Elvis's Graceland

Nine years ago Murray and I visited Elvis's home 'Graceland' in Memphis, Tennessee. While Benn and Daina were visiting we got the opportunity to visit there again, and enjoyed it even more, as now there are even more exhibits to see. We timed it well, as if we had been a few days later, our visit would have coincided with the 35th anniversary of Elvis's death. As the area attracts tens of thousands of fans who gather at Graceland to commemorate the event, I prefer to be long gone. When Elvis bought Graceland in 1957 the home was on the outskirts of Memphis, but now, given it is less than 10 miles (15 km) from downtown Memphis, it is part of suburbia.

Because we beat the rush, we were able to get a camp site at the Graceland RV park which is located across the street from Graceland itself and just metres behind Heartbreak Hotel on Lonely Street! It was so convenient to be able to walk the short distance to all the Graceland exhibits and shops (which were on our side of the street), which we did over two days. For $35 a night, we had water, electricity, sewer, cable TV and wifi - but best of all was the close proximity to all the Elvis action. The Heartbreak Hotel provided a free shuttle downtown provided you went to a Sun Music Studio tour, otherwise they had an hourly shuttle direct to Beale St for $5. The shuttle was full when we wanted to go, so rather than wait an hour, the four of us grabbed a cab.

No trip to Graceland would be complete without doing a tour of Elvis's house itself. We each bought a $32 ticket which got us the tour of Graceland, entry to a tour of the airplane 'Lisa Marie', and entry to 4 other exhibits including his historical '68 tour and Elvis's Automobile Museum, plus displays of his flamboyant outfits. The tours are very well organised. To tour Graceland, as you get on the shuttle bus they issue you with recorded narrated information that you listen to via a headset. It describes each room of the house as you walk through, and provides a narration for the other display areas as well as the graves. You can stop and start the recording as you wish, or press different numbers to get more information on items. Very well done. The shuttle literally drives across the road and drops you at the front door. The house is kept as it was when Elvis lived in it from 1957 to 1977. Quite eccentric for the era, but then, Elvis was bigger than life! After all, he was The King. He died in Graceland - found unconscious on his bathroom floor in the early afternoon of August 16th 1977 at age 42, and was unable to be revived. The coroner's report stated he died from a cardiac arrhythymia. According to something I read in a book written by his ex-wife Priscilla Presley, Elvis was on the verge of cleaning up his act and was searching for a project to get him motivated, loose weight and get off his medications. Sadly he never made it.

(Courtesy http://www.bl.uk)

In the grounds of Graceland, behind the house, are the graves of Elvis, his parents and his grandmother, and a plaque for his twin brother who died at birth. August 16th marks the 35th anniversary of Elvis's death and thousands will pour into Graceland to mourn the loss of the 'King'. A candlelight vigil begins at 8.30pm on the 16th and tens of thousands are expected to file past his grave. I'm glad we got to see the grave with only a few others around. We had time to reflect on his life without being surrounded by pulsing crowds. His 25th anniversary drew around 40,000 people to his grave, if that gives you any idea of how hectic it will be.

Elvis's grave in the backyard of Graceland

We spread our visit over two days, but a real aficionado would need several more days to take it all in. There are numerous shops full of Elvis souvenirs - on the expensive side mind you, but fun to browse through and see how creative they have been putting Elvis's name or photo on everything from mugs to clothing to recipe books to Christmas ornaments etc. For those of you who know me well, NO, I didn't buy a Christmas ornament!

On our last evening with Benn and Daina we caught a cab into Beale St in downtown Memphis, and started with a few drinks at the Irish Pub 'Silky O'Sullivan's' before moving on for an appetiser at an upstairs balcony in another pub overlooking Beale St. We finished up with ribs all 'round at B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill, listening to B.B. King's support band belting out the tunes (B.B. King wouldn't be appearing until the first week in September). The next day we all walked back to the Graceland shops and displays for one last visit before Benn and Daina caught the airport shuttle to the Memphis airport, and flew back home to Sydney. On our last night in Memphis, Murray and I walked across the road to get a night-time view of Graceland which had tastefully coloured lights around the house and hidden in trees on the front lawn. It was so wonderful to have Benn and Daina's company, and for them to share and experience our RV lifestyle for 11 days.