Follow in the steps of Elvis Presley and Taylor Swift on a road trip through Memphis and Nashville

The Hindu

4 days ago

My journey begins with a fried peanut butter-banana sandwich and 'Burning Love'. The sandwich, served beside golden sweet potato pancakes and strips of crisp bacon at The Arcade, Memphis' oldest restaurant, was Elvis Presley's favourite order here. I sit at his booth, drink multiple cups of black coffee, and soak in the sound of his voice, as smooth as butter, with that distinctive vibrato that made millions of fans go weak in the knees.
I am on a music trail through the gracious American South, travelling by road from Memphis to Nashville, to discover how soul music and the blues had an impact on rock and roll, country music, and contemporary pop. Many of America's most influential musicians performed and cut albums here. If you think this is just the music your parents listen to, remember that Justin Beiber, was born in Memphis, and Taylor Swift grew up, and was discovered in Nashville.
Stax Museum for American Soul, Memphis
Let me start by admitting I knew very little about American Soul. Fortunately the Stax Museum, which stands on the site where the influential Stax recording studios ran is a great place to learn about the 'Memphis sound,' shaped by race, religion, and the Mississippi river.
This music, a lot of which was created at Stax, went on to influence the world through the creation of the blues, soul, and rock and roll, and took Stax recording from a tiny recording studio in 1957 to a multi-million dollar organisation. Performers here included Oris Redding, The Staple Sisters, and Aretha Franklin.
Raw and authentic, the vocals are emotion set to rhythm, jazz, and gospel. I walk through exhibits that include vintage recording equipment, Tina Turner's bright yellow sequinned dress and Isaac Hayes' gold-plated, peacock blue 1972 Superfly Cadillac El Dorado.
As an exhibit at the museum puts it: 'Soul music is a groove. And a groove that makes you move... Soul stirs your insides and shakes your outsides.'
In the evening we walk down scenic Beale Street, the neon lit 'home of the blues'. Perched on bar stools at Itta Bena, we mop up bowls of steamy cajun shrimp with fluffy sweet cornbread as a pianist and saxophonist fill the room with that signature Memphis sound.
Sun Studio
Johnny Cash stood here. I pause and look at a X marked into the linoleum floor, along with a group of tourists who inspect it reverentially. BB King passed through these doors. Also Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and that young man who famously came in to cut a record for his mother: Elvis Presley.
As we walk through the compact studio, bustling with tourists, a guide explains why this space is considered the birthplace of rock and roll. In the 50s, the founder Sam Phillips, offered recording services for professionals and amateurs, drawing an 18-year-old Elvis among other greats.
Despite the vintage equipment, or perhaps because of it, this is still a working studio, and artistes come in at night to cut albums once the tourists go home. They are all seeking inspiration, and that signature Sun Sound, authentic and just a bit raw, a world away from the airbrushed images and slickly engineered music of today. (Vocal recordings for three hours start at $600)
Weave carefully between the guitars and vintage piano, to grab a photo op with the historic, studio-original Shure 55-series microphone, used by all the greats. For a minute at least, you will be a part of history.
Graceland, Memphis
I did not expect Graceland to be so moving. The sprawling estate hosts about six lakh visitors a year, and from the looks of it, they are all ardent fans. And if my mother, an Elvis Presley loyalist, is anything to go by, they are all singing 'Hound Dog' in their heads as they explore the 17,500 square foot mansion and its lush grounds, punctuated with horses.
The interactive iPad tour, led by John Stamos (who you may remember as the hunky uncle in Full House) takes you through the luxurious, quirky home, bought by Elvis in 1957, when he was just 22-years-old. He had eccentric taste, and the money to indulge all whims, so the interiors are a beguiling kaleidoscope of stained glass, joyfully bright wallpaper and sequinned cushions. I am especially fascinated by his Jungle Room, an unapologetically kitschy fever dream of green shag carpets, heavy curtains, and ornately carved furniture.
Beautiful photographs of Elvis, Priscilla, and their daughter Lisa Marie Presley adorn the walls. Though the tour includes a look at his flashy cars, including a pink 1955 Cadillac, and planes, the most memorable part is the meditation garden, where visitors stand in hushed silence at the graves. Lisa's is piled with teddy bears, dolls, and flowers.
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
This is considered the mother church of country music, and it feels suitably hallowed. Home to the Grand Ole Opry between 1943 and 1974, a live country-music radio broadcast, the Ryman has hosted practically all the biggest country music stars: From Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash in the past, to Luke Combs, Keith Urban, and Miley Cyrus.
The imposing building was first built to be a church, and opened as the Union Gospel Tabernaclein 1892. As a nod to its past, stained glass windows in blue and red let in tinted sunlight. There are also still lovingly maintained wooden pews that fill the cavenerous room, along with a hardwood floor that contributes to its great acoustics.
Along the walls, there are display windows filled with spangled vests and cowboy boots from past performers, including Don McLeans's (Mumford and Sons) gold buttoned oxford shirt, Ringo Starr's (Beatles) black T-shirt, studded with a metal star and Taylor Swift's black sequin-encrusted dress.
To learn more, and see some very cool cowboy boots, head to The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, located in downtown Nashville, which features 3,50,000 square feet of archival storage and a performance space. Also check out the National Museum of African American Music,which explores the impact African American composers have had on music, from jazz to hip hop.
Tour Historic RCA Studio B, Nashville
You may remember 'I will Always Love You' from Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard, but Studio B is where it was first sung by Dolly Parton in 1983. This was Elvis Presley's favourite place to record, and he launched 240 songs from here.
Nicknamed the 'home of a thousand hits,' the recording console used for thousands of sessions still stands at the studio: you may have heard some of them, including Jim Reeve's 'He'll have to go' and Roy Orbinson's 'Only The Lonely'. This is where the Nashville sound, which gave a pop spin to country music was born, making the city an internationally influential recording centre.
There is a hushed silence as the guests 'assemble into a choir' following directions of the energetic tour guide, so we fit into the studio. As we enter the room, dominated by a 1942 Steinway piano, reportedly loved by Elvis, she dims the lights and plays one of his most memorable songs, created here: 'Are you lonesome tonight.'
Broadway and The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville
In the mood to party, we hit the Honky Tonk Highway: lower Broadway, which is a heaving party of screaming guitars, neon lights, and tourists in cowboy hats. Most of the bars offer live music, and we follow the sound of a violin to find ourselves in Luke Bryan's 32 Bridge, where performers in faded jeans and shiny, fringed cowboy boots sing to a packed audience.
Next door a singer in an embroidered vest and leather pants belts out the Eagles' 'Take It Easy', to an audience dominated by a raucous bachelor party, which takes over the dance floor flashing six packs and waving their broad rimmed hats. Meanwhile, a 'pedal tavern' party bike flashed past, unsteady with happily drunk tourists.
Bluebird Cafe, a packed listening room, has a completely different vibe. Do not be fooled by its unassuming appearance, people wait for hours to get into this space, which has hosted significant songwriters and artistes including the late Kris Kristofferson, Garth Brooks and Keith Urban. Taylor Swift first performed here when she was 14, and was later also discovered at Bluebird Cafe.
The cafe is packed, but intimate. Drew Holcomb is performing with Madeline Edwards, KS Rhoads and Josiah Leming, and they settle in a circle in the centre of the room — there is no stage here. As servers take down orders for beers, nachos and cheesecake with quick efficiency, the performers start singing in turn, between chatting with the responsive audience. Singing 'songs that come out of hard places,' as Drew puts it, they laugh, they cry, they talk about love and loss. It is an unexpectedly cathartic session of group therapy.
The writer was in Memphis and Nashville on the invitation of Brand USA