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[GuitarMan66]

Memphis Memories. (part one)

In this article I would like to share with you some of my thoughts and experiences while in Memphis for my 40th birthday a couple of weeks ago. I have scaled it down to what I consider to have been the best (a lot) and worst (not much) of my trip with my wife Angela.
I will tell you about Graceland in a separate article.
First off my impression of Memphis itself and to be honest it‘s a pretty rough place, from what I saw of it. Most of the housing estates seem pretty run down and there just seems to be a lot of general decay about the place. Though I wouldn’t say we were frightened to walk the streets at night around the Graceland area it was very quiet after dark but I would imagine it’s a totally different story in the summer when the fans and tourists are out in force. Downtown Memphis was the worst we lost count of the amount of times we were stopped and asked for money we always refused but at the same time we never felt threatened.
My biggest let down was Beale Street which is really small and full of scruffy shops selling tacky souvenirs and the restaurants and bars aren’t much better. I’m not a snob but for example we went into BB.Kings restaurant for our dinner and my wife was especially put off by the site of two huge cockroaches crawling up one of the windows and the toilets I don’t even want to describe needless to say we weren’t in there long. On our way to Sun studios we passed by the Forest Hills cemetery and also the site of the Baptist memorial hospital which is now only a pile of rubble.
Like I said not much for the worst parts now let me tell you the good parts.
SUN STUDIOS….. what a fantastic place!!! It’s enough just standing outside the place to give you goose bumps but to actually be standing in the same room where Elvis cut all those classic tracks is amazing. Everything in the studio is original from the day Sam and Marion painted the ceilings and light fittings to putting the tiles on the walls. And to actually hold the mic that Elvis used to cut That’s Allright Mamma is something I’ll never forget. The floor is marked out to show you where Elvis and Scotty and Bill stood when recording (you can even see the hole in the floor tile caused by the spike on Bill Black’s bass).Our guide told us that Bob Dylan had came in a few years ago got down on his hands and knees and kissed the floor where Elvis had stood then got up and walked out!!!!
ROCK AND SOUL MUSEUM…..very informative and well presented with many items and artefacts from various artists (inc 2 of Elvis’ jumpsuits) but for me too much soul and not enough rock.
HEARTBREAK HOTEL….the hotel is very nice the rooms are clean and tidy and the staff are very helpful. They serve great food and drink (hic) and also have a 24 hour Elvis movie channel what more could you want? It is definitely the place to stay for Elvis fans it’s also within 2 minutes walk of Graceland and the plaza area.
GRACELAND PLAZA….the plaza is situated straight opposite the mansion across E.P. Boulevard the area comprises of the Automobile museum, Sincerely Elvis museum ,the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog 2 jets and various memorabilia shops and restaurants .Both the museums are very well presented all of Elvis’ cars are in pristine condition and well worth a look, the Sincerely Elvis museum has many items of Elvis’ including furniture jewellery, jumpsuits, guitars, Elvis and Priscilla’s’ wedding attire and also many items belonging to Lisa Marie from when she was a baby. However I felt this place lacked any personal touches as all of the items are behind huge glass screens which I found a little imposing I can understand the clothes etc need to be protected but some of the items to me like Lisa’s toys and some of the jewellery would have been better displayed in smaller “open” cabinets.
Onto the planes and I’ll start with the smaller “Hound Dog 2” which is a little hard to describe as you can’t actually walk through it due to it’s size I don’t think safety regulations would allow it so all you get as you enter the plane is a look at the interior and cockpit area through Perspex panes. The Lisa Marie is a different story as you get to walk the full length of the plane going through the living quarters and onto the bedroom etc and it’s quite obvious that Elvis spent some serious money on the conversion everything is very luxurious the taps on the sink are gold plated and it’s easy to imagine Elvis sitting at his desk where everything could be controlled at the flick of a switch or push of a button EPE have quite rightly covered all the seats etc in plastic coverings to stop the constant wear and tear that would be caused by people touching as they walk through.
Well I hope you enjoyed part one in part two I will tell you about Graceland and the people I met, some of whom knew Elvis.
Some photos from my trip are in the Other Elvis related photos section.