Joan on the Road...of Life

We're down at the end of Lonely Street, near Heartbreak Hotel in the Graceland Campground. Today was Elvis immersion day. We spent a couple of hours touring Graceland, the main living areas and various "play" rooms. We each had solid state headsets that guided us through the house and grounds. Every 10 minutes about 20 people started the tour at $25 per person. We were amazed at the constant stream of fans. If we had come just one week later all the Christmas decor would be up. Note the blue lights ...Blue Christmas.

The rooms are ornately decorated, 70's style with shag carpet, (green shag on the floor and ceiling of the jungle room) animal fur, and vinyl chairs. Lots of sound control. One really unique room, the pool room is all covered, walls and ceiling, in patterned, pleated material. The table has a large rip in the felt from someone's trick shot and one of the sticks is broken in half. Really lived in!

The Living Room

I was amazed to find myself wanting to touch things that Elvis had touched...didn't realize I was that much of a fan. And then we came to the handball court, transformed into a trophy room. There was a bar on the upper level and a lounge area with a piano where Elvis played and sang on the morning he died. In the court there is a huge display of records and costumes with continual videos of concerts.

People stand in awe looking at the life and momentos of this kid from Tupelo who changed music. He sold more records than anyone. As we approached the Meditation Garden where Elvis, his parents and grandma are buried, I got a bit choked up. Good grief, I thought, get a grip. But all through the tour I kept hearing the music that was so important to me and my friends growing up...what an impact that music had. Fans still bring flowers, stand and say prayers and remember the special times they had with Elvis in music.

We also toured his planes, car museum and momento museum. One story in the museum was about the Million Dollar Quartet when Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins were jammin' at Sun Records. In comes Johnny Cash...well probably more than a million.

Of course there is a gift shop at every turn but the only thing I wanted was the 1968 Elvis Return Concert DVD....the black leather sit-down sessions...to me it's the best of Elvis on video.

I'm reading a book about the early years of Elvis (thanks Mom) that is a perfect prelude and postlude to the tour. Last Train to Memphis is a very detailed account of his rise to stardom and a wonderful insight into the music world of the time. The key to his success? ...his absolute passion for music, an innate sense of performing and connecting with the audience...and luck!