[US07] Mmmm, Blues and stuff

Am rather wet and a little bit tipsy.

First night in Beale Street was cool. Had dinner at B.B. King's and listened to two bands (and ended up on stage with the first one, don't ask), the first played all kinds of covers and the second classic Rythmn&Blues, Soul and Funk, all very good and worth the $5 cover. I then moved on to the Rum Boogie Cafe where "Blues Healer" played dirty Memphis/Texas/Chicago Blues. Had a really nice chat with the drummer when they had a break. We were just chatting about music and then he basically told me his life story. Really nice guy. I was also in the place next door (with an connecting door between the two) where Dr. "Feelgood" Potts played classic Howlin' Wolf/John Lee Hooker style Blues.
Felt a bit unsafe on my walk back so will probably take a cab tomorrow. It was only a 15 minute walk so shouldn't be too expensive.

More exploring tomorrow, Stax Museum, Rock and Soul Museum, maybe Graceland although I'm considering doing Graceland on my way to Birmingham on Wednesday as I'm going South, anyway.

[us07] Wet again

*squelch*
This morning wasn't too bad at first. I visited the Stax Museum of American Soul Music on the site of the former Stax studio where artists like Otis Redding and Booker T and the MGs recorded their hits. Very informative but less technologically advanced like the Country Music Hall of Fame. While in the HoF the music you heard was limited to the exhibit you were looking at, a lot of tunes overlapped at Stax but it was still good and very interesting indeed. Sorry Elvis, but in terms of custom Cadillacs, Issac Hayes wins. Peacock blue, gold trim, plush fur interior, TV and so on. This was the true and original pimp mobile. ;o) Incidentally, I drove through Hayes' hometown, Covington, yesterday, completely randomly.
Interestingly enough, Martin Luther King's assassination (in Memphis, no less) was the cause of Stax' demise as after the event, there was so much discontent and distrust towards white people that Stax (white owned but a place where there was no racial prejudice whatsoever) couldn't continue to operate and had to shut down...
When I came out, it was raining hard so I decided to go to Graceland after all.
It was actually a lot less garish than I thought it would be and I could take photos. So, especially for cabd, here are two photos of Elvis' kitchen:

 

( Bigger )

The trophy room with all its Grammies, other music awards and gold and platinum records was very impressive and the outfits obviously rocked. Shame about the weather as it was pouring down so I got pretty drenched just walking from building to building and couldn't get decent shots of the outside or the gate. Oh well, it was still worth it.

Came back to the hotel to dry up, write postcards and sort out a route to Birmingham tomorrow.

If I go out tonight will depend on weather. Would be a shame if I couldn't make it...