One of our stops on our summer road trip last year was Memphis, Tennessee. I was a fan of Elvis Presley since I was a child and used to listen to his music and watched his movies. As a fan, I read some of his biographies and one of the best ones was the 1985 book, “Elvis and Me”, by Priscilla Presley. I enjoyed reading about their extraordinary life together from the time that they meet in Germany until his untimely death in 1977. When we decided to go to Memphis on this road trip, I knew we had to go see Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home. On this trip we were traveling with family member’s that were a wide range of ages from my husband’s mother to our young daughter. Everyone had such different memories of Elvis and of course my son and daughter were born after he died so they only know him through his music. We visited at the beginning of June and it was a great time to go because even though it was early summer it was still relatively uncrowded because most of the schools were still in session. The weather was warm but not too stifling hot!!
We bought one of the package tours that included the Graceland home tour and several of the various small exhibits located on the property. We really enjoyed the home tour and it was very cool to see the actual “Jungle Room”. Let’s just say that Elvis was a great singer and performer but his decorating sense was a very unique nontraditional style. One of the exhibits that my husband and son enjoyed was Elvis’ car collection and the highlight was seeing Elvis’ pink Cadillac. There are several gift shops selling all kinds of crazy merchandise but my favorite item was the one we bought for my daughter – it was a teddy bear dressed like Elvis in a black leather jacket!!
HISTORY OF GRACELAND
Graceland is Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis moved into Graceland with his parents, Vernon and Gladys, when their previous home in Memphis proved to offer no privacy from his adoring fans. He bought the 14 acre estate in 1957 for the amount of $100,000. The next year, Elvis went into Army and was sent to Germany where he meets Priscilla Beaulieu. Sadly in 1958 Gladys, Elvis’ beloved mother, died. Vernon remarried in 1960 continued to live there until purchasing his own property nearby. After leaving the Army, Elvis returned to Graceland with Priscilla. They eventually married in 1967 and had a daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968. Elvis and Priscilla eventually divorced in 1973. Priscilla and Lisa Marie moved to California, but Lisa Marie spent a lot of time with her father at Graceland and was at the house in 1977 when Elvis passed away. After Elvis’ death, Lisa Marie inherited the estate and Vernon served as executor and when he died in 1979 Priscilla took over.
With taxes due on the property and high yearly expenses to maintain Graceland, the bills totaled close to $500,000 and Priscilla was faced with the decision to sell. Instead she decided to open up Graceland to the public in 1982 and within a month all the debts were paid. In 2005 Lisa Marie sold 85 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises including the Elvis trademark, music catalogue and archival documents including photographs and film footage. Lisa Marie retains 15 percent of the estate, the deed to Graceland and all of Elvis’ personal belongings. The new management has announced a major renovation which will include a new visitor center, high-tech displays and a 500 room hotel. This massive project will take over three years to complete.
BRIEF TOUR OF GRACELAND
All tours start across the street from Graceland in the visitor center. Visitors board a shuttle bus and are given headphones to listen to an audio tour. As the shuttle crosses Elvis Presley Blvd visitors will notice the fan graffiti on the brick wall at the entrance to the property. (Strangely, this is very similar to the Beatles fan graffiti on the brick wall outside Abbey Road studios in England) The shuttle proceeds through the famous Music Gates, up the winding driveway and stops in front of Graceland.
After a brief history of Graceland by a tour guide on the front steps, visitors enter the home of Elvis Presley. To the right are the living room and the adjoining music room. The living room contains a 15 foot long white sofa and past the large peacock stained glass visitors get a peek of the music room with a black baby grand piano. Down the hall is the bedroom of Vernon and Gladys, Elvis’ parents. Decorated with white furniture and carpet, the bed is covered with a deep purple bedspread and their bathroom is decorated in pink. Other rooms on the main floor include the dining room and kitchen with the media room and billiard room in the basement. Probably the most famous room in the house and an Elvis’ fan favorite is the Jungle Room. This room is decorated in an eccentric Polynesian design with wood carved furniture, shag green carpet and even an indoor waterfall.
As visitors exit the house into the backyard, past Lisa Marie’s swing set and proceed into a small white building that was Vernon’s office. The next building is the Trophy Room which contains a hall of gold records and Elvis’ many awards including his three Grammys. Also in this building are memorabilia and costumes from Elvis’ movies. Also displayed are Elvis’ famous gold lame suit, Elvis’ wedding tuxedo and Priscilla’s wedding dress, and Lisa Marie’s toy chest and baby clothes.
The next building is the Racquetball Court which has displays of many of Elvis’ sequined stage costumes and more awards. As visitors exit this building they walk pass the outdoor pool area and into the Meditation Gardens. Elvis Aaron Presley is buried here with his parents, Vernon and Gladys and his grandmother, Minnie Mae. There is also a memorial gravestone for Elvis’ twin brother, Jesse Garon, who died at birth. This concludes the tour of Graceland and a shuttle bus takes visitors back to the visitor center.
If you are visiting the Memphis area I would definitely recommend stopping at Graceland. Unless you are a dedicated Elvis fan, I would avoid the beginning of January for Elvis weekend in Memphis as the crowds can be rather large. Check ahead for current hours and prices, tour information and special events at www.elvis.com/graceland.
