3 posts tagged “memphis”
Set out later than intended due to the alarm not going off (had overlooked that the time was pm) but still managed to get out just before 10. I first took Highway 61 South to Robinsonville, Mississippi, where all the casinos are and had a look around the Horseshoe. I picked a random slot and sacrificed one dollar for nothing. I was steadfast and didn’t break a ten dollar bill to continue (or was mad enough to insert one into a machine). If at all, I’d have joined a Blackjack table but I would have needed some more time to do that. Still, it was interesting to see and it was quite busy even on a weekday late morning.
The drive through Mississippi was rather boring as the roads were straight and the landscape flat.
I had a late lunch at a place called Buttahatchee Bar-B-Que off the highway near Hamilton. Shame they had run out of brisket but the pork was lovely, too.
Traffic around Birmingham was a bit heavier than before (obviously I had picked rush hour again) but it wasn’t too bad and my Satnav guided me unerringly to Glas’ street. As I was trying to find the number, my host for the evening pulled up, introduced me to his cat and showed me his apartment. The evening consisted of a little tour and history of Birmingham, Mexican dinner and Stardust, the fabulous film adaption of Neil Gaiman’s story and more chats with friends when we got back.
The route:
The rain
continued so exploring Memphis on foot was out of the question (unless
I’d had full rain gear and an umbrella) so I first visited the Stax Museum of
American Soul. It stands on the site of the former Stax studio where such Soul
greats as Otis Redding and Booker T and the MGs recorded their hits. The museum
tells the history of the label and its artists with photographs, film/video
footage, sound bites and props like original instruments (I so want Duck Dunn’s
Fender Precision Bass), costumes and other gear and memorabilia, gold records
and the like.
It’s very
informative but less technologically advanced than the Country Music Hall of
Fame. While in the HoF the music you heard was limited to the exhibit you
were looking at, a lot of tunes overlapped at Stax but it was still good and
very interesting indeed.
Sorry
Elvis, but in terms of custom Cadillacs, Issac Hayes wins. Peacock blue, gold
trim, plush fur interior, TV and so on. This was the true and original pimped ride.
;o) Incidentally, I drove through Hayes' hometown, Covington, the day before, completely
randomly.
Interestingly
enough, Martin Luther King's assassination (in Memphis, no less) was the cause of Stax'
demise as after the event, there was so much discontent and distrust towards
white people that Stax (white owned but a place where there was no racial
prejudice whatsoever) couldn't continue to operate and had to shut down... The
artist roster moved to Atlantic Records.
When I
came out, it was raining hard so I decided to go to Graceland after all. $6 for parking later, I
bought a ticket for the mansion tour, was photographed, grabbed a headset and
boarded the shuttle bus that would take us through the hallowed gates.
The first
room was a living and dining area, followed by his parents’ bedroom. Then the
kitchen, which is actually quite a bit smaller than I expected, considering the
size of the mansion but obviously state of the art then. It still has original
appliances from the early 70s when it was last refurbished. Only to think how
many fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches were prepared there…
The
section I absolutely loved was the “TV room” a huge sitting area, all in yellow
and blue, leather corner sofas and a wall with three huge (for the time and
even now) TVs. There’s a little bar, too. I could live in that.
The Pool
Room with the fabric clad walls and ceiling was weird but not too overwrought,
either, strangely enough.
The “trophy
building” with its Grammies, Gold/Platinum records and other rewards is very impressive
indeed.
The final
section has costumes through his history, both film and stage and the last bit
you see is the memorial garden with his and his family’s graves. It was
absolutely pouring it down then so I didn’t stay long.
In the
hope the rain would abate later, I had a late lunch at the diner (meatloaf) but
it wasn’t to be so I left without being able to get across the road to take a
photo of the gates. It was still worth it, though.
The evening was kind of a letdown as getting to Beale Street would have involved walking (or talking a taxi) again and as I had an early start in the morning, I stayed at the hotel after driving to midtown for dinner (a nice little place called Soul Fish Café). I wrote some postcards, packed and worked out a route for the next day.
Managed to leave reasonably early in the morning and took some back roads towards Memphis. Mostly on Highway 70A/76. Some of it would have been really nice but the weather had turned and in the rain, it wasn’t really that nice. Also a reason why I didn’t really stop to take photos because it was simply too wet. I had a BBQ salad lunch at a random diner called Chow Wagon near Milan and continued on to Memphis where I arrived around 5. I had a great view from my hotel window to the Pyramid and the bridge over the Mississippi.
Unlike Nashville, Memphis seemed rather desolate and run-down to me. There are obviously rich suburbs and the business district in Downtown is lush but the poor areas are right next door.
Walked around a bit, found that Beale Street was in easy walking distance from my hotel, walked back to drop off my camera and headed out again.
Beale Street is rather cool indeed, lots of bars and clubs, many of which offer live music and unlike Bourbon St. in New Orleans it isn’t as touristy and seedy (no strip clubs and the like). I had dinner at B.B. King’s Blues Club and listened to two bands who played a mix of classic Rythmn&Blues and Soul. Very good. The rest of the evening I spent at the Rum Boogie Café where “Blues Healer” played all kinds of Memphis/Chicago and other Blues classics. In the bar next door Dr. “Feelgood” Potts played Howlin’ wolf/John Lee Hooker style classic electric blues. The cool thing is that the two bars have an interconnecting door so you can just switch back and forth. Very groovy.
I was rather tired so called it a night around midnight and walked back which was fine but I didn’t really feel safe because I was accosted several times by panhandlers as they are called here. I just ignored them and I got nothing worse than a few bad words but it’s still a bit disconcerting. Still, nothing happened and I had a good night's sleep.
The route:
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