Graceland (Throwback post)

Graceland, Memphis

My mum is an Elvis fan, which meant that I grew up hearing quite a lot of his music and watching his films.  So when we got to Memphis, we had to go to see Graceland.

Graceland, Memphis

We took the free shuttle bus from Sun Studios to Elvis Presley Boulevard and the visitors' centre opposite the gates to Graceland itself.  There were a couple of ticket options, but we went for the mid level platinum tour ticket, which gave us access to his private plane and the car collection as well as the house itself.

Graceland, Memphis

Being there on a weekday morning outside of peak holiday season, there wasn't much of a queue, and we were soon issued with our headsets for the audio tour and ushered onto the buses for the short trip to the house.

Graceland, Memphis

Once inside, you could take the tour at your own speed.  It doesn't take you upstairs to Elvis' private rooms; apparently he never had general visitors upstairs when he was alive, so they keep them private now.



Graceland, Memphis

I suspect though that they simply want to prevent people focussing on his death rather than his life, and in particular to avoid the question of whether or not he actually did die on the toilet.  Of course it also allows some conspiracy theorists to believe that he really is still alive and living upstairs!

Graceland, Memphis

In fact the most widely circulating 'Elvis lives' story seems to suggest he is living under the name Jessie - which was the name of his twin brother, who died at birth.  The story links to a woman's claim to be Elvis' half sister.

Graceland, Memphis

She says that when her mother lived close to Graceland she had an affair with Elvis' father.  The mother has never confirmed this, but it is alleged that a DNA test says that this woman is a good match to be Jessie's half sibling.  It's all on the internet so of course it must be true!



Graceland, Memphis

Back to the house, which has been kept as it was during Elvis' life.  The main rooms on the ground floor are decorated quite formally, albeit it looks a bit dated now.  The kitchen has all of the mod cons of the day, including fancy oven and a TV.





Graceland, Memphis

But it is the less formal rooms where the real seventies extravagances are evident.  The games room downstairs has a garishly bold design and a bright yellow bar area.

 

Graceland, Memphis

The real high point though, (or low point depending on your perspective,) is the jungle room.  It is a relaxed TV lounge that is decorated with dark green shagpile on the walls and floors, with dark wood furniture and accessories adding vines and wild animals to complete the theme.






Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis

The tour also takes you through the various outbuildings some of which now house his extensive collection of trophies.



Graceland, Memphis

The walls are covered with silver, gold and platinum discs, awards and other memorabilia.



Graceland, Memphis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graceland, Memphis

 

Graceland, Memphis

 



Graceland, Memphis

There are collections of his outfits, his and Priscilla's wedding outfits, film posters and even a selection of the charitable donations that he made.  Elvis is known to have had his faults, but he was clearly a generous man to his friends and to others.

 



Graceland, Memphis

The last stop on  the tour is the small garden where Elvis, his parents and his grandmother are buried, and where there is a small memorial to his twin brother, who died at birth.





Graceland, Memphis

Back at the visitors centre, you can look around Elvis' vehicle collection, with motorbikes, a jeep and a selection of motorised 'toys' alongside some of his Cadillacs and other cars.
 



Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis



Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis



Graceland, Memphis

We also took a look around Elvis' private plane, the Lisa-Marie, named after his daughter.  Decorated throughout in a dark green velvet upholstery, it is certainly much more plush than our usual standard of aeroplane.  The 'lounge' is spacious and comfortable.

Graceland, Memphis

Elvis rarely drank alcohol himself, so the drinks cabinet was more for the benefit of his guests than for himself.  He also had his own en suite bedroom room with a double bed - complete with a seatbelt to hold him in if it got a bit rough.

Graceland, Memphis

 






Graceland, Memphis

Graceland, Memphis

If you want to eat during your visit, there are a number of options, including at least one where you can have an Elvis favourite - the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Graceland, Memphis

And of course there are numerous shops where you can buy your souvenirs.  They have themed the shops around his career and films, which means that there is a lot of duplication between them, but there are a few bits individual to each shop.  Sadly I was very disappointed with the quality of what was available.  There was no shortage of pens, cups, badges, and other such stuff, but there was a real lack of anything a bit more interesting, and very little in the way of any of his music.



Graceland, Memphis

If you just want something with his picture on it, then you are well away, but for my mum, I would have liked to be able to buy something like a CD of his first recordings or something that was about his music, but there was nothing like that available.

It seems a little sad to me that in the shops at least they seem to have forgotten that, underneath the pelvis and the hysteria, the thing that made him so great was his voice and his music.



Graceland, Memphis

But souvenirs aside, I thought that Graceland was a visit worth making.  It is an interesting insight to the man that he was, a good reminder of just how big he was in the music industry, and a great example of flambouyant seventies interior design.