Yesterday was spent travelling the 200 miles between Nashville and Memphis. The Day started with rain and that continued for most of the journey making for some interesting driving. The journey was mostly two lane freeways but it was a relatively picturesque one once we had left the city.

First stop of the day was Jackson to visit Rusty’s TV and Movie car museum. It was a random placed we had found on the internet and looked like a worthwhile stop. As we opened the door we were welcomed by, errr, how do i put this delicately? well what can only be described by a Brit as a mullet wearing Hillbilly. He said something to us but his Southern drawl was so thick I couldn’t tell you what it was. He was actually very nice and i think he was probably the Rusty that owned the place. he was very enthusiastic about the museum and proceeded to tell us the story of the cars and which ones were genuine movie cars and which were replicas ( not that we understood a great deal, he could have been speaking a foreign language). Think Cletus from The Simpsons and you get the idea, Anyway, enough of Rusty. The actual museum was a great halfway stop and worth 45 minutes of our time and $10 each to get in.

After leaving Jackson it was a further hour on the freeway into Memphis and somewhere i’d been looking forward to visiting since we first started to plan this trip over three years ago

Sun Studio

Opened in 1950 by Sam Phillips, Sun Studio would come to be known as the birthplace of Rock n Roll. The first Rock n Roll single ever, Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (featuring a young Ike Turner on piano) was recorded here and the list of legends that have recorded in this hallowed building is just to long to list but stretch from The Howlin Wolf, BB King and the Prisonairres through to U2.

In 1953 an 18 year old Elvis Presley walked into Sun Studio to record “My Happiness” for his mother. When Sam Phillips first opened the studio he made a pledge to record anybody and anything so the young Elvis walked in off the street with $3 and cut his first record. Sam phillips wasn’t in that day so the recording was sorted by his secretary, Marian Keisker who had the foresight to take two pressings of the record thinking “this boy has something” and play one to Sam when he returned. Needless to say Sam Phillips was not impressed and it took another couple of self funded recordings by Elvis before Phillips heard him singing an old blues song and the penny dropped.
So , anyway, a visit to Sun Studio has always been high up on my bucket list and it didn’t disappoint. The 45 minute tour was very good. Lots of history on the place and stories about the people who had recorded there culminating in standing in the same studio that the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and so many others had recorded. There was an aura about the place, truly magical and yep, it may only be an X on the floor but thats where Elvis stood to record … and i’ve stood there … just to be in the same room where the Million Dollar Quartet recorded was mind blowing for a music fan.

The Hotel we are staying at in Memphis, The holiday inn ( nowt fancy here) was a 5 minute drive down the road from Sun Studio so we soon found ourselves unloading the suitcases and checking in. The Hotel is perfectly placed but that’s about all it’s got going for it. Pretty generic Holiday inn, once inside, other than the picture of a guitar on the wall you could be anywhere in the world. We headed out to get some food and take in all that the famous Beale Street, home of the Blues, had to offer. A pleasant evening was had supping a few beers and watching live music in one of the bars and then it was back to the hotel to get some rest as we have a full day ahead of us visiting the many museums and attraction in Memphis.