Two years ago, I took my niece on a cross-country roadtrip to celebrate her graduation from college. She was content to let me plan the whole trip, but there was one place she was insistent that we visit: Graceland. I wasn’t enthusiastic.
You see, I’m too young to remember the vibrant, rock ‘n’ roll Elvis. By the time I was listening to popular music, he was a fat, washed up, druggy joke. I did have one brief glimpse at his impact on the day of his death (see this earlier post.) But all in all, he’s not a star I would go out of my way to learn about.
Boy, did Graceland change my mind! Well, in the beginning, it was all that my snarky self expected — weird, tacky and filled with people who were taking it all waaaaay too seriously.
A surprisingly small Graceland. It would be the smallest home in your average gated community.
The first odd thing you notice about Graceland, is that everyone who works there is Black. I mean EVERYONE from the ticket taker to the tour guide to the concession stand and gift shop operators to the maintenance people. With the psuedo-Tara facade of the place, it gives it the feeling of a strange plantation.
The next thing you notice is how small and relatively modest everything is. The house is less impressive in size than anything you’d see in a mid-range gated community. And the outbuildings, such as Vern Presley’s office and the guest quarters, are pretty much the architectural equivalent of double-wides.
The Pool Room: just one example of Evis’s terrible White Trash taste.
Then you get inside. Holy gold lame with a cape! This has got to be the apotheosis of White Trash Taste. We’re talking purple shag carpeting ON THE CEILING, ceramic monkeys, gold flecked mirrors on the walls, fake wood paneling. (Our pictures on Flickr can’t even do it justice, but view ‘em anyway here.)
Something happened during the tour — and I think it was due to the excellent self-guided audio tour that features Elvis, Priscilla, Lisa Marie and various famous people talking about Elvis. But it was most certainly the video monitors set up at nearly every point in the tour showing him in performance. In fact, after awhile, I had a hard time concentrating on the tour as I was riveted by his performances. (Luckily you can stop, start and replay any section — and you can take as long as you want on the tour.) I’ll tell you what we learned: Elvis was an amazing performer!
At Graceland, Elvis is still in the building. Note the TCB (Takin’ Care of Business) logo. It’s everywhere.
But he was also an incredibly sad individual with a tragic stunted life. Listening to Lisa Marie describe him playing around in go-carts and shooting off fireworks with his friends, you realize, he never really grew up. And Lisa Marie seemed not to have a connection with him as a father, but only as a “presence” who changed the energy in a room when he entered and electrified audiences on stage.
There were points in the tour where Aleana and I were practically in tears.
But the videos pulled us out of it. Now I’m a huge Elvis fan and my next Amazon purchase will be the deluxe special editions of his “68 Comeback Special” and “Aloha From Hawaii”.
It was tough to shake the mood after that, so we headed down Beale Street — and straight into a club featuring the worst Elvis impersonator in the world. I think he was trying to be “The Native American Elvis” as his blue jumpsuit featured turquoise beads and he said he was Chocktaw. He also said he knew Elvis personally, but then everyone in Memphis of a certain age tells you they knew Elvis personally. However, after Graceland, we felt we, too, knew the King.
To quote Paul Simon:
“And I may be obliged to defend
Every love, every ending
Or maybe there’s no obligations now
Maybe I’ve a reason to believe
We all will be received in Graceland”
For someone who says they now like Elvis Presley, I don’t understand why you would start out commenting about him in such a insulting and unflattering light.
Your comment “I’m too young to remember the vibrant, rock ‘n’ roll Elvis.”
Hmmm, I guess you’ve never heard of Televison, Albums, CD, DVD’s, magazines or any other form of media to learn about the history of the most celebrated entertainer in the history of music.
I’m too young to have been here when George Washington was around but I know and understand how important he was in history.
I’ve also never heard anyone refer to Elvis’ father as “Vern”. He was named Vernon and people called him Vernon or Mr. Presley.
Why would you comment that its odd that everybody you saw working at Graceland was black. Why does that matter?
Graceland is decorated the way it looked when Elvis lived there. You can’t possibly expect it to be decorated in modern designs.
I’m glad that after your visit, you’ve changed your mind how you feel about Elvis. I’m just surprised at some of your comments.
Maybe that was your point.
All The Best,
Cory Cooper
Elvis Historian, Consultant, Technical Advisor
ElvisExpert@aol.com
Actually, when I was growing up, there weren’t CDs and DVDs. And I only saw Elvis on TV clips where he was fat and increasingly irrelevant in a world dominated by the British Invasion and rock. Even his fans will admit that his movies, which I saw in reruns, don’t really showcase his talent. And I don’t think albums really show what was special about Elvis. He was, above all, a vibrant live performer. Those live performances haven’t been all that readily available until very recently. By the time I was buying records, Elvis was marginalized and seldom on TV. Since he was a has-been when I was growing up, I didn’t seek him out later.
It’s one thing to read academically that someone is important, it’s another thing to see them in context and feel that talent viscerally. Which I never did until that fateful trip to Graceland.
As for my reactions to Graceland, they are just that: my reactions. It struck me as a weird time-warp sort of White Trash plantation. Complete with Black staff and incredibly tacky furnishings. I didn’t expect modern design. But my parents decorated in the Fifties and they didn’t have green shag carpeting on the ceiling. You have to admit, it was really odd.
Hey Lisa,
i have been trying to find an email address for you. Since I can’t find one, please check this post on my blog. You are mentioned and honored with an award.
http://mybiglittleworld.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/for-me/
by the way, being from the south, i know that it isn’t uncommon for all the people working at Graceland to be of color, especially in Memphis where being of color is not necessarily the minority. but it sure does make one take notice considering the history of the south. i’ve been to memphis many many times and never been to graceland. i think i might just have to have a look-see the next time i am there.
best,
jacque
I knew an English professor and poet who was convinced that Elvis will be the basis of the next major religion. I saw Elvis live on television on Ed Sullivan when I was four years old and walked up and kissed the screen. My father is still mad that rock and roll displaced the big bands.
Most of the Elvis movies were bad. My mother took us to Hoptown to see Jailhouse Rock at the drive-in. I watched it last week and it has suffered over time. King Creole has held up. As a child I cried at Flaming Star. The two part televison biopic with Jonathan Rhys Meyers (authorized by Priscilla and Lisa Marie) captured young Elvis well. He played him with a healthy dash of Prince.
My niece has moved back to Memphis. She barely escaped taking me to Graceland six years ago. Short visit. We made it to Beale Street and sort of crashed a wedding reception at the Peabody Hotel.
Graceland could happen yet. And it would probably be because of Paul Simon. Elvis won’t mind I’m sure. Hospitality is a Southern tradition. He was a Southern boy.
I wouldn’t suggest that ANYONE who gets anywhere in the vicinity of Memphis should skip Graceland. It’s a definite experience.
leave it to you to get a bona fide Elvis historian commenter – are you trying to one-up my Albanian commenter again????
Too bad that Elvis didn’t get the drug rehab help that he needed or we’d still be enjoying his music today.