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Being in Memphis, Tennessee we just had to visit Graceland, the home of Elvis and weren’t disappointed. The house itself is very gracious and homely. As far as mansions go it is quite modest. He bought it for his parents and the last person to live in it was his Grandmother who outlived them all not dying until 1980 aged 90. The decoration inside is just as it was when she lived there.
Stunning peacock stained glass windows separated the lounge from a small side room. The photos tell the story best.
I didn’t realise he was the surviving baby of twins, his brother being stillborn. In the Rock and Soul Museum in the city (Graceland is only 15 mins out of town) you could listen to songs, two in particular,
Blue Moon of Kentucky, and
It’s All Right Mama, that clearly demonstrated how he adapted these blues songs to his own style.
Over the road from the house is a huge area with a number of large exhibition halls housing his collection of cars, motorcycles, costumes as well telling the story of his musical development and career in the army.
At the entrance gates his two
aircraft are on display, the larger named Lisa Marie, is a Convair 880 and a smaller twin engine Lockheed Jetstar he named Hound Dog II. Apparently when his daughter Lisa Marie was small he realised she had never seen snow, so off they jet to Colorado, she plays in the snow for a while, and back they fly to Graceland.
His cars are something else - my favourite was the pink Cadillac. There is also a John Deere tractor used on the estate,
It was an interesting and strangely moving experience and I’m glad we went.
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