Had a good night's rest and an adequate continental breakfast. Now we are off to Graceland to see Elvis's adult home.
I didn't know what to expect from Graceland. Seeing Elvis's car in the music museum yesterday sort of hinted it might be a bit over the top. It didn't disappoint. Graceland was totally over the top; with its Jungle room in particular. The tour does not allow you upstairs so ghouls will be upset not to see the bathroom where Elvis is said to have died. Elvis did not allow visitors upstairs to his private quarters so the family, who still own the house, have kept that tradition; which I think is quite nice. However, I think once the immediate family (Priscilla and Lisa Marie) relinquish the house that will change.
I bought the book about Priscilla and Elvis's life there and you can hear her voice as she describes how the rooms were used and the house, although over the top to me, fitted Elvis's lifestyle and catered for the continual aids/visitors who flooded in and out of the house each day. Elvis was never alone and rarely just with Priscilla. According to the book, which I was glad I read on the holiday, Elvis was a typical man of his age, with what we would think of as sexist views now, very demanding and Priscilla's mentor teaching her how to dress, make-up and be a woman. This is why her photos with big, 'up' hair do and black eye lined eyes taken round her wedding bears no resemblance to the post divorce and more recent photos of Priscilla.
The Graceland tour is really well organised. They provide an I-pad, earphones and a bus up to the house. There is no let up with the tours. They say you can go at your own pace, but the hordes are silently insistent and you cannot go back because the I-pad goes forward. You quickly find yourself outside walking towards Vernon's office, where he and his secretaries took care of all the bills and 3,000 items of fan mail per day. Then on to the paddock where they look after rescue horses now as the horses owned by Elvis and the family have passed on. Finally, there is the memorial gardens where Elvis and the families remains are buried. You are then at the rear gate and a shelter where you wait for the bus. No one is allowed to walk up to or back from the house; everyone has to use the bus provided.
The afternoon was spent visiting Sun Studio, where Elvis's early records where recorded and Stax Studio where Johnny Cash recorded and Elvis visited. There is one recording, never released at the time, where a few artists were caught jamming but as Elvis was amongst them it could not be used as they would not have permission from RCA.
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