Great Vacations is a series highlighting domestic destinations.
The series will run periodically.
MEMPHIS -- It is enough to know that a visitor could spend days
in this Mississippi River city without hearing the name Elvis
Presley, seeing street-corner musicians playing the blues or
knowing that he was being rocked in the cradle of American soul --
but to miss any of that the oblivious wayfarer would have to do the
town with eyes shut, ears clogged and cerebellum in vapor lock.
Sensory deprivation just doesn't cut it in Memphis, where
American roots music -- from blues to soul to Southern-fried
rockabilly -- mixes and matches on the two-block stretch of iconic
Beale Street and reverberates outbound to the suburbs.
Just 10 miles from downtown, in fact, is Graceland, the spot Elvis
chose to build his modest palace -- and what turned out to be his
ultimate resting place. And although the King is dead, not even
Ozymandias could boast so eternal a cult of personality, with
kitchy collectibles ranging from refrigerator magnets to
by-the-numbers, paint-'em-yourself portraits of Elvis for sale
here, there and everywhere.
Here, too, the blues still rules, in smokey Beale Street clubs
like B.B. King's and Silky O'Sullivan's, which are packed on
weekend nights with every conceivable demographic from college-age
kids "discovering" faux Robert Johnsons to middle-aged rockers
treading warily in Hush Puppies instead of blue suede shoes.
And then there is the sound of Memphis soul, the musical legacy
of Stax Records, which from 1960 to 1975 pressed hit after hit by
Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the MGs, Rufus Thomas
... please, stop me before I put another quarter in the jukebox.
With all that, it is no wonder that Memphis is home to museums and
attractions dedicated to venerating, preserving and promoting its
musical heritage.
What follows is the 45 rpm version of what could be a CD spin on
those venues:
Graceland
Riding high with "All Shook Up" No. 1 on the pop charts, Elvis
settled into Graceland with his mother, Gladys, and his father,
Vernon, on April
10, 1957. For a young man of modest beginnings in Tupelo, Miss.,
the place must have looked pretty posh, but when you see it now --
just off a busy highway now eponymously named Elvis Presley
Boulevard -- it barely measures up to any upscale tract home in the
nicer part of town.
True, the places in which you and I live don't sport
wall-to-wall gold records or provide for an indoor handball court
as Graceland does, but they also don't have hordes of strangers
traipsing in and out every darned day (except Christmas, New Year's
and Thanksgiving, thank you very much).
In addition to getting you inside the demi-mansion, the price of
admission -- if you go for the top ticket of $25 -- includes
entrance to the Elvis Auto Museum (don't miss his pink Cadillac, as
if you could), Elvis' two custom jet planes (you think he offered
"snack-only" service?) and the Sincerely Elvis Exhibit, where you
share "an intimate glimpse at Elvis' personal life" in a
less-than-intimate setting amid perfect strangers.
• Phone: (800) 238-2000; Web site: www.elvis.com.
Sun Studio
As sure as the earth spins around the sun, nascent stars spun
around Sun Studio, whose glittering galaxy of
supernovas-in-the-making included Carl Perkins, B.B. King, Howlin'
Wolf, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and, of course,
Elvis.
It was in this low-tech complex in 1953 that Elvis recorded a
demo of "My Happiness" for his mother on a single-track Ampex, and
it was here, a year later, that studio owner Sam Phillips captured
the track of Elvis singing "That's All Right" that some mark as the
birth of rock 'n' roll (if you don't count Sun's release of "Rocket
88," with a young Ike Turner -- no Tina yet -- on piano).
Located on the original corner site in downtown Memphis, Sun
Studio offers 30- to 40-minute group and individual tours that
feature a well-rehearsed spiel, photos, memorabilia and, best of
all, snippets of the original recordings -- including that
mother's-only version of "My Happiness."
• Phone (800) 441-6249; Web: www.sunstudio.com.
The Stax Museum of American Soul
Built on the footprint of the original Stax Recording Co., this
newly opened, state-of-the-art museum is part of a $20 million
project that includes an attached music academy established to
augment the arts education of city children.
The 17,000-square-foot venue, whose entrance is crowned by a
replica of the evocative "Soulsville USA" marquee that placed the
two-square-mile neighborhood on the musical map, features a
re-creation of Stax's Studio A recording facility because,
according to a spokeswoman, "That's where the music was." The
studio was unique in that it maintained the sloping floor of the
original occupant of the property, a circa 1930s movie theater.
Is it any wonder that they named Isaac Hayes' hit Stax album
"Hot Buttered Soul?"
And if you think Elvis' pink Caddy was something special, check
out Hayes' fur-trimmed 1972 Eldorado. "It was such a showpiece that
accidents happened all around it," the spokeswoman said.
• Phone: (901) 942-SOUL; Web: www.staxmuseum.com.
Rock 'n' Soul Museum/ Gibson Factory
The two attractions are housed in the same building, but each
carries a separate admission charge -- and each is well worth the
money.
The Rock 'n' Soul Museum, which represents the first Smithsonian
Institution partnership outside Washington, is like a Hard Rock
Cafe on steroids (but hold the beer and liquor), with guitars such
as B.B. King's "Lucille"; original song lyrics and sheet music,
unique photos and films; and vintage jukeboxes that include a shiny
red Seeburg Selectphone from 1934 that was the first to enable
customers to play their favorite record (over and over again).
The Gibson Guitar Factory is the real thing, an assembly floor
where Gibson craftsmen and women transform dumb blocks of wood into
sensitive electronic instruments that sell for anywhere from $1,200
to $4,500 each. With a tour guide leading the way, guests follow
the guitars through a 16-step journey of woodworking, wiring and
design finishing that eventually puts the Custom, Classic and
Signature instruments in the hands of the Les Pauls of the world as
well as in the clutches of your neighbor's green-haired kid.
It takes two to three weeks to make a guitar, but the tour
manages to squeeze the process into about 30 minutes.
• Phone: (901) 543-0800; Web: www.memphisrocknsoul.org.
• • •
The Agent Connection
• Graceland: Offers agents net rates on groups
of 15 or more; also, includes admission tickets with commissionable
packages at Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel adjacent to
Graceland.
• Sun Studio: Tours are not marketed directly
through travel agents, but a spokesman said the attraction would
offer a group discount rate -- $2.50 off the regular $7.50 per
person rate -- to retailers selling the tour as part of a Memphis
package. Sun will offer agents a voucher system of billing "for any
significant" business booked.
• Madison Hotel: 10% pay.
• Stax Museum of American Soul: Group admission
rates of $1.50 off the standard $9 adult rate and one free ticket
with every 15 paid tickets.
• Museum of Rock 'n' Soul: Net rates available,
with group rates $1 off the standard $8.50 adult rate and $5
children's rate.
Room Key: Madison Hotel
Address: 79 Madison Ave., Memphis, Tenn. 38103
Phone: (901) 333-1200
Fax: (901) 333-1299
Reservations: (800) 866-MEMPHIS; Small Luxury
Hotels of the World; using the prefix LX with the major GDSs
E-mail:[email protected]
Web:www.madisonhotelmemphis.com
Agent commission: 10%
Guest mix: Leisure, 40%; small corporate groups,
30%; corporate business travelers, 30%.
Accommodations: 66 rooms; 44 suites
Rates: Rooms, $190 to $255; suites, $320 to
$1,160
History: Opened in May 2002 after a refit of the
fin-de-siecle Tennessee Trust Building.
Room amenities: Complimentary continental
breakfast; stocked wet bars in some rooms; dual-line, cordless
phones and high-speed Internet access; eclectic art that reflects
the city's musical heritage and the vibrant blues scene on nearby
Beale Street.
Facilities: Grill 83 restaurant and bar, rooftop
terrace reception area,
Noteworthy: You wouldn't think a bank building has
"charm," but when a soulless savings and loan is turned into a
hotel, the investment can return interest. For example, the
property's unique fitness center is located in the bank's former
vault room.
Not worthy: Slow service at Grill 83 can give a
diner the blues; area of the hotel has the look of a neighborhood
in transition -- and the faster the transition the better.
On the Menu: Texas de Brazil
Address: 150 Peabody Place, Memphis, Tenn.
Contact: (901) 526-7600; www.texasdebrazil.com.
Ambience: This sprawling, hacienda-like venue --
hardly the place for intimate dining -- makes a show of serving
robust cuts (literally) of roasted meat in a gaucho-with-gusto
setting. The address may read Memphis, but its heart and decor
dance to a samba beat.
Food: Although a vast and varied pre-entree buffet
dominates the center of the dining room, meat is king here -- beef,
pork, lamb, chicken and Brazilian-style sausage. Carnivores pick
and choose as waiters wander from table to table, wielding sabres
that would be weapons of mass destruction in less benign hands as
they carve slices of perfectly done meats from sizzling skewers.
This all-you-can-eat mix goes well with a drink called
"caipirinha," a concoction of squeezed limes, crushed ice, sugar
and Pitu rum, or a bottle of Xingu, a Brazilian dark beer
distinguished by a hint of anise.
Cost: Fixed-price menu ($14.99, lunch; $29.99,
dinner).