Headed East: A Taste of Memphis History

6/20

I wanted to still be active while I was in Memphis, so I was stoked when I found out about Shelby Farms. A park reserve full of bike trails, right outside of the city, sounded like an awesome sidetrack after hiking my way across Arkansas. To my luck, they were reopened and renting bikes once more. A trip to the gift store, and before you know it I was pedaling my way down the beautiful paths of Shelby Farms. It was a hot day in Memphis, but what a gorgeous park with lots of water views and tree line shade to start my day. They are known for their buffalo heard as well. But, I never saw one as I biked my way around the park all afternoon.

Not too much later, I was giddily walking through the steps of rock and roll history at Sun Studio. Elvis saved for months to be able to come through the doors of this little studio and record his first music in 1953. He was a young and poor eighteen year old greasy kid with side burns. It took one more year before he got his break and signed with Sun Studio, starting his iconic career as the father of rock and roll.

We strolled through the radio station remnants of who played his first song, the recording studio where he and so many other music icons played, and were surrounded by pictures of all the big names in music history that recorded there. From Johnny Cash to Roy Orbison, from B. B King to Jerry Lee Lewis, this place quickly became a place of music history in the making.

After an explosion of success, the studio was closed and moved to a much bigger location on Madison Ave, which is still in use and recording today. Many years passed and in time it was sealed up and naturally preserved, until a monumental moment occurred that changed everything. Some of those original icons came back to the studio to record a compilation together, including Cash and Orbison. This started a whole new wave of bands, including Led Zeppelin, then even U2 years later, that longed to come and record there, hoping to recapture a little bit of the old sound of rock and roll in their venture. The world can agree that these decisions can be noted as some pretty successful rolls of the dice for both bands.

Speaking of a successful roll of the dice, after Sun Studio, I was starving. My desire to hit a local spot for BBQ while in Memphis, led me to a bar stool at The BBQ Shop, devouring a chopped pork sandwich on Texas toast. The local Fireside Amber Ale was a perfect companion, as I reminisced in the coolness of my moments with rock and roll history.

I wanted to see one more very important place before the day ended. I decided walking through the rock and roll awesome of Memphis's past wasn't enough for my time while in the city. I needed, no I had to, go a little deeper while I was here.

The Lorraine Hotel, open to black and white patrons alike, was a well known hotel that served up spectacular dishes and lured people in with its open friendliness. It was known to be quite popular with musicians, black and white alike, until that fateful day in 1968 when Martin Luther King lay motionless on the concrete walk in front of room 306.

Sadly, the hotel went into foreclose not long after this abhorrent moment in United States history. But, as we know, this hotel would have a much bigger role to play, as it was quickly bought and renovated into the must see Civil Rights Museum of Memphis, Tennessee. I had hoped to be embracing the halls and exhibits of the museum, heart and soul. Closed due to Covid-19, I had to settle for walking the grounds, and listening to the audio boxes conveniently on display, which wonderfully brought the story to life for you. From the hotel’s early history, to the reason why MLK was there in the first place, to that infamous moment we lost him, to the transition of the hotel into the greatest of Civil Rights museums in the United States, I was grateful I had went there, closed or not.