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