After learning that my friend Darren, who lives in Memphis, was inviting myself and the rest of the gang down to Dixieland to celebrate his recent nuptials, my first thought was - Gotta go to Graceland.
I immediately purchased "Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley" and "Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley" both written by Peter Guralnick. Everyone knows about "Love me Tender", peanut butter and banana sandwiches and his tragic demise, but I wanted to know how Elvis lived before he became the 20th century's most iconic pop icon. It was in these books that I learned about Sun Studios and Sam Phillips and Elvis' almost gypsy-like childhood as a result of his father hopping from job to job.
Below are some pictures from Sun Studios, which is still in operation today despite it's modest appearance.
Just inside the front door sits the desk of Marion Keisker, the secretary for Sun Studios. Marion would be the first person that would see Elvis on his path to stardom.
And here is the door that Marion would have seen opened by a fresh-faced 19 year old with a guitar slung over his shoulder.
A look inside the studio...
The studio is in the EXACT same condition it was when Elvis recorded here with the "Million Dollar Quartet" consisting of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and a young Johnny Cash.
Here is a picture of the piano that Jerry Lee Lewis would play on, and even burn a hole in with his forgotten lit cigar.
I immediately purchased "Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley" and "Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley" both written by Peter Guralnick. Everyone knows about "Love me Tender", peanut butter and banana sandwiches and his tragic demise, but I wanted to know how Elvis lived before he became the 20th century's most iconic pop icon. It was in these books that I learned about Sun Studios and Sam Phillips and Elvis' almost gypsy-like childhood as a result of his father hopping from job to job.
Below are some pictures from Sun Studios, which is still in operation today despite it's modest appearance.
A look inside the studio...
Here is a picture of the piano that Jerry Lee Lewis would play on, and even burn a hole in with his forgotten lit cigar.
