Tennessee :: Along the Way with J & J

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Sept. 20 – Nashville Cats

By jayjazz · Comments (1)

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015

We were up and out early this morning to make our way toward Two Rivers Landing RV Resort in Sevierville, Tennessee. Two Rivers is one of a few big RV parks in the area but we chose them because they offered a shuttle service to Downtown Nashville. Checking-in was a breeze and we received a 10% Good Sam discount!

Unlike the other shuttle services we’ve used on this trip, you need to call ahead for a pick-up. The shuttle arrived quickly and dropped us off directly in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is exactly where we wanted to begin. There are a few different tour options and we chose the one that included an audio tour and RCA Studio B. We decided to start with the Studio B tour and waited a short time for the shuttle, which picks you up in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

RCA Studio B is probably the most famous recording studio in the world, having recorded over 1,000 American hits. Of course, it was also who Sam Phillips sold Elvis Presley’s recording contract to for a mere $35,000. The tour guide was very pleasant and shared interesting stories about Roy Orbison and Charlie Pride. We then saw the famous, acoustically superior recording room. The guide told a cool story about Elvis’ recording session for “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and then we listened to part of the song in the dark…very cool!

The Studio B shuttle picked us up as soon as we exited the tour and in a short time, we were back at the CM Hall of Fame. Since it was getting late, we decided to walk to the historic Ryman Theater, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. The price of the self-guided tour is $20 per person but if you’re a country music fan, the auditorium will leave you in awe. We watched a short, very cool movie about the history of the Ryman and then we were free to walk around inside. There are tons of displays showcasing country music artifacts and you can have your picture taken professionally on stage for a small fee.

In case you didn’t know, Jay is a big country music fan so this was a real treat for the both of us. We soaked up as much as we could and then we bolted back to the CM Hall of Fame for our final tour. By the time we got there, we had less than an hour to check out two floors of the museum! Notable exhibits were “Flying Saucers Rock And Roll: The Cosmic Genius of Sam Phillips” and the Nashville Cats exhibit with Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

After a busy day of touring, we were now ready to see what we really came for. Broadway Street, the hub of all live music in Nashville! There are so many cool music venues here, it’s difficult to choose one. So, we just walked up and down, stopping at every other place, picking up a few doodads along the way. We had a drink at a place called Whiskey Bent where the band, who’s name I regretfully didn’t get, was awesome.

We picked up the last shuttle back to the campground and are about to crash. Nashville was amazing but tomorrow, we are on to the next adventure. Stay tuned to see where!

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : Nashville, Road Trip, RV Travel, Tennessee

Photo of the Week – Memphis Recording Service

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Monday, September 21st, 2015

A neon silhouette of “The Million Dollar Quartet”
Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015, Photo Of The Week

Tags : Photo of the Week, Road Trip, RV Travel, Tennessee

Sept. 19 – Thank you Elvis, thank you very much.

By jayjazz · Comments (1)

Sunday, September 20th, 2015

If you are not an Elvis fan, you may want to skip this post. Either way, I invite you to take a trip back in time to 1953. Eisenhower was in office, television was still new, and a young singer from Tupelo, Mississippi was about to become the most famous person on Earth.

In Memphis, Tennessee, on the corner of Union and Marshall Avenue, sat a small record label named Sun Studio. Sam Phillips, it’s owner, had already recorded a number of artists that would go on to become very successful. However, he was struggling to make ends meet when an 18-year-old named Elvis Presley walked into his studio to cut his first record. Initially not impressed, it would be another year before Mr. Phillips invited Elvis back for a recording session that would ignite the career of the most beloved musical icon in American music. The rest, as they say, is history.

Elvis’ musical influence can still be heard today. He is Rock and Roll’s first rebel, yet he remained decent enough to be adored by the old as well as the young. Elvis embodied the American Dream…an authentic original who has been endlessly imitated but never replaced. His untimely death on August 16^th, 1977 was mourned around the world and almost 40 years later, his fans continue to converge on the place he called home: Graceland.

The property has been completely preserved from the time shortly after Elvis’ passing and it’s still impressive in all of its gaudy glory. There are numerous exhibits that take you through every stage of Elvis’ career and more gift shops that you can shake a hip at. I could write for hours about what we experienced but I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

We were short on time after seeing all that Graceland has to offer but I couldn’t leave Memphis without visiting the iconic Sun Studio. After walking all day, we were happy to sit for the short ride downtown on the free shuttle service Sun provides. The place was really hoppin’ and we had to wait an hour and a half for the tour, but it was totally worth it to sit in the same room where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf, BB King and other musical icons cut their teeth.

After the tour, the shuttle brought us back to the Heartbreak Hotel. We added our names to the sidewalk graffiti outside of Graceland and got lucky when another tourist asked a Graceland employee if they would close the famous front gates for a few pictures.

We just settled in at another Walmart parking lot outside of Nashville. Tomorrow, we will continue our musical journey with some good ole honky-tonk fun on Music Row…stay tuned!

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : Memphis, Road Trip, RV Travel, Tennessee

Sept. 18 – Hot Springs & Walking in Memphis

By jayjazz · Comments (2)

Saturday, September 19th, 2015

Hot Springs National Park is the first piece of land set aside by the federal government to be preserved for recreation. The park is located right in the middle of downtown Hot Springs, which is a huge tourist town and the childhood home of President Bill Clinton. Visitors come from all over to tour the old bathhouses and fill up their water jugs full of 143-degree spring water, and we were no exception. We visited several of the bathhouse buildings and filled two one gallon jugs at one of the public fountains. We also had a drink in the famous Ohio Club, an old gangster hangout and popular watering hole.

Memphis, Tennessee was our next stop and a mandatory one. We are both big music fans and are looking forward to exploring the musical history of Memphis. Also, I have to see Graceland so we chose the Graceland RV Park for our accommodations.

As we approached the RV park off of Elvis Presley Boulevard, I almost died when I saw the Heartbreak Hotel, sitting at the end of Lonely Street! The park was in the back of the hotel but almost directly across the street from Graceland. While checking in, we found out that the RV park offered a shuttle service to Beale Street and it was only $6 round trip! This was going to save us a bunch of money on taxis.

After hooking up Lady T, we had a bite to eat and walked to the Heartbreak Hotel. Tickets for the shuttle can be purchased at the front desk and pick up point is just outside. Unfortunately, the 7 PM shuttle was sold out so we had to wait an hour. We checked out the first floor of the hotel and visited the gift shop while we waited.

The ride to Beale was about 20 minutes and as we got closer, the neon glow was unmistakable. Arguably the most famous street in the world, Beale Street is where some of the most important American music was cultivated. Blues, Soul, Rock and Roll: it all lives here. Beale street definitely had a different vibe than Bourbon, maybe slightly too commercial. There is also a huge police presence, which I’m sure puts a cap on how festive visitors can be.

However, there are still a few authentic juke joints blasting out great local music. We must have walked up and down 10 times, stopping every so often to listen to the blended sounds emanating from the bars. There are also several gift shops and restaurants, including BB King’s Blues Café. Some places on Beale charge a cover to enter and some don’t so be sure to bring a little extra money.

We spent a good three hours downtown before the shuttle arrived at 11:30 PM to bring us back to Lonely Street. Tomorrow, we will be up early to do some laundry and visit the King’s castle!