Graceland

If you are in Memphis, you have to see Graceland of course.

If there is one word to sum up the mansion Elvis used to live in, it would be tacky. In fact it may be the most tacky place I’e ever seen.

Don’t get me wrong – it was great to visit, and see a part of musical history. But carpet on the walls – you have to see for yourself!!

The entrance to Graceland.

An official national monument, just like Mt Rushmore!

This room wasn’t too tacky.

A photo of his parents, beneath his own photo.

The dining room.

The pool room. You’d go blind!

The Jungle Room.

A couple of the out buildings house his several hundred awards.

One of his iconic suits.

A memorial plaque to his twin brother who was stillborn.

His grave. It was originally in a public cemetery, but people kept trying to steal his body, so they moved it here – which is appropriate.

Across the road is his museum of automobiles.

 

And also his two planes, this one named after his daughter.

I was 10 when Elvis died, so never knew him at his prime. He was a somewhat sad figure when he died, destroyed by years of prescription drugs – somewhat like Michael Jackson.

For those not alive in the 1950s, it is hard to fathom not just how massively popular he was (his appearance on the Ed Sullivan show got over 86% of the viewing audience!) but also how controversial. His dance moves were seen as scandalously suggestive, and he was denounced for corrupting a generation. Today his dance moves look positively tame compared to Britney Spears and Rihanna prancing around in bondage gear.

If you are in Memphis, you do have to do the Graceland tours. However I strongly suggest you do not pay extra for the so called VIP pass. It does allow you to queue jump, but the queues were not too bad anyway, and the two extra tours (the grounds and Lisa-Marie’s) are pretty average.

The automobiles were a highlight – very cool. The mansion itself fascinating, in that someone would choose to make their home so tacky. The airplanes fairly average, but somewhat amusing such as gold plated seat belts!