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1991 single by Marc Cohn

"Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the 32 year old Cohn won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The song's lyrics are autobiographical, chronicling a 1985 trip that Cohn, then a struggling songwriter and singer, took to Memphis to overcome a bout of writer's block. After visiting the church where former soul singer Al Green was preaching, Elvis Presley's former home of Graceland, and a small nightclub in nearby Mississippi, as well as wandering various streets of downtown Memphis, he returned to New York and began composing the song. While writing and recording sessions continued through the late 1980s, his debut album, on which the song was the lead single, was not released until 1991. "Walking in Memphis" reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991, becoming Cohn's only top forty hit on the chart. The song reached number three in Canada, number seven in Ireland, and number 11 in Australia. "Walking in Memphis" has since been covered several times, notably in 1995 by Cher and in 2003 by Lonestar.

Pan European magazine Music & Media described "Walking in Memphis" as "an inspiring song about the capitol of rock & roll, by this promising American singer/songwriter who is backed by an impressive gospel choir." Bobby Surf from NME said the song is "the Tennessee Tourist Board's wettest dream come true". He added, "To conclude that 'Walking in Memphis' is a mite similar to fellow pop hagioraphers Danny Wilson's 'Mary's Prayer' is to do Cohn a serious disservice. Firstly, he has a fine, grown up voice and a manner at the piano that mercifully skirts the morbid pomposity composing at that instrument so often engenders."

Released as the first single from Cohn's self titled debut album in March 1991, "Walking in Memphis" debuted at number 87 on the US Hot 100 in Billboard magazine dated March 30, 1991, with a subsequent two month gradual chart ascent to the top 40. The single's number 38 ranking on the Hot 100 dated May 25, 1991, inaugurated a ten week top 40 tenure with a peak of number 13 for two weeks in July 1991.

"Walking in Memphis" was remade by American singer and actress Cher for her 21st studio album, It's a Man's World (1995). It was released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom on October 16, 1995. Her version debuted at number 11 on the UK Singles chart for the week ending October 28, 1995. Despite being a comparative failure for Cher, "Walking in Memphis" was included in the set list for the singer's 1999–2000 Do You Believe? Tour, the first Cher tour subsequent to her recording of the song. In introducing the number, Cher would overstate how low the impact of her take on "Walking in Memphis" was, first citing Marc Cohn's original as "a huge hit", then her own version as "a huge bomb". Her cover was used on The X Files in the final scene of the fifth season episode "The Post Modern Prometheus".

AllMusic described Cher's cover version of "Walking in Memphis" as "rousing". Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly stated that it "must be heard to be believed." Pan European magazine Music & Media wrote, "The regular version of Marc Cohn's low key ballad doesn't do much justice to Cher's throaty voice, which needs more drama."

American country music band Lonestar reached number eight on the Hot Country Songs chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003 with a remake of "Walking in Memphis" released as a single off the album From There to Here: Greatest Hits. This version was featured on Smallville Season 3, Episode 5 "Perry" when Perry White returns to Metropolis. Lonestar's lead vocalist Richie McDonald recalled that, during the two years of the band's inaugural phase as a bar band, "Walking in Memphis" was a staple of their set list from the beginning: "After we got our record deal, we stopped doing [any] cover songs but a few years later, [we were] in Memphis, Tennessee getting ready to do a benefit for St. Jude's down on Beale Street" – i. e. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – "[and] we thought this would be a good time to do 'Walking in Memphis,' because we were right there on Beale One of the label guys was there [and] said, "Y'all should record that." We started doing it in our live shows and it just became something we wanted to put out."

In the summer of 2005, Wouter (nl), the runner up in Idool 2004, spent eleven weeks in the top 20 of the Flemish chart with his version of "Walking in Memphis", with the track spending three weeks at No. 3. The track was included on Rock On, Wouter's only album release to date. "Walking in Memphis" became a No. 5 hit in Sweden in December 2009 via a remake by Calle Kristiansson, the runner up finalist in Idol 2009. Kristiansson's version of "Walking in Memphis" was included on his self titled album issued in January 2010. A concert performance of "Walking in Memphis" by Eric Church was featured in the first installment of the 15 LP (vinyl) box set of Church recordings titled 61 Days in Church. English heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury covered the song a capella adopted into "Walking in Las Vegas", during the post fight interview to celebrate the victory against Deontay Wilder in their third fight, which ended in an 11th–round knockout.

English electronic duo Shut Up and Dance released "Raving I'm Raving" on May 18, 1992, based significantly on "Walking in Memphis". Several lyrics were altered, including the line "I'm walking in Memphis" becoming "I'm raving I'm raving". Cohn, who had not given the duo permission to change "Walking in Memphis", filed an injunction on the grounds of moral rights to prevent the single's release. Shut Up and Dance and Cohn's lawyers eventually agreed to release the single on two conditions: all sales had to be donated to charity, and no more copies of the single were to be made. With only 35,000 copies produced, "Raving I'm Raving" became a highly desired product at record stores, and the single debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart in May 1992 despite being forecasted to top the chart during the midweek sales report. After its debut, "Raving I'm Raving" had nearly exhausted its stock at record shops, causing it to drop to number 15 the following week and exit the UK Singles Chart the week after. Because of the injunction, Shut Up and Dance were not allowed to include the original version of the track on their 1992 album Death Is Not the End; instead, a re recorded version was included, and the album's release was delayed from June 1992 to July 1992. as a single from their album Wicked!. The single was certified gold in Germany and peaked at number four on the German Singles Chart. Pan European magazine Music & Media wrote about the song, "Remember Marc Cohn's beautiful piano ballad Walking In Memphis? Change the lyrics in I'm Raving, I'm Raving, add some bagpipe synths and the semi live gimmick patented by Scooter. This makes chart storming seem effortless."

In the November 20, 2021, episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Simu Liu, cast member Pete Davidson performed "Walking in Staten" along with Cohn, country pop artist Big Wet, and Method Man. The parody's lyrics and visuals were a playful tribute to Davidson's native Staten Island.