Memphis

Originally Memphis - named after the city of Ancient Egypt bearing the same name - was a fortress used by the French to protect their trade along the Mississippi. Formally incorporated in 1826, the fortunes of the city initially rose and fell with the cotton industry, as a river port it was one of the main trading centres for the cotton trade. After the collapse of the trade following the war and a yellow fever epidemic in 1878, the city seemed to be in terminal decline.

The city was saved by the fact that the city was still at the heart of the rail and river network and the vibrancy of the black population that moved in as the white populace deserted.

Since the early 1990's regeneration has occurred again, leaving Memphis as a modern, lively city that is still mindful of its history and heritage. There are many fine old buildings and the city retains an aura of its past whilst still being a place of 21st century hustle and bustle. This is one of the most thrilling cities to visit in the South.

Things To Do Places to See

We all will be received in Graceland!

For some a curiosity of 70's kitsch, for others a place of architectural interest but for many this is a place of homage, a place of worship. This is the home of the King, Elvis Aaron Presley.

Presley brought the mansion in 1957 for $100,000 and although sizeable it is not the vast ostentatious palace many expect. Just three years before his death in 1977 Elvis had the decorators in and the place is preserved in the slightly gaudy style of the times - although again perhaps not as gaudy as you may expect. Attractions include the old rockers gun collection, his car collection and his plane collection. It is also possible to visit the graveside - if you think he lies there? On show is a huge amount of Elvis memorabilia, gold discs, stage and screen costumes (from skinny snake hips Elvis outfits to gargantuan Las Vegas jump suits). Audio tours start every few minutes and visitors are allowed as long as they like to soak up the atmosphere of the place where their idol lived, ate, took drugs and died. Only the downstairs is open to tourists so the full scale of the house is difficult to gauge. This place is a must for anyone in the area because love him or loathe him there is no denying his cultural importance both in life and in death. Thank you! Thank you very much.

National Civil Rights Museum

Tennessee has a somewhat mixed history on the subject of Civil Rights. Its position in the Civil War was one of a State divided. The plantation owners, based in the west, led the state away from the union against the wishes of the small farmers at the eastern end of the state. After the war the hardship endured by the black and white population helped give birth to the infamous Ku Klux Clan.

Into the 1960's the divisions in society continued but Dr Martin Luther King Jnr championed the cause of equality for all. It was in Memphis that he was shot and killed in 1968 and the hotel where this event took place now houses this museum. Dedicated to tracing the history of the Civil Rights Movement the museum has drawn critics who claim the good Doctors memory would be better served by social investment rather than as a tourist attraction. Regardless of this, the museum does an excellent job of covering some of the more shameful aspects of the States recent history.

Sun Studio and other musical stuff

Memphis makes a pretty fair claim for itself as the birthplace of Rock and Roll. This is based on far more than it being the place of Royal Residence.

First there were the work songs of the slave population, then came the blues. Reflecting the hardships of a disenfranchised population, the blues were popularised by WC Handy in 1920's Memphis. Blues in turn evolved into Rock and Roll when it met up with the Big Band Sound and Country and Western.

The home of the King aside there is a great deal for music fans to enjoy in the city.

Sun Studios was where Sam Phillips initially began recording Blues artists such as BB King (aah Lucille, Lucille!) and Howlin' Wolf (if you have never heard this man sing you will be amazed, he sounds like a wolf all right, one that gargles with broken glass and bleach).

Phillips always said that if he could find a white man who could sound like a black man he could make a million dollars and lo the doors didst open and in walked Elvis. Phillips promptly dumped all the black guys on his artist's rosta and replaced them with the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. Sun moved away in 1959 but the studio reopened in 1987. Now visitors can take a tour around the tiny rooms that saw the recording of all those great early Rock n' Roll songs.

Elsewhere lies the tiny home of WC Handy, the Gibson Guitar plant offers guided tours and is host to Rock 'n' Soul: Social Crossroads (all to be found on Beale Street). This attempts, with some success to set the music against its cultural background.

A recent addition to the musical heritage scene in Memphis is the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. This is situated on the site of the old Capital Theatre which became the HQ for Stax Records in the sixties and early seventies many artists including Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding recorded over 200 hits. After Stax left the whole area fell into decline but it is now reborn as this excellent museum that pays tribute to the stars of the past and the world they inhabited.

The other musical tradition still very much in evidence is gospel. The Full Gospel Tabernacle is where the Rev Al Green, former soul singing superstar can be seen singing and preaching on a regular basis.

The highlight for music fans has to be the Shrine of the Elvis impersonators. Don't miss it.

Beale Street

Famous as the area that gave birth to the blues. This was originally an up market part of town but the mainly white residents were driven out by a succession of yellow fever epidemics. They were replaced by a motley crew of immigrants. Greeks, Jews and Italians, amongst others, made it their home but it was the predominant black population that gave it the vibrant flavour on which it's reputation is based. In the early part of the 20th century Beale Street became a strip of vaudeville theatres and bars and along with this came all kinds of vice and criminal activity.

Increased prosperity in the 40's and the success of the civil rights movement in the 60's, allowing black businessmen to operate in other areas, meant that the population began to drift away and Beale Street bustled no more.

As with so many old inner city areas in the States, Beale Street has been saved as a formal Historic District. Now it's once more filled with bars, clubs and restaurants. The whole place is in a 1920's style and there is much here to enjoy. Apart from attractions mentioned above there is the Memphis Police Museum and the Centre for Southern Folklore, exhibiting arts and crafts of the South as well as regular concerts of Southern music. A Schwab's Dry Goods Store is one of few original businesses left, it opened in 1876 and still sells a mad array of goods from voodoo potions to hats to 99-cent neckties. Wherever you go on Beale Street, the Blues blare out once more.

Museums, Parks and Arty Stuff

Head for Midtown and East Memphis for the city's museums. Here lies the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; not huge but with a decent exhibition of Peruvian art amongst other things.

Nearby is the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium both these are situated within Overton Park, a pleasantly wooded open air space. A visit to the Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium is a must. This is housed in a villa built by Clarence Saunders, the man who gave the world the greatest boon to consumerism. The Supermarket! Saunders founded the Piggly Wiggly chain in 1916 and though Saunders was bankrupted in 1923, the chain continues. The museum is devoted to the history human natural and geological of Memphis.

Another place worth a visit is Mud Island, reached by monorail or walkway, this mud bank on the river is host to the Mississippii River Museum, a model of the lower part of the river and the original WWII B-17 bomber, Memphis Belle.

For breath of fresh air and a stretch of the legs, go to either Jefferson Davis or Confederate Parks. Both are by the river and popular with the locals.

Eating, Drinking and Sleeping

Apart from the Rock 'n Roll Elvis vibe, the city has a major culinary claim to fame as the barbecue capital of the world but there is also a wide choice of other Southern style restaurants and Soul food cafes. Do not expect to visit here and lower your cholesterol it's an ideal place for Dr Atkins devotees to go for a protein top up.

There are so many live music joints of all kinds that the best bet is to check a local listings magazine. Whatever your tastes there will be something to please. Many of the best restaurants offer live music as well as food.

As with most towns the best places are in the city with the price falling as you venture away from the centre. In Memphis there are hotels to suit all pockets as well as a number of campsites. Pick of the hotels has to be the Peabody where (and don't ask me why) every day at 11am a load of ducks waddle out of an elevator and into the fountain in the main hotel lobby. At 5pm, they make their vaguely absurd way back into the elevator where they ascend back to their penthouse suite. You wouldn't wan to be the maid clearing that one up in the morning. This is one of the top hotels in the city and the price reflects this but it is a great place to stay.