Memphis, TN

We arrived in Memphis in the early afternoon, picked up our rental car and headed downtown to check into our hotel. We decided to stay downtown at the “South’s Grand Hotel:” The Peabody. The hotel is centrally located, making walking to Beale Street and the Memphis Mississippi Riverfront easy.

Our first evening we had an excellent dinner at McEwens, Southern cuisine with a twist, before taking a walk to Beale Street in search of some live music. Memphis has a trolley and walk streets that make navigating a compact downtown area a very pleasant experience day and night. During the next two days we visited many of Memphis major attractions.

MEMPHIS MOJO TOUR (including a tour of Sun Studio)

A bus tour of “musical” Memphis, complete with a professional Beale Street musician who plays and sings selections from the city’s rich musical heritage and tells stories of famous Memphis personalities.  The tour culminates with a tour of Sun Studio, the studio that launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash.

Beale Street (Home of the Memphis Blues)

The Beale Street Entertainment District is a three block stretch of clubs, bars, juke joints, eateries, and shops. Beale Street’s heyday was in the roaring 20′s, when it took on a carnival atmosphere.

In our opinion, Beale Street is similar in many ways to Sixth Street in Austin, TX, and Bourbon Street in New Orleans.  Almost every club, bar, and juke joint is a venue for live (blues & rock ‘n’ roll) music seven nights a week.  The street is closed to vehicular traffic and a great place to walk and pick a place to have a drink based on what you hear as you pass each doorway.

We visited Beale Street on a Wednesday night, after dinner, and settled on the Rum Boogie Cafe. Vince Johnson & The Plantation Allstars, regulars at this club, provided the entertainment.

STAX Museum (Museum of American Soul Music)

Soulsville is the Memphis neighborhood where the Stax and Royal (home of Hi Records) studios were located. Soulsville is arguably one of the most talent-packed neighborhoods in the world: Aretha Franklin, Memphis Slim, Memphis Minnie and Booker T. Jones all called the neighborhood home.

National Civil Rights Museum (at the Lorraine Motel)

The National Civil Rights Museum is located at the former Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

The museum chronicles key episodes of the American Civil Rights Movement and examines today’s global civil and human rights issues. The museum’s mission is to provoke thoughtful debate and serve as a catalyst for positive social change. Coincidentally, the city of Memphis was preparing to honor King on the 50th anniversary of his death.