NPR

Memphis Blues

Topped by Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay," the R&B Top 20 from the week of March 30, 1968 shows American soul flourishing in all directions.
April 4, 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The week he died, American soul and R&B were at a high-water mark.

Reflecting on today's anniversary of 's murder, its 50th, pulls our minds toward images and sounds that surround that day in 1968: to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel; to Dr. King's speech in Memphis the day before his assassination. This anniversary has weighed on my mind more than usual, maybe because I've just recently arrived in Washington, D.C., where some of the worst rioting

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