The great Elvis shrine is Graceland in Memphis but there are many more cities and countries where you can still see places and items and connected with Elvis and learn about his visits, films, recordings, and events. (List at end, but read on through this post.)
USA
When I lived in the USA we had not yet discovered distant family there, so we were free to go travelling every weekend. Without even looking for them, I found Elvis items all over the USA and Canada. A car or guitar seemed to pop up everywhere, a disc in a rock theme restaurant, a car in a car museum, a guitar in a music museum, a statue in a waxworks, photos in a local history museum. Or a hotel with a room where he stayed a night, a hall where he performed music, or a landmark where he filmed. Worldwide sites were to be found: in the USA, Canada, UK.
TENNESSEE
I went on a press trip to Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee. We stayed at the Opryland Hotel. It was huge. When somebody phoned me from the lobby to say, 'come down and meet us, our coach is here,' it would take me 20 minutes to get from my room at the far end of the building all the way to the nearest lobby, then on to the correct lobby, in the other half of the multi-storey figure of eight building. Endless walking galleries overlooked and wound around the two (or more) bandstands and themed restaurants.
The best thing about my stay at Opryland was that the room service set the radio to play Elvis and Country Music which was playing when I opened the door of my bedroom. I was so happy. I had just flown in from England. I knew I was in the USA. I knew I was in or near Nashville, the heart of Country music
In the evening we went to an Opryland music theme park concert featuring singers. We had a chance to meet Brenda Lee in the interval.
BRENDA LEE
She was sitting sewing. The journalists were allowed only one question each, so as not to tire her, and to give them all an equal chance. My question was: 'What do you think Elvis died of?'
I assumed she must have been asked many times. so she would react phlegmatically, giving a stock answer. To my surprise, she was flustered and upset and said, "I wish we knew. If we had known, perhaps we could have done something to help prevent it."
You can also visit events:
1 Elvis competitions. (USA)
2 Elvis theme nights at restaurants with Elvis lookalike singers. (UK)(See my previous post for events at Orama restaurant in Hatch End, NW London, England, during 2016.)
Should you wish to be married by an Elvis lookalike, somewhere there's a chapel, or two or more, in the USA's favourite wedding location, where you can do so. If you missed out on this the first time you got married, there's always the next time. (Or, if you stay married, a renewal of vows, your children's bar mitzvah parties, or your daughter's wedding.) Or hire your own Elvis outfit for a fancy dress party for New Year's Eve or a friend's 'Fifties' or 'Sixties' theme birthday party. (We hired one in Singapore. A white suit.)
Elvis Sites - Here are my favourites:
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Sun studio (museum, hourly tours led by a musician, photo spots, food).
Graceland and Gravesite in Graceland.
Photo by Ron Cogswell
Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. Birthplace museum.
Elvis Sites Websites
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/17/top-10-elvis-presley-memphis-attractions
graceland.com
http://travelblog.viator.com/11-sights-and-tours-perfect-for-the-elvis-fan/
http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elvis-sites.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Hawaii
His pink Cadillac is in Graceland. Read about his cars and Australia connections here:
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_presleys_1955_pink_cadillac.shtml
(This post under construction - come back for links photos later.)
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, comic performance poetry, songs.
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