Deep South Early Blues Tour 2008 - Memphis

SATURDAY - 10^th May 2008 

Taxi to the terminal zone (a real taxi, to Manchester airport).  Flight reasonably smooth except for the lack of alcohol and the hostesses who resembled Godzilla the Hun.  Arrived early at Chicago so plenty of time for a 2 hour transfer taking in our first burger.  Plane delayed by 50 minutes which stretched to 2 hours.  Pilot delayed for operational reasons – i.e. stuck at another airport due to raging storm elsewhere in the US.  Clambering aboard the toy-sized 50-seater, the pilot announced it was a short flight but it should be shorter because he would be racing to Memphis to beat the approaching storm.   Storm? Alan went very pale.  The following day we found out that several people had been killed in tornadoes.   Fortunately we had two children next to us which took Christine’s attention off the storm as she scowled in anticipation of the screaming and tantrums, which never came to fruition. As it happened, it was a smooth flight for the first hour and then the captain ducked and dived around the storm clouds and kept us smooth all the way to Memphis. 

Picked up the Alamo hire car from a choice of gas guzzlers, so we chose the smallest possible.  As we cruised Downtown, the rains started with a vengeance.  Here we were, new car, left-hand drive, dark, torrential rain bordering on hurricane, jam-packed 5 lane Interstate, but we found the Comfort Inn with no missed turns (thanks to Christine's wonderful command of left and right turns).  As the rain was torrential, we decided to leave Memphis to the next day and went to bed.  During the night, it became apparent that the wind had got up and the hotel windows on the 14^th floor sounded like they were rattling out of their frames (or so Alan tells Christine who, as usual, slept through the lot).   

SUNDAY - 11th May 2008

Sunday morning – blue skies and warmth so we were down Beale Street by 8am thanks to jet lag.  Not a soul around, apart from one pan-handler.  Walked on through deserted streets, past some historic (and not so historic) blues sites and markers, to the legendary Sun Studios.

Had an excellent tour at Sun Studios hosted by a young lady with a massive tattoo across her chest (Alan suddenly found this very interesting).  Saw the exact spot where Elvis recorded and the alleged actual mike he sang into.  Heard how the million dollar quarter or Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins had a jam session which was suppressed for decades due to record company ownership.   Needless to say there were plentiful copies for sale in the shop.  Plenty of photo opportunities to pose with the mike.   

Sun Street provided a free minibus to Graceland and Downtown so we hopped aboard to go to Graceland.  Being a hardcore blues fan, I didn't have much desire to see the mansion but gave in to the pleadings of my wife.  Graceland itself was an amazing experience with a frozen-in-time snapshot of his life and home.  Nowadays it would be tiny for such a famous star but it was a very evocative reminder of the times and life of one of the world’s first superheroes and the inability of himself, his entourage and the world to deal with it.  Seeing the family graves within the mansion grounds was strangely moving and the memories of it and him, stayed for a good few days.  The whole thing is dreadfully spoilt by the consumerism, and the low point for us had to be the exhibition of virtually identical white jump suits.   You also get to see his personal planes and outstanding collection of cars.  Every possible item adorned with Elvis, and constant Elvis music and, let’s face it, he did some fantastic stuff but there was a lot of dross in there too. 

Back on the free Sun Street bus to the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum.  The driver dropped us off outside a stadium decorated with concrete sports balls and the driver announced that he would pick us up by the balls in an hour.  Alan cringed, Christine giggled! 

The Memphis Rock and Soul Museum tells the story of the city through its music, with displays on all the major artists who lived and recorded in Memphis.  There was also the opportunity to listen to a wide selection of tracks by twiddling knobs on the displays. 

In need of a drink we headed towards the Peabody Hotel and got there by the most awful coincidence at the time when the famous ducks were returning to their roof top home.  Yeah, it’s touristy but it was fun to watch them waddle down the specially laid red carpet.  We definitely needed a drink after that and took advantage of the great dollar/sterling FX rate to order a couple of very nice glasses of wine from the none-too-friendly waitress (think we might have been a little underdressed in t-shirt and shorts – it was Sunday in a top ranking hotel). 

Walked back towards Beale Street via some fantastically tacky gift shops and went to BB Kings Blues Club for dinner.  Live music was playing but we don’t know who, with an 83 year old guitarist and a lady who shimmied well.   Audience participation was cringingly required, with 3 white ladies with no rhythm climbing on stage to accompany the band.  The food was surprisingly tasty and we got free beer glasses to take home, yes, a gimmick but they came in very useful over the next few weeks (of course we couldn’t take them home with our ‘squash everything into our suitcases’ policy).   

Walked back to the hotel and came across a film crew on the corner of Peabody Place and South Front Street who were filming something to do with blue spotlights being projected on the floor from a rooftop.  The stills photographer foolishly asked us to join in as he needed someone to photograph, so Christine backed off with true English repression but Alan, fuelled by a couple of Buds, obliged by dancing with the blue lights.  There was Alan, the stills photographer, a director and the actor with Alan leading the way.  Oh the embarrassment!  

Back to the Comfort Inn Downtown and in bed by 9pm (jetlag!) – by the way, we thoroughly recommend the Comfort Inn Downtown as being very convenient (North Front Street), not cheap but not too badly priced for Memphis, great views of the Mississippi (above), lovely staff and breakfast included with secure underground car parking facilities.

MONDAY - 12th May 2008

Took the riverfront tram for a dollar downstream.  Original old tram with no tourist trappings and completely empty – rare!  Great views of the Mississippi and takes you through some of the historical industrial areas which are well off the beaten path.  Not the prettiest urban areas but lots of character. Good ride and friendly driver. 

Walked a couple of blocks through the historical district to the National Civil Rights Museum on the site of the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated.  The balcony and the room have been preserved and it is an evocative and moving tribute.  The museum is full of information and its presentation is a bit hard work with lots to read.  We had the audio guide but this distracted from the dense text on the walls.  Nevertheless, we would thoroughly recommend it as part of the history of this complex area and nation. 

Walked up towards Downtown looking for the Memphis Hall of Fame Museum but we couldn’t find it so had an expensive coffee in a blues bar and then took the mainline tram to the Slave Haven Burkle Estate Museum, based in a former way station.   Unfortunately this had closed the year before. That’s the trouble with old guide books. 

Walked back through the civic district which is very impressive with lots of open spaces and impressive buildings.  Saw more TV film crews but Alan restrained himself.  Back to the Comfort Inn to pick up the car and set off for Highway 61, heading for Tunica.   Pulled off at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in search of the much touted Blues and Legends Hall of Fame Museum – only to find that this had also closed last year.  Had lunch in the casino buffet  - all you can eat for $9.99 with excellent quality food and loads of choice. Exceeded recommended daily (probably weekly!) calorie intake (big time!).  Very hot when we left the casino and couldn’t get out without putting a whole dollar in a slot machine, which we promptly lost.  The only blues-related legacy in the place was a couple of murals on the back side of the hotel. Noticed that BB King was due to play there in June – at $100 a ticket! He was on stage free at the Chicago Blues Festival!

Carried on down Highway 61 and pulled off at the Welcome Centre (the Delma Furniss Hospitality Station to give it it's full title) at the junction with Highway 49 near Lula.  Alan had  stopped off here on his last trip in 2006 and the hospitality was just as good. Lovely lady called Linda gave us coffee, leaflets and masses of information about the area including a special blues carrier bag with info about the Mississippi Blues Commission and the Blues Trail, a sample way marker and a 'limited edition' blues CD.  Now I was familiar with the work of the Mississippi Blues Commission and had trawled their website before embarking on our trip.  The website was evolving, as many of the blues markers were in the process of being installed, so details of locations of the markers were a bit sparse.  I was relying on picking up local leaflets with more detail. Unfortunately the leaflets didn’t give much more information so we were in for a challenging locating the individual markers (Alan & Christine aka Sherlock Holmes & Watson!).  Since returning from our trip, a check on the Commission website confirmed our thoughts - they now have simple to follow local maps, so our advice is, if you want to do a similar trip, you need to do your research before you set off by checking the Commission website www.msbluestrail.org . 

Having rested and thanked the Welcome Centre staff, we set off again down the baking highway, on to our next temporary home, the Shack-Up Inn at the Hopson Plantation. 

NEXT: Clarksdale, hub of the Delta blues