There’s a great music city that sometimes gets forgotten by a lot of people, and I must admit, I haven’t thought about it in a while. But when I opened my map up to find my next destination, Memphis popped out at me. Yes! Stax Records, Sun Studios, Graceland…a lot of music history there.
Hotel booked, let’s hit the road!
I was super excited for Stax Records. Way back in the day, when I first got into radio, I was a mainstream jazz host. Then I started a blues show. Lots of cool stuff went into the formation of Stax, and during my music adventures of my youth, I discovered Albert King. This led me down the path to Stax, and tons of artists like Otis Redding.
So I was totally stoked to get to see the place where that all went down. The old theater has been converted into a museum, and the studio reconstructed from the plans and memories of those who were there. You pay only $13 to check out the intro film, and then wander as long as you want through the museum, checking out all the amazing gear and stories from the Stax heyday.
You can see lots of memorabilia, hear the music, learn about the history, and check out some of the studio gear used by Otis, Booker T and MGs, and more. I particularly geeked out over the mixing desk, the old 8 and 2 track tape machines, and the reconstructed studio.
So much history, and a lot to learn.
Of course I bought some shirts and a hoodie. To help with the upkeep of the museum, and to help out the music school they’ve built next door, to teach kids the music, and keep the sounds alive. It’s very cool stuff.
Sun Studio isn’t too far from Stax, so I drove by there, but parking was a nightmare, and I was getting hungry after spending a few hours in Stax. I took a couple pics of the studio from the outside…it also looked closed.
Then it was off the eat! I found a highly recommended BBQ joint called Central BBQ, and drove over. Decent BBQ, but I found the turkey a bit dry. The sauce helped a little, but still would like a little more moisture in there.
Off to Graceland? Well…maybe not right now. The prices to get in were a little steep for me, especially if I wanted to see everything. Hey, they have to pay for all the upkeep on that super expensive stuff, right?
But more importantly…the question is…where will I be heading tomorrow? I guess it’s time to check the map and make a decision…
Johnnie Walker 