.
Amy: As we stood there on the stoop of Elvis Presley's house, I had a hard time believing that we were going to be let in. I mean it was us. At Elvis' house. No way!
The tour guide waited until we were all looking at him expectantly, comfortable with the fact that we were soon going to be unleashed into Graceland, then opened the door, instructing us to step to the living room on our right and begin our audio tour tapes.
The first thing that struck us at Graceland was how weird it was to be in Elvis Presley's house. I know we keep repeating it, but unless you've been there, you just don't know the feeling. It's a lot smaller and cozier inside than you might imagine. The audio tape was droning on and on about how much Elvis loved this place, describing the different he used to partake in throughout the house.
We wandered through each room silently, following the instructions on the tape and receiving gentle guidance from the many chaperones who stood at their posts and directed us. We have to point out, however, that we didn't feel rushed or hurried at all. If we'd wanted to stand and gaze at the main staircase that leads up to Elvis' bedroom (where, alas, we were not allowed to wander), we probably would have been left alone. It was a very relaxing, solitary experience. There were about 15 of us in the tour group, and we all milled around compatibly in our little herd taking pictures, inspecting knick-knacks, or casting looks to one another in amazement: "Can you believe we're really here?" "No, man, I'm as surprised as you are."
The second thing that we couldn't help but notice was how damn ugly Graceland is. Elvis died in the 70's...and he died living in one stylish crib. The colors fairly sang out at us: deep blue off-white in the living/dining room! Green shag carpeting--on the floor AND ceiling--of the Jungle Room! Electric yellow and deep blue in the basement TV room! Wild red fabric on ALL surfaces in the pool room. Elvis clearly had a lot of money...but really, not much class. You could tell that he spent most of his youth imagining what he'd do if he ever became rich...then he went ahead and did it.
Amy: I wanted answers when we reached the kitchen. It was all paneled in a dark wood and, as a result, it was a pretty dingy room. The tape let me know that it was the hub of activity, and the cook was always fixing up something special for visitors and family. I couldn't help but think...how all these visitors and family members fit in here?"
The rest of Graceland was downhill from there. Once you're out of the house proper, there's another building in back that's all his awards and gold records and plaques and guns and all sorts of gifts that Elvis was given over the years. It all exalted the Glory Of Elvis, but didn't say anything about him as a person.
Andy: In retrospect, it seems kind of silly to have expected anything else.
Back at the main complex, we took a trip through the car exhibit, showing off the various vehicles he'd accumulated. As with his triple-TV basement, his vehicles showed how he was able to buy anything he wanted, and did. For instance, he bought a fleet of motor scooters one week just because he got a bug up his butt that they would be neat to have. The walk-through customized jets only echoed this. Beds, TVs, gold-plated sinks in the bathroom: excess for the sake of excess.
The "Sincerely Elvis" exhibit had some worthwhile memorabilia. One case showed records from his collection; one was devoted to his famous visit to Nixon in the White House; one shows the TV he shot one day just because; and all of them showed his tacky excess in clothing. The signs all used words like "extravagant", and "exciting", but the world knows that they really mean "ugly".
One thing we came away with, after hearing the different songs played everywhere, was a new appreciation of his music. He really was very talented. It was surprising to get there and see how seriously the world took him because today he's laughable; he's a clown. Maybe keeping his image alive at Graceland is perpetuating that. "You're going to Graceland?" People laugh when they hear it. There's no huge shrine to Roy Orbison. We don't go walking through Marvin Gaye's house. Elvis the musician deserves a little more respect.
Respect or not, we still bought:
After all that, we needed to drop the glitz level a notch. We headed to
Sun Studio.