I saw Graceland back in the 80′s. I was invited by Pastor Eldon King to sing in Arkansas, and on the way back to Canada, the bus went through Memphis, Tennessee, so I decided to go and see the old home of Elvis Presley. Riding in the bus, I saw hundreds of cars in a parking area, and wondered if there was a fun fair in the city. Then I found out it was the parking lot of the people going to visit Graceland. That was a shock. There was a line up for many hours to get in. We were across the street from Graceland, where there were a variety of shops selling Elvis memorabilia of just about everything you could think of. I paid a dollar to go and see the car Elvis shot. Apparently, one morning the car wouldn’t start, so Elvis took out his gun and shot it. The owner said he paid a million dollars for it. Wow. I hope he gets his money back.
Eventually I got on a mini bus with about fifteen other people and we drove across the street through the music gates to Graceland. We had our own personal tour guide who told us all about everything. What a thrill to be at Graceland. I remember as a kid seeing a picture of Elvis standing in front of those big pillars. Now I was there, all the way from Africa. I have been so blessed.
There in the living room I saw Elvis’ piano. Priscilla had it overlaid in gold for his birthday. We saw the big chandelier at the entrance at the bottom of the stairs. We were not allowed upstairs because Elvis’ grandmother was staying there. It seems crazy to think that Elvis and his mother had passed away, yet his grandmother was still alive. Life is so strange.
In the basement of Graceland I saw three old TV sets in a row, and was told by the tour guide that Elvis used to watch three stations at the same time. Maybe they didn’t have remote control in those days. I saw the pool table where Elvis and his buddies played. We saw the “Jungle Room” where there was a screen for watching movies, and plants everywhere.
There was a long corridor near the back of Graceland where all his gold records were displayed. I think “It’s now or never” had sold 32 million copies. Wow. Then there was a display of some of the clothes he had worn. Out at the back was a gym where they showed us a bit of a movie of Elvis singing with his leather suit. There was an area where the horses roamed. We also saw some of his cars at the back.
The last thing I saw was the grave section. It is so sad that people have to die. I think they called it meditation garden, with lots of statues and flowers.
Then the bus took us towards town to see the old Sun Studio. The announcer said, “Well you all know what street we are on.” Well I didn’t. I didn’t see any signs to say what street it was. Then she told us it was Elvis Presley Boulevard. The reason there were no signs was that people keep on stealing them.
We were told that one time there was a sign way up high on a pole, and a lady got on her car roof to try and steal it, but it was too high. So she got a chain, and pulled the pole down. It landed on top of the rented car. As she was taking the sign off the policeman caught her. In court it came out that she was a visitor from England who wanted the sign as a souvenir. The judge said he didn’t want to give visitors a bad impression of America, and he let her off. I guess she had to settle with the rental company. It is amazing to what lengths fans will go to get what they want.
Then we saw the old Sun Studio. The old beat up piano. (It must have been beaten up by Jerry Lee Lewis!) It is amazing how that little studio produced so many big name artists, like: Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
If I can remember correctly, we did a spin around Memphis too, saw some statues and the Mississippi River. It was so much fun. I have since read that Graceland is the second most visited house in the U.S.A. The most visited is the White House. Then I went back to the bus station and continued on my way back to Canada. Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind.