We never really planned to go to Memphis, but when the weather got a little warmer, we decided to head north and check it out. Memphis, particularly Graceland, was on both of our bucket lists - so we were thrilled to finally go there. Our campground was the Graceland RV Park, and our rig was parked on "Don't Be Cruel Lane". :)
The RV park was located behind the "Heartbreak Hotel" and down at the end of "Lonely Street". Seriously. Graceland itself is on Elvis Presley Blvd, so it's clear they really get into the Elvis theme in this part of Memphis. Some may think it's dumb or cheesy, but I liked it. I think hubby did too, huge Elvis fan that he is!
As you can see by the above photo, the weather was not exactly pleasant when we arrived. It was warm, but certainly not sunny. On day two, we'd heard a storm was coming, so we got going early to visit Sun Studio and the Rock n Soul Museum - with the thought that we'd be back before the worst of it hit. One great thing is that there is a free shuttle from in front of the Heartbreak Hotel that takes you directly to Sun Studio in downtown Memphis. We took advantage of the shuttle that blustery morning.
Here's John, in front of the historic place...
Again, just keepin' it real folks... here's Suz, getting a bit wind blown in front of a photo they call the "million dollar quartet". Do you recognize the four guys?
Of course it's Elvis at the bottom right... and the other three are Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Sun Studio and Sun Records helped launch the careers of all of these guys, plus MANY others as well.
We went inside and took the little studio tour. Upstairs they have Sam Phillips office (original owner of Sun Studio) all set up, similar to what it would have been like in the 1950's.
This post is really going to show my age I'm afraid. The next photo shows broken records on the floor.... apparently Sam Phillips was known to toss records he personally didn't like onto the floor and break them. I'm sure a LOT of people didn't know that records could be shattered like that...(literally), but.... as the older person I am, I clearly remember the old 78's that if dropped, were toast.
I need to explain that ALL pictures taken indoors were done so without flash. This was a rule that was strictly enforced. Hence, the quality of these photos are not that great. Sorry 'bout that.
The tour then led us down stairs where the actual recording studio still stands (and functions) to this day. We were told they do tours during the day and recordings in the evening. There is acoustic tile all over the walls and ceiling. They leave studio instruments in there at all times. Suz checks out the drum set below:
Our tour guide was great -- she played music for us and told stories about how everything happened back then... how Elvis came in and cut his first record, paying $4 to do so. Sam Phillips (owner of the studio) wasn't impressed until one day when Elvis sang "That's Alright". The rest is history.
Next, we hopped the free shuttle again, and went downtown near Beale Street to the Rock N Soul museum. I had NO IDEA that the Gibson guitar company/factory is located in Memphis!
Here's the hubs in front of the Rock N Soul Museum.
We spent a several hours enjoying the exhibits here. So many people got their music start in Memphis - we sure learned a lot. A couple of my personal favorites, Issac Hayes and Al Green are two examples.
Another favorite from years gone by was Minnie Pearl. I had to take a photo of a dress she wore for the Grand Old Opry many, many years ago.
Again I have to remind our readers that without flash, the photos didn't come out as clear as we'd like, but we're posting them anyway.
The next four photos convinced me that I am indeed a relic and should be in a museum. Anyone who remembers seeing/using these things in real life apparently can qualify as an antique. Oh well. First up, the old radio. We had one of these in the basement when I was a kid. Not exactly this model, but very similar. It was on this contraption that I played the aforementioned 78 RPM records. The radio/record player now resides with my older brother, Steve, in the Seattle area.
The transistor radio.... yes, I had one. Not sure if it was mine or my brother Brian's, but it was oh-so-cool in it's red leather case, with a little carry handle. Yes, I remember laying out in the sun in the summer, transistor radio next to my ear. It was just what you did back then. We really didn't worry about skin cancer. We worried about being tan. Dumb, I know, but you live and learn.
I honestly don't know HOW MANY pairs of saddle shoes I owned, but there were lots. My mom even got "saddle soap" so I could keep them clean. They were cute and comfortable, so who could complain? Yes, I really DID think they were cute, back then. :)
The juke box. They did have even earlier versions, but this is the one I remember. Hubby said he had these type too, in England. It's kinda sad that they are a thing of the past.
After viewing the Rock N Soul museum we wandered over to a Starbucks while waiting for the free shuttle back to the Heartbreak Hotel. The shuttle driver had warned us earlier in the day that it was "gonna get stormy about 4 pm", and sort of advised us to get back to our abode before then. Our timing was great. We were back in our motor home by 3 ish and took Jinx out for a bit of fresh air. He didn't like the wind, so was back inside in no time. Right on cue, at 4 pm, the rain began in earnest. It rained and it blew like crazy. At 4:20, John and I heard some strange sounding sirens. It didn't take us long to figure what the heck they were. After all, we'd heard those tsunami sirens in Maui a few years back... they were TORNADO sirens. OMG. I quickly brought up Memphis weather online and there it was in black and white. TORNADO WARNING! The website said that if you were in a car, get out of it, and go into a building or storm shelter. Okay... well, that applies to motor homes too, right? I was ready to head for the Heartbreak Hotel, with Jinx on his leash... but John phoned the RV office. He asked, "should we evacuate to the hotel?" The girl who answered the phone, OVER THE TORNADO SIRENS, said "oh, no worries, it's just a warning". Well holy crap. It's JUST a warning. I kept running around the RV, looking out every window for a funnel cloud, thinking we were about to fly to Kansas. In the end, after lots of prayers, they lifted the warning. All right, maybe we overreacted... but I've never been in a tornado and really don't want to break that record. I honestly don't know how people live in tornado prone areas, and I'm thankful that we don't have them in the Northwest. Yes, we have active volcanoes, tsunamis, and falling trees, but please NO tornadoes!
Next time: Memphis part two - Graceland!
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