That's How I Got to Memphis
{{Short description|American country music standard written by Tom T. Hall}}
"That's How I Got to Memphis", sometimes titled "How I Got to Memphis", is a country music standard written by American country music artist Tom T. Hall. The song tells a man's story of coming to Memphis to look for a former lover. The song first appeared on Hall's 1969 album Ballad of Forty Dollars & His Other Great Songs. It has been widely covered, most notably by Bobby Bare in 1970, Deryl Dodd in 1996, and Charley Crockett in 2018.
Bobby Bare version
{{Infobox song
| name = How I Got to Memphis
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Bobby Bare
| album = This Is Bare Country
| B-side = "It's Freezing in El Paso"{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|pages=42–43|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}
| released = August 1970
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=31}}
| label = Mercury
| writer = Tom T. Hall
| producer = Jerry Kennedy
| prev_title = Your Husband, My Wife
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = Come Sundown
| next_year = 1970
}}
Bobby Bare covered the song under the name "How I Got to Memphis" on his 1970 album This Is Bare Country.{{cite magazine|date=August 8, 1970|title=Album reviews|magazine=Billboard|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kSkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22bobby+bare%22+%22how+i+got+to+memphis%22&pg=PA20}}
=Critical reception=
An uncredited review in Billboard called the song "potent Tom T. Hall material, delivered in one of Bare's finest performances."{{cite magazine|date=July 18, 1970|title=Singles|magazine=Billboard|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cykEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22bobby+bare%22+%22how+i+got+to+memphis%22&pg=PA72}}
=Chart performance=
Bobby Bare's version spent 16 weeks on the Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at number 3.
| class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1970) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|3|artist=Bobby Bare}} |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Country Tracks
|align="center"|22 |
Deryl Dodd version
{{Infobox song
| name = That's How I Got to Memphis
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Deryl Dodd
| album = One Ride in Vegas
| released = November 9, 1996
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=14}}
| label = Columbia
| writer = Tom T. Hall
| producer = Blake Chancey, Chip Young
| prev_title = Friends Don't Drive Friends…
| prev_year = 1996
| next_title = Movin' Out to the Country
| next_year = 1997
}}
In late 1996, Deryl Dodd covered the song for his debut album One Ride in Vegas. The song was the album's second single. In place of a b-side, the single release contained album snippets.Whitburn, pp. 127-28
=Critical reception=
=Chart performance=
Dodd's version charted on Hot Country Songs for 20 weeks, peaking at number 36 in early 1997.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1996–1997) !align="center"|Peak |
| {{single chart|Canadacountry|38|chartid=9897|publishdate=March 3, 1997|accessdate=July 17, 2013}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|36|artist=Deryl Dodd}} |
Other versions
The song has been widely covered by other artists and is now considered a standard.{{Cite magazine|last=Hall|first=Rashaun|date=9 February 2002|title=Pearl Snaps|magazine=Billboard|pages=22}}
A French language version entitled "Sur la route de Memphis" was a hit for French rock and country artist Eddy Mitchell and was the title track for his 1977 album.
The song was covered by country singer Kelly Willis on Real: The Tom T. Hall Project (Sire Records, 1998).
It is also featured in the series finale of The Newsroom.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Bobby Bare}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Mercury Records singles
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy
Category:Song recordings produced by Blake Chancey