South Memphis is the part of the city that produced Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. and the MGs, and a catalogue of soul and R&B records that changed American music. The neighborhood called Soulsville, roughly bounded by McLemore Avenue and College Street, is where the Stax Records studio stood — now the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, one of the best music museums in the country. The Isaac Hayes Museum is nearby. The area was devastated by urban renewal and economic decline in the decades after Stax closed, and parts of it remain poor and underserved, but investment has followed the museum, and the neighborhood is being watched carefully.
Beyond the music history, South Memphis has some of the city's best barbecue. Interstate Bar-B-Q on South Third Street is a longtime institution. Payne's Bar-B-Q on Lamar Avenue is even more no-frills: cash only, limited seating, a chopped pork shoulder sandwich that regulars consider the platonic ideal of the form. South Memphis rewards visitors who approach it as a living neighborhood rather than just a heritage destination.