DESCRIPTION:
Through the 70s, 80s and most of the 90s Mud Boy & the Neutrons became legendary in Memphis for their occasional performances - mostly at benefits or other situations seemingly designed to insure a lack of commercial success - until the tragic murder of guitarist Lee Baker in 1996 ended their reign as "the greatest group nobody could find". All four Mud Boys: Baker along with Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge and Jimmy Crosthwait, began playing on this Overton Park Shell stage in the 1960s. The experience of playing here with old blues masters like Furry Lewis and Bukka White at the Memphis Country Blues Festivals led to the formation of Mud Boy & the Neutrons.
The legacy of Mud Boy has survived through occasional reunions of surviving members and through many musicians inspired by their unique spirit including some very talented sons of Mud Boys: Luther and Cody Dickinson & Steve Selvidge.
This historic amphitheater was fully renovated in 2008 thanks to a generous grant from the Mortimer Levitt Foundation and the renamed Levitt Shell now sponsors 50 free concerts every year devoted to developing community through the performing arts.