Tedheadone
05-26-2011, 11:41 AM
Not by design. More like Incidental Tourist. Picking up the rental in Memphis and looking at the map, there it is. And, oddly enough, right on Elvis Presley Blvd. Home of a plethora of check cashing joints and fried chicken purveyors. And which runs parallel to my route on I-55. And it's early in the morning, won't be crowded, got plenty of time, what the hell!
$45 dollars later, I am waiting in line for a shuttle van, with a bunch of old folks my age, and a sprinkling of kids, with a headset and mp3 player hanging from my neck. We load up and cross EP BLVD, go thru the gates of Graceland, and head up the drive to the Southern Mansion that Elvis bought, at age 22, from a doctor for $100G. There is a vanload of people gathered around a guide at the front door, and a vanload of people on the sidewalk before we spill out. Where did all these people come from at 9:30 in the morning? There were barely any cars in the parking lot.
White couches, chandeliers, and plastic covers on the dining room seats. And a vinyl rec room in the cellar with a bar. I think, deep down, Elvis was Italian. How else to explain the decor, except it looked just like the furnishings of the home of one of my high school friends. I mean, his father's name was Mike Colangelo, doesn't get any more Italian than that, he drove a Cadillac and they had a pool. House even had columns out front, just like Graceland. Man, I spent a lot of time there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4lfW6TOoM
OK. A word about the Jungle Room. When Marc Cohn sang, in "Walking in Memphis", about a "pretty little thing, waiting for the king, down in the jungle room" I was fairly certain he was talking about a sanctuary of orgiastic bacchanalia DOWNSTAIRS away from prying eyes. Au contraire. The Jungle Room was a coupla steps down FROM THE KITCHEN with a PICTURE WINDOW right next to his throne. The Jungle Room was actually the FAMILY ROOM!! Gasp!
Downstairs was the TV room/bar, all black and yellow vinyl, with a pool room adjacent. Ok, but no Jungle Room !!
Out back there is a separate building that Elvis built for racquetball. For all I know, he had Nixon down for a match. This place looks more like a club where the guys might hang out. And a small upright piano is there, ever there. The court itself is now memorabilia central, and another building houses records, gilded and mounted. My favorite one was an album "Pure Gold" that went platinum. I heart irony.
And because I paid an extra $4.50 I can go aboard the two planes. The back of the 707 has Elvis' bed. There should be a plaque above it that reads "Member, Mile High Club"
That concluded my tour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36837161@N04/sets/72157626810931552/show/
And so, I went to Graceland. But she wasn't there..... I had to press on to Mississippi to find Grace. Right there in plain sight.
$45 dollars later, I am waiting in line for a shuttle van, with a bunch of old folks my age, and a sprinkling of kids, with a headset and mp3 player hanging from my neck. We load up and cross EP BLVD, go thru the gates of Graceland, and head up the drive to the Southern Mansion that Elvis bought, at age 22, from a doctor for $100G. There is a vanload of people gathered around a guide at the front door, and a vanload of people on the sidewalk before we spill out. Where did all these people come from at 9:30 in the morning? There were barely any cars in the parking lot.
White couches, chandeliers, and plastic covers on the dining room seats. And a vinyl rec room in the cellar with a bar. I think, deep down, Elvis was Italian. How else to explain the decor, except it looked just like the furnishings of the home of one of my high school friends. I mean, his father's name was Mike Colangelo, doesn't get any more Italian than that, he drove a Cadillac and they had a pool. House even had columns out front, just like Graceland. Man, I spent a lot of time there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4lfW6TOoM
OK. A word about the Jungle Room. When Marc Cohn sang, in "Walking in Memphis", about a "pretty little thing, waiting for the king, down in the jungle room" I was fairly certain he was talking about a sanctuary of orgiastic bacchanalia DOWNSTAIRS away from prying eyes. Au contraire. The Jungle Room was a coupla steps down FROM THE KITCHEN with a PICTURE WINDOW right next to his throne. The Jungle Room was actually the FAMILY ROOM!! Gasp!
Downstairs was the TV room/bar, all black and yellow vinyl, with a pool room adjacent. Ok, but no Jungle Room !!
Out back there is a separate building that Elvis built for racquetball. For all I know, he had Nixon down for a match. This place looks more like a club where the guys might hang out. And a small upright piano is there, ever there. The court itself is now memorabilia central, and another building houses records, gilded and mounted. My favorite one was an album "Pure Gold" that went platinum. I heart irony.
And because I paid an extra $4.50 I can go aboard the two planes. The back of the 707 has Elvis' bed. There should be a plaque above it that reads "Member, Mile High Club"
That concluded my tour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36837161@N04/sets/72157626810931552/show/
And so, I went to Graceland. But she wasn't there..... I had to press on to Mississippi to find Grace. Right there in plain sight.