Sunday, March 29, 2009

Memphis, TN - 3/22 - 3/25/09

Once leaving Texas, we headed to Memphis -- birthplace of Rock & Roll! We started in the Rock & Soul Museum that showed exhibits of the beginnings of soul music in the cotton fields, making their way into clubs and further developing with the different artists of the day.






This is Beale Street lined with many clubs and places that had live music. We had dinner at B.B. Kings place -- was delightful with the live music.


Sun Studios
This is the recording studio at Sun Studios where Elis walked in off the street one day and wanted to make a record. It is said that Sam Phillips, who owned Sun Studios discovered Elvis; however, actually it was his secretary. Sam was out of the studio that day and she had Elvis record something -- was "My Happiness" that Elvis said he wanted to record for his mother. Sam was not impressed, but the secretary liked Elvis and saw something. Elvis kept going back and eventually he recorded his version of "That's All Right Mamma". The recording was sent to a DJ friend of Sams who when he played the record, the telephone lines lit up with kids calling in to keep playing the song. As the say, the rest is history. The studio today remains the same room with the same tiles on the floor and ceiling and same worn floor. There were X's on the floor where Elvis stood with his two friends who played the guitar. There were also many other artists who started in this studio, such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich and many many more. The studio had the old equipment on display and even had Elvis' original recordings which we heard a snippet was. Visiting the studio was a highlight of Memphis!
A few blocks from Beale Street was the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was shot. There is now a museum attached, which is closed on Tuesdays, the day we were in town.

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