Tennessee and into Mississippi

So on our last post we had just arrived in Nashville having crossed the state line into Tennessee. We ventured into the huge mall at the Grand Ole Opry on the Saturday after Black Friday - swamped with people but not the scenes of chaos that we have seen on the news from the UK.

In downtown Nashville we visited the store of Antique Archaeology This is the sister store to one that we visited in Davenport, Iowa and will be familiar to anyone who follows "The Pickers" on the History Channel. In keeping with the music scene there was a live band playing, and we saw many artifacts that have been on the TV series though we couldn't help feeling they are doing pretty well selling branded merchandising now.

Johnny Cash Museum

Also in Downtown was the Johnny Cash museum, and though we are not huge fans he is one of those names that is so significant in the music industry that we could not just pass him by. It also gave us a chance to see Broadway, the main strip in Nashville, full of bars playing live music in between stores selling cowboy boots of every style, size, colour and pattern.

That's a 9 foot tall tyre !

Final stop in Nashville was the Lane Motor Museum, a impressive private collection of mainly European cars and also motorcycles, micro cars, cycles and a few trucks too. Located in a former bakery that has been renovated into a brilliant museum, it was well worth visiting. Highlight of that trip has to be the US military LARC, a huge submersible vehicle with nine foot tall tyres which is located outside. Sporting four massive engines, it could carry a whopping 100 ton payload, and is unlike any other vehicle we have seen.

Outside Graceland, Elvis's home in Memphis, TN.

Moving onto Memphis on the banks of the Mississippi, we had a quick bite to eat and a walk around Franklin, a small but homely village and another significant site from the civil war. It was perhaps foolish to think that summer had returned with the temperature hitting 20c by mid afternoon, as by the following morning we woke to just +1c. A big difference but despite the cold wind it didn't stop our visit to Graceland, the eternal home of Elvis in Memphis. Now we aren't the biggest Elvis fans either but there is no doubt that he was a special and talented man who made an enormous contribution, and had a huge influence on modern music -  and continues to do so today. His house has been preserved just how it was when he passed away suddenly in 1977, and what a fantastic place it is. Being able to walk through the living areas was a great experience, as were the exhibitions with numerous awards and memorabilia, finishing with quiet reflection in the memorial garden where his body is buried beside his other late family members.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

"Elviness" is everywhere around here, the motel we stayed at filled with its own collection of Elvis photos and memorabilia, and playing Elvis Radio from 9 am till dusk everyday (yes, Elvis has his own dedicated radio station on Sirius XM which plays his songs 24/7 - well he certainly recorded enough material to do it !)

Continuing the music theme and on the recommendation of several people that we met back in Franklin, we visited the Stax Museum of American soul Music, also in Memphis. Located on the site of the former Stax Records and recording studio, it celebrates Soul music and the legacy that Stax Records has left. The list of artists who where recorded and produced there are incredible - Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Booker T and the M.G.s to name just a few, with some stand out exhibits including a 101 year old Mississippi Delta church from where the gospel roots of Soul emerged, the restored 1972 gold trimmed, peacock blue Cadillac El Dorado that belonged to Isaac Hayes, and the Hammond Organ used by Booker.T.Jones to record "Green Onions". Legendary stuff indeed.

When Stax was producing hit records in the 60's, Memphis was still a deeply segregated city and whilst there was certainly racism around some artists the studio provided an escape from the turmoil of the real world where the only desire was to make good music - some of which became the soundtrack to the civil rights movement.

Room 306 at Lorraine Motel

That led us to our next stop - just over two miles from Stax is the former Lorraine Motel, where in 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated, the day after he made his famous "I've been to the mountain top" speech. The motel has been preserved for history and is the centerpiece of a privately owned complex that now makes up the National Civil Rights Museum.

Our final stop in Memphis was Tom Lee Park, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river where we learnt about the heroic efforts of Tom Lee, a negro who in 1925 saved thirty two lives when a steamboat capsized on the river. The park offers great panoramic views over the Mississippi and looks like it would be a great focal point in the warmer months.

Panorama over the mighty Mississippi 

Delta Blues Museum

Within a very short time of leaving Memphis we crossed into the state of Mississippi on Highway 61, the "Blues Highway". What a difference - the land opened out as we entered the Mississippi Delta, with vast cotton fields spread out all around us. The cotton crop has finished for this year but the remnants are still scattered over the fields and the roadside, in places thick enough to give an appearance of light snow. This is the land of Blues music, and we stopped in at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksedale to learn more about the origins and history of the Blues, associated with many well known artists like B.B.King, and Muddy Waters to name just a few. Clarksdale is also the birthplace of many musicians such as Ike Turner and John Lee Hooker - and several famous people have also lived and worked here including the actor Morgan Freeman.

The house that Elvis was born in

Moving ever on-wards we stopped briefly in Tupelo, at the birthplace of Elvis Presley. The building is a simple "shotgun" style shack also now preserved as a tourist attraction. It was here that as a young boy Elvis first heard Blues music, and in later years his blending of Blues with Country, Pop, Gospel and Soul revolutionized popular music thanks to his unique sound.

So we've been pretty busy again, and next stop is Alabama to visit Huntsville, nicknamed Rocket City for its connections to the space industry. Watch out for another update soon !

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