The Box Tops

IN THESE trivia-obsessed times, it's probably worth knowing that the first Number One hit recorded in Memphis by a Memphis act was 'The Letter'. It was 1967, and Memphis might just have been the most musically vibrant place on earth. The Box Tops wrapped it all up: blue-eyed soul, AM pop, early funk, and Beatlesque wordplay. They were together just three years, long enough to give us two classics, and long enough for front man Alex Chilton to begin one of the most remarkable journeys in American music.