Up @ an ungodly hour this morning (4.50am to be exact) as we were on a 7.40am flight down to the city of Elvis Presley - Memphis,Tennessee. Perched gracefully on the Mississippi River & named after the ancient Egyptian Capital on the Nile.
We arrived early to be greeted by a brilliant Southern States Spring morning - warm & balmy & after dropping our bags at the hotel, arranged a 12pm tour to "Gracelands". Purchased in the Spring of 1957 @ age 22, Elvis spent $100k on this 14-acre estate named "Graceland".
The tour started by meeting @ a visitor's centre located across the road, where tickets & many, many souvenirs were sold & a selection of cafes were located - too many Elvis faces is never enough...a shuttle took us across Elvis Presley Boulevard and through the famous gates of Graceland mansion - one place where Elvis truly felt at home to commence the "full-tour":
First up was the Mansion Tour, which came with a audio-guided tour featuring a recording narrated by Priscilla with great sound bites from Elvis & Lisa Marie. The mansion tour consisted of the living room, music room, Elvis's parents' bedroom, the dining room, kitchen, TV room, poolroom, the amazing & funky "jungle" den and annex in the main house. To walk around the house where Elvis spent so many great years surrounded by family & friends was truly amazing. It has been left as it was when Elvis died on August 16, 1977, truly a study in 1970's decor & taste - a 15ft couch- avocado-green, lots of yellow vinyl & a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it green shag-pile carpet ceiling - Don't eat before you view it...
Behind the house, we toured Elvis's racquetball building, as well as his original business office. Also, a highlight of the mansion tour was Elvis's trophy building, which houses his enormous collection of gold records and awards, along with an extensive display of career mementos, stage costumes, jewelry, photographs, and much more.
The Mansion tour ended with a quiet visit to the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and members of his family have been laid to rest. This was really a sombre experience.
The "Sincerely Elvis" memorabilia collection was up next which featured 56 of Elvis's stage outfits from the major concert era of his career as well as walking us through the evolution of the design of Elvis's stage-wear of this era. We saw simple two-piece karate-inspired suits to the famed "jumpsuits" with elaborate rhinestones and matching capes.
We then cruised through Elvis’s car museum, featuring vehicles owned by Elvis. Highlights included Elvis’s famous 1955 Pink Cadillac, 1956 purple Cadillac convertible, 1973 Stutz Blackhawk, the red MG Elvis driven in Blue Hawaii, his Harley Davidson motorcycles and a three-wheeled super cycle - Too many vehicles is never enough.
Last up was Elvis’s Custom Jets where we had a chance to peek inside the small Lockheed Jet Star before walking aboard Elvis’s customized "Lisa Marie" jet. This jet featured a luxuriously appointed living room, conference room, sitting room, and private bedroom - the only way to travel.
All up we spent about 4hrs viewing this incredible & famous address & left with feelings of sadness for a lost talent, but with a much better understanding of the man behind the glasses, and the life he led.
On the return journey back we stopped at the famous "Sun Studios" founded in February of 1952 by Sam Phillips. He named it Sun Records as a sign of his perpetual optimism: a new day and a new beginning. Sam rented a small space at 706 Union Avenue for his own all-purpose studio and hit pay dirt in 1954 when Elvis walked through his doors. This was followed by Johnny Cash, the inimitable Jerry Lee Lewis, and the "Rockin' Guitar Man", Carl Perkins. These four soon became known as the Million Dollar Quartet & Sam & Sun Records never looked back.
From there it was onto "Beale St - Home Of The Blues" via a tram-car, their very convenient & cheap public transport. "Beale St" named after an unknown military hero in 1841, acted as General Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters during the Civil War. But, Beale Street’s heyday was in the 1920's, when the area took on a carnival atmosphere and gambling, drinking, prostitution, murder and voodoo thrived alongside the booming nightclubs, theaters, restaurants, stores, pawnshops and hot music. One club, The Monarch, was known as The Castle of Missing Men due to the fact that its gunshot victims and dead gamblers could be easily disposed of at the undertaker’s place that shared their back alley.
The redevelopment of Beale Street is considered a catalyst in downtown Memphis’ rebirth. Over the past 20 years, the street has gone from the epitome of urban decay to the number one tourist attraction in the State of Tennessee.
One of the highlights was visiting "Autozone Park", where the "Memphis Redbirds" Baseball team, a AAA Minor League affiliate of the famous St Louis Cardinals. The 3 blocks from 2nd - 4th Streets were filled with clubs, restaurants & neon signs - Including The "Walk of Blues Fame" - similar to "Hollywood Walk of Fame" except that instead of Hollywood stars it's lined with Blues stars. The original "A Scwabs" Dry Goods Store & "BB Kings" restaurant. Dinners was @ TGI Fridays - The end of a great day.
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