6. TENNESSEE

MEMPHIS (April 6th – 7th)

On route to Memphis we had a quick coffee stop around halfway at the capital of Mississippi which is Jackson City. It had to be done because for those of you who know your country music there is a famous song called ‘Jackson’ by Johnny Cash and June Carter from way back in 1967 that Ian likes. The song is all about going to Jackson and needless to say we had to endure this more than a few times in the car.

We arrived in a very sunny Memphis late afternoon and checked into the Comfort Inn, Memphis Downtown, which was close to the action. Within 30 mins we were out ‘Walking in Memphis’ a great song written and performed by Mark Cohn in 1991, and famously later covered by Cher. Cohn said he wrote it after being inspired by a trip to Memphis. The city centre was very clean and tidy with amazing buildings and Den had found us a ‘boujee’ restaurant with a great menu for dinner.

The next day was all about Elvis and the visit to Graceland. We had a 9-15 tour start to try and beat the crowds, so we were up early for breakfast (for us anyway). To get to Graceland you have to drive down Elvis Presley Boulevard, which is pretty cool. We arrived on time, checked in and waited in line for our tour to start, but even at an early start there were still queues and a lot of people around.

We took a bus to the actual house and started our tour there. To be honest the house was largely uneventful as you couldn’t get into every room and it was very full of tourists moving around in narrow spaces, but it just gave you a flavour of how Elvis lived. It was obviously a huge house and state of the art for back then. Once we got outside the house, there was a seperate building on ‘family life at home’” ‘including receipts for all the house mods and furniture etc, along with some movie footage and then the pace really started to pick up. You could walk round the pool, view his private racquetball court and see the graves where Elvis and his parents were buried. Also Lisa Marie and her son are buried in the same area, one of Elvis’s favourite places, his meditation garden.

Then everything just exploded into life as there was building after building full of everything Elvis. All his cars were on display, including his famous Pink Cadillac (amazing) and all his motor bikes. There was a huge section on his life in the army, including letters, receipts for everything, uniforms, personal belongings. Then we had a legacy section, from current and former artists who talked about how Elvis inspired them, then we got into his actual career. Sections upon sections, display upon display of gold, platinum records, so many stage outfits, all his awards, his movies (all 31 of them), video screens with Elvis singing, it just went on and on and on, amazing. There was even a small movie theatre where you could watch one of his shows. What came across very strongly was his humility and support for those in need. He was very generous with his time and money and used his fame to help others. Lastly we went to look at his private jets, there were two on display and you could go inside them and walk around, incredible. It is quite difficult to do the place justice by just writing about it. Suffice to say, those who have visited here will have some great memories and are very lucky. For those who haven’t, if you ever get the opportunity to go, then don’t hesitate.

We left Graceland, feeling very happy, grateful for the experience and off course playing & singing lots of Elvis songs in the car. On the way back to the city centre we decided to check out the Memphis Pyramid which, we kid you not, is this bizarre giant pyramid structure (the 10th largest in the world) plonked in the middle of Memphis. Not sure why they came up with this design as it seems a bit out of place with the rest of the city. It was full of hunting and fishing equipment shops, even more bizarre it also had a hotel. We couldn’t get a coffee which was bizarre so we left there and headed back downtown.

After a coffee we again went ‘walking in Memphis, this time with “our feet 10 feet off of Beale’, which is a reference to Beale street, the entertainment district recognised as the ‘Home of the Blues’. It has 3 blocks of nightclubs, restaurants, shops and live music, including BB Kings Blues Club. There was plenty going on even for a Tuesday and it had a great vibe. At the top of Beale street is a large bronze Elvis statue which Mark Cohn refers to as seeing the ‘ghost of Elvis’ in his song.

In the evening, we went back to the same restaurant from the previous night, because it was so good and we all wanted to try different dishes.

NASHVILLE (April 8th – 9th)

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and set off for Nashville. It was around a three hour drive and we stopped halfway for some fuel.

We arrived at the ‘boujee’ Comfort Inn, Downtown Nashville and were pleasantly surprised by all the decorative lights, a 10ft metallic guitar out front and an amazing pool area which looked very clean and well maintained. After checking in we went for a little walk to explore what was around as it was only a 20 min walk to the city centre. First impressions were that it was a very clean and new city with some impressive buildings. Obviously Nashville is a global centre for the music industry, particularly country music and is very famous for its vibrant nightlife especially around the Honky Tonk Highway area. We found the Country Music Museum & Hall of Fame which is where we were going tomorrow, then headed back to the hotel for a chill. Well, Keith and Ian had a chill while the girls got stuck Into some more washing.

Once again Den, our Food & Beverage Director, had found us another ‘boujee’ steak and fish restaurant for dinner (called Hal’s) which was great. Our waiter was called Houston, a proper busy- bee nause and we were all hoping he would get something wrong so we could call him over and say ‘Houston, we have a problem’ (ha, ha), but alas he got everything just about right. On the way back we stopped off at a great bar, just across the road from the hotel, for a few games of cards and some drinks.

After a great breakfast, they even had an omelette station, which was a first and very welcome, we headed out into the sunshine for our visit to the Country music museum. Included in our tour was a trip to the RCA studio B, a few minutes away by bus. Built in 1957 this studio became known as birthplace for the Nashville sound and was once the recording home for music giants like Elvis, Dolly Parton and the Everly Brothers. Inside the studio we could see and sit at Elvis’s favourite piano (still a working piano) and listen to recordings of some of his songs made in the studio and also when he was chatting to his session musicians during a recording session almost 70 years ago – amazing experience.

Back to the museum, it focuses on preserving and telling the story of country music from its early roots to today, using artefacts, recordings, films, costumes, musical instruments and interactive displays. the main exhibits span 2 floors, over 350,000 square feet They also had a mini recording studio where you could sing a song and make a video. There are huge special sections on Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift & Lainey Wilson (a current star) and you basically walk through the museum starting from the past stars up to the current. There were many people we didn’t know, but also many we did, such as Kenny Rogers, Shania Twain, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Leanne Rimes, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Glen Campbell, John Denver to name but a few. We spent a couple of hours there but could easily have spent a few more.

After a coffee we decided to take a bus tour of Nashville to get a bit more information about this amazing city which took 2 hours from start to finish. We hopped off the bus at Honky Tonk Highway, which is the nickname for lower Broadway, a 4 block stretch of bars and live music venues (honky tonks) that play rock, blues and country music all afternoon and until the early hours. Many of the bars have balconies overlooking the street, very cool.

If Beale Street in Memphis was vibrant, then this place went to a whole different level, with huge crowds and live music belting out from every bar. We booked a restaurant so we could come back and experience the place at night.We managed to fight our way through the crowds and headed back to the hotel for a few hours chill time before dinner.

We had booked a table in a bar called Margaritaville, the name kind of gives it way and they made big ones for Den & Ang to get stuck into which of course they did. We had a great table by the window to watch the crowds go by in their colourful outfits of cowboy boots and hats while having some great food, including trying some hot wings which Nashville is famous for. After dinner we had a walk back to the hotel through the bustling crowds and neon signs to enjoy a more leisurely drink near our hotel and of course a few more games of cards.

We were checking out in the morning after breakfast and heading off to Louisville. If Elvis is the King then Muhammad Ali is the Greatest and Louisville was where he was born.