B.B. King’s Blues Club on world famous Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.
David Bowen performs at the King’s Palace Cafe in Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis Presley’s Shure 55 microphone inside Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, known as “The Birthplace of Rock N’ Roll.”
The Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
The ducks leave the fountain at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.
The front gates of Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
The TV Room of Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Jungle Room of Elvis Presley’s Graceland home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Gibson Les Paul guitars are displayed at the factory in Memphis, Tennessee.
Recently, Patty and I traveled to Tennessee to document the K-State football team’s trip to the Autozone Liberty Bowl to play Arkansas on January 2, 2016. We drove down early to Memphis and took two days walking around the “Home of the Blues.”
We dined at Corky’s Ribs and BBQ. Then, we spent six hours on world famous Beale Street wandering in and out of clubs and listening to some wonderful musicians.
The next morning, we visited the legendary Sun Studio. Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and U2, all have recorded albums in “The Birthplace of Rock N’ Roll.” We ate lunch at Aldo’s Pizza Pies, a Memphis institution. Afterwards, we toured The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. It was surreal to stand where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. We ended the day by going to the Peabody Hotel so we could see the ducks that swim in the lobby fountain.
We couldn’t leave Memphis without seeing Elvis Presley’s Graceland home. We took a self-guided tour through his mansion, his car collection and his two private planes. We stopped for lunch at Central BBQ to enjoy some great food. Finally, we visited the Gibson Guitar Factory to see the new Les Paul models in the showroom.
We joined the football team on day three. Together, we went to the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, watched the Miami Heat play the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum, and ate dinner at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous famous barbecue restaurant.
Memphis was amazing and we hope to return one day for more music and food.
-scott weaver
