First, we need to thank our old friends, Shelley and Kevin Bennett, for their hospitality this weekend. For those of you who don't know the Bennetts, Shelley and I worked together for several years at Washington State University. They moved to Memphis about a year and a half ago. Thank you so much, Shelley and Kevin! You helped make our trip so enjoyable.
We arrived in Memphis early yesterday (Friday) afternoon. Our first stop was the National Civil Rights Museum, which is at the site of the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was killed in 1968. Like everyone else, we had seen the picture of the site of the shooting many times, but to see it in person is much more powerful. If you look at the above photo, the wreath marks the spot where Dr. King was shot.
That evening, we joined Kevin and Shelley for a great dinner at Corky's, a well-know barbeque restaurant in Memphis. That's the four of us at Corky's in the photo to the right. Afterward, we had some amazing cupcakes at Muddy's Bake Shop. They won't be soon forgotten. If you ever have the chance to stop there, I recommend the Prozac flavor.
Today was a day filled with music. We started -- where else? -- by going to Graceland. All I can say is that it was quite an experience. Yes, it's over-priced and over-commercialized. But at the same time, few musicians of the 20th century had as much influence on pop culture as Elvis did. That's the front of the mansion in the photo above. It isn't quite as big as I had imagined, though we only could see the first floor and the basement. The second floor is off limits.
After Graceland, we ventured to the Rock and Soul Museum in downtown Memphis. From there, we went to Sun Studio, one of the spots I was particularly interested in seeing. This is where Sam Phillips recorded artists like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. It was quite amazing to be in the actual studio where songs like Great Balls of Fire, That's Alright Mama, and Blue Suede Shoes were recorded. That microphone we're standing by is the actual microphone Phillips used to record those musicians in the 1950's.
Tonight, Shelley and Kevin joined us and we went first to the Peabody Hotel for the Duck March. What's a Duck March, you ask? It's a tradition that began at the Peabody many decades ago. In the morning, five ducks are taken from their home on the top of the hotel to a small pond in the lobby. And at 5:00 PM, they march back to the elevator and back up to their home. And it's a really big deal here. There were few hundred people in the lobby to watch. The pictures I took didn't turn out, but here's a YouTube video if you're interested in finding out what all the excitement is about.
From the Peabody, we made the short walk to Beale Street. We had a great dinner at B.B. King's Blues Club and listened to live blues from the Will Tucker Band. This photo was taken from our table just above the stage.
After dinner, we walked up and down Beale Street, and Shelley snapped one last picture before we went back to our hotel to get some rest after a long but fun day.
Tomorrow, it's on to Nashville.
Roger
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