Memphis

-------------------- BACKGROUND -------------------- Located in the southern part of the state of Tennessee, Memphis is best known to me for its musical history, particularly as being the home (although not the birthplace) of the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. The population of the city is over 670,000, with a notable increase in the middle of August when a good many Elvis fans travel the world to pay homage to his life and his music. Many Memphians decry these visitors as they think they are mad - August is usually the hottest, most humid time of the year, and is the period when Memphians would rather escape the city, but instead many people come ...

Memphis, Tennessee is the most atypical of southern cities. Normal-seeming on the surface, Memphis has always been a little out of step not only with the rest of Tennessee but with the rest of the world. The main reason to visit Memphis is to acquaint yourself with its incredible, unmatched musical history, and, while in the past that would have been an almost impossible task, given the attitude of the city toward its own accomplishments, recent developments now make it possible for a visitor to understand that the musical history of the town encompasses much more than Elvis Presley. A short list of Memphis musical figures would include Furry Lewis, Jim Dickinson, ...

Memphis was my sixth stop, just after Nashville, on a two week trek around the Eastern Side of America. I had expected to be confronted with a town full of 'hicks' and wannabes singing in doorways. Instead I was greeted by a crowd of totally mental and lovely people who certainly knew how to party. The centre of it all is Beale Street. Lined with bars, souvenir shops and horse-drawn carriages, you'd expect it to be very tacky - but it was very atmospheric, music streams from every bar and restaurant and very drunk people carry plastic cups of liquor through the streetswhilst singing along. As our trek van drove in the pouring rain into ...