic
SongwriterMarc Cohn
Producers
  • Marc Cohn
  • Ben Wisch
Marc Cohn singles chronology
"The Heart of the City"
(1986)
"Walking in Memphis"
(1991)
"Silver Thunderbird"
(1991)
Music video
"Walking in Memphis" on YouTube

"Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn and released as a single in March 1991 by Atlantic Records.

The song's lyrics are autobiographical. They chronicle a trip that Cohn, then a struggling songwriter and singer, took to Memphis to overcome a bout of writer's block. After visiting the church where former soul singer Al Green was preaching, Elvis Presley's former home of Graceland, and a small nightclub in nearby Mississippi, he returned to New York and began composing the song.

"Walking in Memphis" reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991. The song reached number three in Canada, number seven in Ireland, and number 11 in Australia. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the 32-year-old Cohn won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. "Walking in Memphis" is Cohn's signature song. The song has been covered several times, notably in 1995 by Cher and in 2003 by Lonestar.