Knoxville, Tennessee to Memphis, Tennessee (Lower the curtain down on Memphis) - December 17th, 2008

Of course I go to Graceland. How can you not? The mansion is fabulous, but not overwhelming; this was back in the 50’s, before truly outrageous excess really existed. There a bunch of different buildings and museums, parts dedicated to the recording career, a building just for the jumpsuits, a building for his Army stint, two airplanes, and the auto museum. It’s awesome. You get a feeling for the guy, he was a good kid. Cut his first single at 18, a national star by his early 20s, drafted for 2 years into the Army in occupied Germany. He was an scout in a tank regiment, certified pistol sharpshooter. His last year in Germany, at some army dance social, he met an Air Force brat named Priscilla; he was 24, she was 14. OMG that’s so crazy great. Takes a few years off and then in 1968 comes back bigger than anyone could have predicted, in the early 70s sees him as the biggest, maybe the first ever international superstar. And through it all, you get the sense he’s a boy who had music in his soul, there’s nothing else he possibly could have done but be who he was.
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