Get your groove on: Memphis Listening Lab drops needle at Crosstown Concourse

By Susan Ellis – Projects Editor, Memphis Business Journal

The Memphis Listening Lab, located in the Crosstown Concourse, has roughly 12,000 albums; 30,000 45s; 20,000 CDs; and 1,000 music books.

The collection was donated by John King, one of the founders of Ardent Studios. He began his collection in the 1950s.

"He and John Fry and Fred Smith, who started FedEx, started Ardent when they were about 15 years old," said Jim Cole, head librarian at the Listening Lab. "[King] worked in radio and various things. This is all his collection. We've brought it to Crosstown and set it up as kind of a listening library/music archive/event space."

Jim Thompson, the owner of loudspeaker manufacturer EgglestonWorks, was working on the lobby bar at Central Station. He was building up the bar's extensive music collection and was looking for more albums, when someone told him about John King.

"A friend of mine asked, 'Do you know John King?' and I said, 'No.'" And then I googled him later and I felt like an idiot," Thompson said.

King was thinking of donating his collection to a university, but nothing had come of that.

"It got me like excited about this collection [when I] realized how huge it was. We couldn't do anything with it at the hotel — couldn't afford it, couldn't house it, couldn't maintain it," Thompson said. "But, I couldn't let it go."

King had wanted to keep his collection intact. He wanted people to use it, Thompson said.

Memphis is a great place to introduce far-flung ideas, Thompson said. It's where the craziest ideas are often the best ideas.

Thompson met Sherman Willmott, the founder of Shangri-La Records, who in turn introduced him to Jim Cole, who had worked at the University of Memphis library and at Sun Studio.

"It all started to come together, this idea of, let's put it in Crosstown and let's do it like [King] wants to do it," Thompson said. "Let's make it open to the public and to where people can use it."

The Memphis Listening Lab is set to open June 15. There is a tribute to King planned for July 10.

The space features individual listening stations, where users can listen to albums or anything from a CD to a reel-to-reel tape. There are also spaces for collective happenings, such as talks and listening events.

The space also features an editing station, where guests can use the lab's editing software or use it to record podcasts.

Guests can reserve time for the editing station or they can check out albums to listen to — all albums will remain in the lab.

Grinder Taber Grinder served as contractor.

One thing they plan to do is offer educational programming. They also have a partnership with the radio station WYXR 91.7 in the Concourse.

Willmott is on the board of the Listening Lab — along with Tonya Dyson, executive director of the Memphis Slim Collaboratory; Matt Ross-Spang, record producer, engineer, mixer, and owner of Southern Grooves Productions; Catrina Traylor, PR and marketing rep for Memphis Record Pressing; and Kortland Whalum, singer, songwriter, and actor.

Willmott said the collection is notable for its deep cuts.

"It's deep catalogue on spoken word. It's deep catalogue on soundtracks, comedy, radio jingles — stuff that isn't normally in a record collection, because he was so into the radio," he said.

"There's literally 1,000s of rare items," Willmott said. "It's just great for anyone from Michael Jackson fans all the way up to hardcore DJs."

The men said that King did not have an issue letting his collection go.

"He's been searching for a place for years and years," Willmott said. "So, he's very pleased that the public's going to get to enjoy it, which is what he always wanted."