Memphis sites are full of sound

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Memphis means music.

The River City has many charms — great food, views of the Mississippi, a let-the-good-times-roll ethos — but it’s the tunes that keep tourists coming. They want to hear this music in the city that makes a legitimate claim to being the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll.

You can soak up the atmosphere by strolling down Beale Street, the main tourist drag, but fans wanting depth of knowledge will plan visits to the museums and tourist destinations dedicated to Memphis music.

Here are some top spots.

The W.C. Handy House Museum

William Christopher Handy (1873-1958) was not exactly humble. He titled his autobiography, “Father of the Blues.” Handy was a trained musician who took little-known musical forms enjoyed by rural African-Americans in the South and transcribed them into songs that attained national popularity. But the wood frame house where he worked while writing early, signature tunes such as “Memphis Blues” and “St. Louis Blues” is small and easy to miss. The site, on Beale Street, features exhibits tracing the intertwined history of the blues and W.C. Handy.

W.C. Handy House Museum, 352 Beale St., Memphis 38103.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays in the summer, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays in the winter.

Admission: $3 adults and $2 children.

More info: 901-527-3427.

The Memphis 
Rock ’n’ Soul Museum

This museum on Beale was created by the Smithsonian Institution and, as expected, provides an even-handed and thorough history lesson about the entirety of Memphis music. The tour starts with the sound of sharecropper field hollers that evolved into modern soul music as African-Americans migrated from the country to the city. Visitors learn about the usual suspects (Elvis, Otis, et al.) as well as the city’s most popular deejays, the high schools that produced session musicians, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs (who recorded the garage rock hit “Wooly Bully” in Memphis), Al Green (who still lays down his hits at Hi Records in the River City) and indie godfathers Big Star. The audio tour takes visitors through seven galleries with 300 minutes of information and more than 100 songs.

The Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, 191 Beale St., Memphis 38103.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Admission: $10 for adults and $7 for children 5 to 17.

More info: 901-205-2533. www.memphisrocknsoul.org.

Gibson Guitar Factory

Call ahead to plan a visit to the Gibson guitar factory, because it’s a lot more fun when the craftsmen are working. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and provides a chance to observe the binding, neck-fitting, painting, buffing and tuning that results in a Gibson Guitar. There’s a retail shop, too. The factory is right across the street from the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum.

Gibson Guitars, 145 Lt. George Lee Ave., Memphis 38103. Tours on the hour, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Admission: $10 per person or $8 per person for groups of 15 or more. Children under 5 not admitted.

More info: 901-544-7998, Ext. 4075. www.gibsonmemphis.com or e-mail to GibsonMemphis
Retail@gibson.com

Graceland

Graceland takes time. Fans pay to park, buy tickets at the visitors’ center across the road from the mansion, wait for a shuttle bus, wait outside the house and finally enter Elvis Presley’s principle residence from 1957 to 1977. It’s no Neverland. Graceland looks like a faux Southern mansion on the outside, but inside it’s a roped-off, mid-1970s time capsule with décor from that era: a sunburst clock over the mantle, white shag carpet in the living room, an avocado refrigerator and dark brown kitchen cabinets. If you want a good taste of Elvis’ taste, linger at the Jungle Room, the den named for its green shag carpet and tiki-inspired furniture. Don’t ask to see the bathroom where Elvis died; the upstairs is off limits. Outbuildings contain walls of gold records and displays of Elvis artifacts, such as his wedding tux and jumpsuit collection. The tour passes by a very small swimming pool before ending at the Meditation Garden, where Elvis, his parents and his grandmother are buried. Pilgrims leave tokens ranging from coins to oil paintings. Back at the visitors’ center, fans dine at restaurants serving Elvis’ favorite foods (meatloaf and mashed potatoes), walk through his two airplanes or study his collection of cars and motorcycles.

Graceland, 3734 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis 38116.

Hours: Call to check, as times vary by season.

Admission: Tickets range from $12 for children for the Graceland Mansion Tour to $69 for adults on the Entourage VIP Tour. No flash photography. Parking fee.

More info: 901-332-3322. www.elvis.com

Sun Studio

Sun Studio holds an authentic vibe not found at the other Memphis music destinations. The tour is worth it just to see the worn X-mark of black tape on the studio’s linoleum floor where the lead singer stands during a recording session. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and dozens of other rock, R&B and blues musicians recorded their first hits in this studio in the 1950s, allowing Sun to make a legitimate claim to being the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll. Musicians still rent out the studio for recording, so it’s not cluttered with exhibits, though historic photos hang on the walls. The upstairs room includes a more traditional museum experience tracing Sun’s history, and the gift shop is small but crammed with good stuff.

Sun Studio, 706 Union Ave., Memphis 38103.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Admission: $12, kids 5-11 free, kids under 5 not admitted.

More info: 1-800-441-6249. www.sunstudio.com.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

This 17,000-square-foot museum goes deep into the history of soul music. After a brief video about Stax’s history, the tour starts with an old wooden church transported from the Mississippi Delta to show the gospel roots of soul. Visitors wind through the building and watch videos about Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and other stars that cranked out soul hits in the 1960s and 1970s. Studio A, with a sloping floor from the movie theater where the studio was first built, contains instruments used by the Stax house band, Booker T and the MGs. The highlight of the tour is Isaac Hayes’ gold-trimmed, peacock-blue, 1972 Cadillac El Dorado. There’s a sad undertone to the Stax history because this integrated success story crashed and burned in the early 1970s. The original Stax building was torn down in 1989 but rebuilt as this museum in 2003.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music, 926 E. McLemore Ave., Memphis 38106.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays; closed on Mondays November to March.

Admission: $12 adults, $11 seniors, active military and students with ID, $9 for children 9 to 12 with paying adult.

More info: 901-946-2535 
or 1-888-942-SOUL. www.souls villeusa.com.