- Zsuzsanna C.
- Monday, January 10, 2022
On the picture you can see the first car Elvis bought.
One of my favorite singers is Elvis Presley. I really wanted to learn more about him, so we traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to visit Graceland. This is the largest and most comprehensive Elvis museum in the world.
This tour is so much more than a mansion. The mansion is the place where he enjoyed his family life. The tour of Graceland Mansion includes the living room, his parents’ bedroom, the kitchen, TV room, pool room, the Jungle Room, his father’s office, the Trophy Building, the Racquetball Building and the Meditation Garden. I really liked the Jungle Room. The whole house is beautifully decorated and not as big as I thought it would be. Of course, the swimming pool and the horse stables take up a large part of the property. When it came to karate, Elvis was not “Elvis the Entertainer,” he was “Elvis the Martial Artist."
There are exhibit halls, and the best part of the exhibit for me was the hall where you can walk among some of Elvis’ favorite automobiles, including his iconic Pink Cadillac, Stutz Blackhawk, 1956 Cadillac Eldorado, Dino Ferrari, Mercedes Benz limousine, and Rolls Royce sedans. I love old cars; they are so beautiful. You could also see his favorite motorcycles also and let’s not forget the hundreds of artifacts and photos, his stunning jumpsuit, and other clothing items. There were immersive and interactive exhibits. For example, with computer simulation, you can try on his famous costumes, or you can dance with him. We saw the pictures of him with his favorite sport equipment.
I personally liked that Lisa Marie was growing up with Elvis Presley. The exhibit features personal items from her childhood including her record player, roller skates and clothing, as well as items from her musical career. The exhibit explores Lisa the daughter, the mother, her charity work, her career, as well as how she continues to carry on her dad’s legacy at Graceland. We visited Elvis’ two airplanes that he used for tours.
His parents were Vernon and Gladys Presley. He was born 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Later they moved to Memphis, Tennessee. His musical influences came from pop and country music, gospel music from church, and black R&B that he absorbed on historic Beale Street. His singing career began with the legendary Sun Records label in 1954. By 1956, he became an international sensation. He starred in 33 successful films, received three Grammy Awards and sold over a billion records. He was named “One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970" by the United States Jaycees. On December 21, 1970, the King of Rock 'n' Roll met with President Nixon. There is a pop-up exhibit about the event. Displayed is the five-page handwritten letter from Elvis to Nixon, the outfit Elvis wore to the Oval Office, the Presidential cufflinks given to Elvis as a gift from Nixon, and the badge presented to him by the President.
His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. On January 6, 1957, in the Ed Sullivan Show, viewers could see and hear his song “Piece in the Valley”. Elvis paid tribute to the Hungarian people with this gospel. Elvis requested from Ed Sullivan to accept donations to help the Hungarian people’s cause. Nearly 25 million Swiss Francs have been raised. Not too many Hungarian people know about this. Fifty-five years later, Elvis Presley was inaugurated as an honorary citizen of Budapest, Hungary, and near the Margaret Bridge, a space is named after him. He cared about the lives of people who had difficulties in their life. He remembered the struggle of his childhood.
We checked out after the tours the famous Bailee Street and the Sun Studio in Memphis. We could see his sculpture in the city.
Unfortunately, Elvis died really early; he was only 42 years old.
His music and movies are still popular booth in the US and internationally.