alternatehistory.com

Calling all music historians:

Memphis is the home of the blues and the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll and sits right at 200 miles to the southwest of Nashville, the adopted home of Country and Country and Western.

Having lived in both and having multiple connections to both of them as well it has always struck me the intense competition between the two and a thought occurred:

Make one of those cities the home of all three. This achieves a lot of cultural butterflies that exceed music... notably race relations and the history of the National Civil Rights movement.

While I would prefer for Memphis to be the city of choice, in an effort towards fairness, either city is acceptable. Natural disaster is okay so long as it is mainly property and economy that is crippled and the death toll is at the absolute minimum (preferably inciting an exodus from one to the other, a la the massive post-Katrina diaspora.)

POD must be in the Twentieth Century.

Bonus points if you include a little bit about some crossover artists effected by this shift.

Extra bonus points if you can think of some interesting cultural effects involving race relations and/or civil rights.

GO!

(Dear AH Gods, please don't let this thread die. It may be the missing piece to this cultural TL puzzle which possesses me...)
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