In its first years, Jefferson Productions, then one of the few full-fledged video production facilities in the nation, had a good thing going with Nashville producers. Among the country stars whose shows were videotaped here were Porter Wagoner (above) and his young protege Dolly Parton; Johnny Cash; Bill Anderson; The Stoneman Family; and several more.
It had been scheduled as a march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., to dramatize the plight of the city's striking garbage workers. Instead, it became a memorial march for the civil rights leader, who had been assassinated just four days before. Scores of dignitaries from across the world attended, as did the now widowed Coretta Scott King.
ABC News dispatched Jefferson Productions' crew and equipment to Memphis to help cover the event.
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Over the weekend, riots had erupted in cities across the shocked nation, and, fearing the worst, officials had National Guard troops stationed along the streets of Memphis. They were not needed, for the march was a sad, solemn and quiet occasion.
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The next day, in Atlanta, King's burial attracted 60,000 mourners and was televised worldwide. The shock of the murder and the violence it set off spurred Memphis city leaders to accommodate some of the workers' demands, and the long, bitter strike was soon ended.
The incredible story of the events of those days, and the months-long search for the killer, is recounted in Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides.
Photos courtesy Don McDaniel.