Finding Elvis

First, I have to admit that I was never really a fan of Elvis Presley. My mother was more into the old "Big Band" orchestras, like Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey. Later, she introduced me to Frank Sinatra, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and bought me the first Beatles album. I was more of a Led Zepplin, Rolling Stones kind of kid. My earliest memory of Elvis was his "Aloha From Hawaii" television special in 1973, when I was 13, which I watched with my family, along with a billion other people. While I did like his showmanship, I never gave him much thought, never bought any of his music, and wasn't impressed by his movies, although I thought he was a very handsome man, and couldn't understand why he divorced Priscilla.  I knew his last performance was at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, was addicted to prescription drugs, and that he died sitting on the john. That was all I knew about Elvis Presley.


I've been all over the world, but never set foot in Memphis, Tennessee. I had a chance to do a job there, so I took it. Even booked a flight to get there early. My goals? To eat some good barbecue, drink a beer and walk down Beale Street, see the Sun Records building, and go to Graceland. I wasn't all that jazzed about going to Graceland, but if you've never been to Memphis, it's one of those things you have to do. Or so I was told.

I checked into the hotel, and headed for Graceland. It was only about five minutes away. I wasn't expecting much, and when I arrived there, I expected even less. It was a Thursday afternoon, so it wasn't very crowded. I paid $10 to park, then paid $34 for the tour of the house, the car museum and the airplanes. I thought maybe I could just walk across the street and up the driveway, but no, you have to walk past several souvenir shops, (and I do mean several, that's no exaggeration) and take a shuttle bus to the mansion. 


I'm sure when Elvis was alive, this section of Elvis Presley Boulevard was probably out in the sticks, but now, it's not exactly in a good part of town. While riding the bus up the driveway, I thought it was a nice front yard, but once I saw the front of the mansion, it was a bit underwhelming. Again, I wasn't expecting much, so I was in no danger of being disappointed. I was given an audio headset to wear during the tour, which explained everything I was seeing in great detail.


A brief description of the rules to be followed while in the house was given by the friendly staff, and inside I went. I was immediately frustrated when I saw the stairway was blocked by a rope and security guards. Absolutely nobody goes upstairs. Ever. Only Priscilla and Lisa Marie are allowed to go up there. Nicholas Cage was the only person allowed to go up there, but he was married to Lisa Marie at the time. The only other person allowed is a housekeeper who goes up to occasionally dust. Supposedly, it's been left in the same condition as it was the day Elvis died. I wanted to see the bathroom where he died, but no chance of that.



They do tell you that the bathroom is directly over the foyer, so all I could do is look up and imagine what it was like. I turned on my audio device and listened about the tacky looking living room, dining room and kitchen. Elvis did all of his entertaining on the first floor and basement. Not even guests went upstairs. Private guy, that Elvis. The famous "jungle room" was another tacky display of bad taste, but it reminded me of my days living in my parents house, which was equally as tacky, but with worse carpet. My mother had all the 70's avocado and burnt orange colored crap in her kitchen, but the black, brown, white and rust colored long shag carpet was terrifying. I had to laugh that my mother's taste in carpet was worse than Elvis Presley's, but that was what was popular at the time. 


The basement was more interesting. The pool room had an unusual motif, to say the least, and the tv room with it's purple and yellow colors wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Three televisions on the wall, plus his stereo and record collection. That had to be his "man cave."

Walking through the "trophy and memorabilia" exhibits, I began to think a bit differently about Elvis. Listening to his audio soundbites, I found him to be quite charming and funny. His accomplishments in the music business were extraordinary, even though he didn't write most of his hit songs. The hallway lined with platinum records is breathtaking, I wasn't aware of how much success he actually had. Even more impressive was his movie career. I had no idea how many movies Elvis made. None of them were award winning, but he made a ton of them. He even made a movie with Mary Tyler Moore. Between the music and the movies, everybody wanted a piece of Elvis, and it seemed like they got it. He had the talent, the looks, the charm, everything. Unfortunately, it got the best of him.


He eventually quit making movies and tried to restart his music career, but it was too late. Sure, he had some very successful concerts, but he never regained the success he had earlier in his life. I was amazed that he only won three Grammy awards. Maybe he could've won more, but Elvis did what he wanted. People tried to talk him out of recording gospel albums and Christmas albums, but he recorded them anyway, and most of them would go platinum as well. Elvis was a man that did it his way. No wonder Frank Sinatra didn't like him. Elvis took away Sinatra's thunder.


The most touching part of the visit was the gravesite. There were actually old ladies (older than me anyway), crying at Elvis' grave. One of them in tears said, "I still love you Elvis." Now that's what I'd call a forever fan. Elvis is buried with his mother, father and grandmother. There is also a plaque on the ground for Elvis' twin brother Jesse, who died at birth. I didn't even know Elvis was a twin. Elvis even has an eternal flame. I thought President Kennedy was the only man who had one of those.

While I found Graceland to be rather unimpressive, I learned a great deal about Elvis. Much more than I ever knew. It's hard to believe, and very sad that Elvis was only 42 years old when he died. That is so young. He certainly did alot of living in those 42 years. I did enjoy his car museum, there were some priceless vehicles in there, as well as motorcycles, go karts and other things. He just didn't have enough time to enjoy them.


I lingered in front of the mansion for a bit, then took the bus back across the street, and toured the airplanes. He bought the "Lisa Marie" plane from Delta Airlines for $200k, then spent $800k fixing it up and customizing it. Impressive. I walked around both planes quietly, thinking about all I had learned about Elvis. I looked across the street, back at the mansion, and noticed the brick wall lining the sidewalk. I had to take a closer look. There were messages from people in all kinds of languages. Elvis was loved by the whole world. Some of those people probably came to this country just to visit Graceland. I felt guilty that I'd never given Elvis any credit for what he did for so many people. He was complex and tortured, but a gifted and talented man as well. A man who left us way too soon. He lived fast, died young, and left a good looking corpse. A Christian man, but rock and roll, all the way.

Before I left, I had to go to the Elvis Diner and have a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, with a Coca-Cola. In Elvis' honor, of course. Despite the tackiness, I enjoyed visiting Graceland. Not for the mansion itself, but for what I learned about Elvis Presley. I realized I didn't know him at all. I now understand why the people who did know him were so loyal to him. He was a very generous, good man. That's what I'm going to believe anyway.


I did see the Sun Records building, ate some good barbecue, and walked down Beale Street with a beer in my hand, but the highlight of my trip to Memphis was definitely Graceland. I'm now a fan of Elvis, but 40 years or so too late. Sorry about that Elvis, but at least your music will never die. After all, rock and roll lives forever.