Memphis is all about the music. Of course, the main attraction is Graceland, which everyone knows was the home of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. But Memphis was the home of the blues as well. It became a melting pot for music of many kinds, as the singers of the blues, country and rock and roll all melded together to produce some of the greatest music of all time!!!
Just so the kids can relate to what we are doing here, I'm going to give a little history lesson on Elvis Presley. Elvis Aron Presley was born in East Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8th, 1935. (That would make him almost exactly 6 years older than Gpa!) In September, 1948, when Elvis was 13, he and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, looking for a better life for the family. Elvis was the first member of his family to graduate from high school (Humes High School in Memphis). He took odd jobs working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for Crown Electric Company. So the story goes, he lived a half a mile from the Sun Recording Studio and that he showed up one day asking if he could cut a record as a birthday present for his mother. The receptionist arranged for the 19 year old Elvis to make the recording. Apparently she thought he had great potential and was just what the owner of the studio, Sam Phillips, was looking for. There was only one problem..... Sam Phillips didn't agree with her! He was a supporter and lover of the blues and that was the music he wanted to support. The long and the short of it is that finally one day, he gave Elvis a chance, and after hours of working with him and a couple of back up musicians, they took a break. The story goes that Elvis was nervous, and picked up his guitar and started playing That's All Right, a blues song, but with a totally different beat. The other musicans picked up on it and they started jamming. Apparently Sam Phillips burst into the room demanding to know what they were doing. Instead of being upset with them for making the sound, he was upset that they hadn't done it sooner!!! They kept upping the beat until Sam was satisfied, and then they cut a recording. The story goes that Sam Phillips then ran the recording down to a local DJ who was the most listened to DJ in Memphis and induced him to play the record. The DJ introduced the recording, played it, and then played it 14 more times until the end of his broadcast that day! The lines of the radio station were jammed with calls from both white and black teenagers demanding to hear the recording again! It was such a totally new sound, that they didn't know if Elvis was white or black!!!! Elvis wasn't aware of all the hoopla, as he had returned to his job in the movie theater and wasn't listening to a radio. The young man was propelled immediately into the spotlight.
There are lots of websites dedicated to facts and fiction about Elvis Presley, and if you are interested in learning more about this incredibly talented individual, try starting at this link for lots of Elvis details and trivia:
We bought 4 of his cd's and we are thrilled anew at the incredible sound produced by one of the greatest recording artists of all time!!! Of course, we are more used to the sound from our LP RECORDS (Do you kids even know what I'm talking about!?!?!? Check with your mom, Aly, I think she has our G.I. Blues album. Get her to show you what music looked like before mp3 players!!!) Anyway, I bought a cd that has his first recording on it, so when we get home, we can have a session and you can listen to it!!!
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