Memphis 2: Elvis Presley & Martin Luther King
Beale Street is alive any time of day, but away from there the rest of Memphis is as quiet a city as you could ever find. Sidewalks are spacious and largely empty, streetcar seats have only a handful of takers and traffic is sparse – there never seems to be any congestion anywhere. The “home of the blues” buzzes but the rest of the city snoozes. There’s a kind of Sunday morning feel regardless of what day of the week it is.
Those places where the crowds are always to be found are the blues clubs and the barbecue restaurants, though twice daily at 11am and 5pm people also gather inside the Peabody Hotel to view a spectacle which is as oddball as any English eccentricity you would care to name. Crowds assemble, the red carpet is rolled out, the uniformed master of ceremonies cranks up the anticipation…then eventually the celebrities from the penthouse emerge from the elevator and walk the red carpet route to the fountain in the lobby.
Who are these revered celebrities? Ducks. Ducks who live in the penthouse but occupy the fountain and its pond from 11 till 5 each day, the trips back and forth being the centre of much attention and much pomp and ceremony, apparently this is a ritual which has played out for over 80 years. Not with the same ducks, obviously. It’s all a bit bizarre!
Less of a trivia and a much more influential part of the history of Memphis are the stories told in the Civil Rights Museum.
Back in the 1960s life in the southern states was on an ever sharpening knife edge. Nowhere else in the USA was as reluctant to adopt desegregation and repeal the Jim Crow laws, nowhere else was the reaction to change so violent and so animated. It’s unbelievable to discover that kangaroo courts held by the Ku Klux Klan to try those perceived to be black activists, were actually given credence by State Police and State Governors, who turned a blind eye to punishments meted out to those “found guilty”.
But the rumble was becoming a roar, the support for the Civil Rights movement was gathering pace, and the days of the Jim Crow laws were numbered.
All around America things were changing, but still the southern states resisted. Racial tension spilled into violence in Alabama as separatist vigilantes sought their own kind of justice and launched attacks on peaceful rights marches. Black youths staged sit-ins at whites only cafes, barring the way for whites to place orders, often joined by white students sympathetic to the cause. “Stand up by sitting down”, implored the posters.
In Montgomery in 1955, a lady named Rosa Parks had refused to surrender her bus seat to a white lady, and was arrested and thrown into a police cell for her trouble. Rosa was to become a heroine and a symbol for reform, and the consequent boycott of the bus service by the entire black community brought the city’s finances to its knees.
Music, as ever, was becoming a vehicle for the narrative. The arrival of rock’n’roll had given a rebellious voice to youth for the first time ever; now it was becoming the norm for teenagers to have their own views, opinions and politics, often in opposition to parental values. This was new territory, the music was new territory, the two issues were becoming inextricably entwined.
And so to February 1968. A strike by the sanitation workers of Memphis, triggered entirely by a desire for better pay and better terms, was turned into a racial battle by city authorities, the majority of sanitation workers being black. Developments attracted the attention of the leader of the Civil Rights movement, Dr Martin Luther King. The “I Am A Man” marches gathered pace, the signature phrase conceived to demonstrate that black workers were people, not the property of the employer.
Dr King, preparing his speech to the workers, chatted with colleagues in his room at the Lorraine Motel, the only Memphis hotel which catered for blacks, then stepped out on to the balcony… Shots rang out from a boarding house across the block, Dr King fell to the ground, slain in cold blood. From that moment, the course of history was changed, and once again Memphis was host to seismic storylines of social history.
Lorraine Motel
The former Lorraine Motel is now the Civil Rights Museum, which tells the whole story of those struggles in graphic detail, a story which ends at Room 306, King’s room, restored to exactly how it would have been on the fateful night of April 4th, 1968. It’s a powerful, hard hitting museum.
Back to Elvis and so, finally, to Graceland. The Presley home is a major tourist attraction, supposedly the most visited former private home on Earth. Whilst being obviously impressive, Graceland is not a gigantic mansion and is smaller than we had imagined, though of course the grounds and the former possessions speak of immense wealth. Gold plated seat belts in your private aeroplane, for instance.
Otherwise it’s all pretty much as you would expect: gold records, stage outfits, Elvis’s cars, motor bikes and aeroplanes and many stories of family life at Graceland. It’s a highly eulogistic and adoring display, presenting Elvis not just as the iconic immortal star that he was, but also as a saintly family man who never put a foot wrong. A story with a couple of chapters missing, maybe.
More costumes
The house is fascinating, not least because Elvis’s obsession with constant change created themed rooms such as the “jungle room” modelled on his favourite vacation destination of Hawaii, and ahead-of-its-time multi screen TV rooms. Such is the extent of the entire Graceland tour – house, grounds, museum, cars, aeroplanes – that it takes just shy of three and a half hours to complete it. Throughout that entire time I spot just one tiny reference to Col Tom Parker, interesting but perhaps not so surprising.
It’s time to move on from Memphis, reflect on all that we have learned about the city, its histories and the birth of rock’n’roll, with one last night on Beale Street and one last blues session.
Next stop Nashville.
37 Comments
normareadtalktalknet
The ‘duck scenario’ is hilarious 🤣
Phil & Michaela
Respectably daft!!
Helen Devries
I knew about the civil rights aspect….am not keen on Elvis…but those ducks!
Phil & Michaela
Mad innit…!
Helen Devries
Totally!
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
I don’t have any interest in Elvis but would visit for the blues music.
Phil & Michaela
Well I’m not a massive fan either but you have to appreciate the influence that time had on future music and on society. Probably part of the most radical change for youth there’s ever been.
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
Agreed – definitely a big influence.
Parks and Planes
We had a great time in Memphis. Think it’s very underrated!
Phil & Michaela
We loved it too!
Travels Through My Lens
Now that I know about the ducks, I’ll have to visit someday. They’re so darn cute!
Phil & Michaela
And a bit crazy!
Andrew Petcher
A great history write up!
I still remain non-Elvis.
Phil & Michaela
Why thank you kind Sir
Lookoom
I drove past Graceland on my way through Menphis, seeing how busy it was and how little time I had – and how little interest I had – I didn’t stop. Seeing your photos I rather regret it, if I have to go there again I’ll organise myself better.
Phil & Michaela
One of those things you have to do if you’re there, really…but not worth a special journey in my opinion
Gilda Baxter
I am a big Elvis fan, so a visit to his home, now turned museum would definitely be on my agenda. Thank you for the tour. My sister has visited Memphis last year and she thoroughly enjoyed it, but I don’t think she has seen the cute ducks 😂
Phil & Michaela
Memphis has a lot to offer – the ducks are just one of its quirks, but very amusing!
Toonsarah
Talk about a city of contrasts! Parading ducks in a hotel, hard-hitting history and a totally over-the-top mansion 😀 And I would love to see them all, but especially the Civil Rights Museum.
Phil & Michaela
Memphis was good, the music scene on Beale Street is great, but the museum really topped it. I’m glad we came to Memphis after visiting Little Rock, the story built up to the big one at the end, so to speak.
grandmisadventures
Love the great mix of Civil Rights history and the glitz and glamour of Graceland…but the ducks are probably my favorite part. So wonderfully unexpected 🙂
Phil & Michaela
It’s a city of different aspects, Meg. We liked it, as you know 😊
leightontravels
Aaaah essential Memphis experiences from start to finish. The Peabody is such a magnificent hotel and the whole duck thing is absolutely barmy in the best way. I swear I felt a chill go down by spine at the Lorraine Motel, it really is such an atmospheric spot to be at and just take a moment despite the fact that the building itself is the kind of place you could otherwise walk past without giving it a second thought.
Phil & Michaela
The Civil Rights museum does indeed tell a very big story, and ending the tour looking at the room as MLK would have left it is a little eerie. There’s even the remnants of a meal on the desk. And as for the ducks, I don’t know what else to say!😂
Alison
Great post Phil and although obviously heard of Martin Luther King didn’t know of the back story. I suppose the ducks are a draw card!
Phil & Michaela
The ducks are just nutty 😁
Monkey's Tale
The civil rights museum sounds like it is definitely worth it, but why all the hate on Elvis in your comments?! I’m not sure I would be interested in the Museum, but I remain a fan 😊
Phil & Michaela
You mean in other people’s comments? I really can’t answer that! Graceland is just something you have to do while you’re in Memphis. Sun Studios tour was a whole lot better (and far less costly!)
Monkey's Tale
Sorry, yes, I meant other people’s comments, not yours. 🙂
wetanddustyroads
A red carpet and ducks as special guests … only in America! The years of struggle are properly portrayed in Memphis — and rightfully so. I remember the Elvis records in our house – my parents used to listen to them all the time (in my ignorance as a young child I thought he lived in South Africa) and only heard, when I was older, that he was from “another country” and already dead. You know what I’m thinking? Michaela will look beautiful inside that pink Cadillac.
Phil & Michaela
It was all Beatles when I was a kid, more English music than American, I think. And yep, those ducks are weird. Memphis as a whole is very cool though.
Marie
We loved the city – far more than expected…from the Lorraine Motel to Graceland, the music – and yes – even the ducks!!
Phil & Michaela
Of the three “big ones” we’ve just done – New Orleans, Memphis & Nashville – Memphis was our favourite. So much to like about it.
WanderingCanadians
I had no idea there was so much to do in Memphis. And then there’s the fancy ducks!
Phil & Michaela
It’s an enthralling city!
Annie Berger
Never heard of the ducks before – what a hoot! Great recap of what makes Memphis a wonderful place to visit as the city has a little something for everyone. Another top of the line civil rights museum is in Birmingham, Alabama if you ever take on another Southern driving trip.
Phil & Michaela
Memphis was great, we liked it a lot.