Today marks the official kick-off of Elvis Week in Elvis Presley’s beloved home of Memphis. Running through August 17, the week brings a series of concerts, events, and gatherings, including a candlelight vigil on August 15 at his last residence, Graceland. And along with the festivities comes the release of Memphis, a comprehensive collection of the music Presley recorded in Bluff City.
The 111-track set spans his initial Sun Studio recordings, legendary sessions at American Sound and Stax, the “Homecoming Concert” on his 1974 arena tour, and his final sessions in the Jungle Room at Graceland. The bulk of the tracks have been remixed by four-time Grammy winner and Memphis native Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price), who, on songs like “In the Ghetto,” stripped away the string, orchestral, and choral overdubs, allowing the listener to essentially eavesdrop on what Elvis heard in the studio. It’s a spine-tingling collection that adds a starkness to Presley’s repertoire. The revered Elvis archivist Ernst Jørgensen produced the set, with liner notes written by music historian Robert Gordon.
As the collection makes clear, there is much more to the Memphis Elvis knew and loved than Graceland. Below, Gordon, Jørgensen, and Ross-Spang share must-visit spots in the city for casual fans and Elvis obsessives alike.
Memphis is out today and available to order here.
“[This was] one of Memphis’s first public housing projects. The Presleys moved to a building at 185 Winchester in 1949, when Elvis was sixteen, just north of downtown. Elvis met other musicians and was within walking distance of white gospel singing in the city auditorium, and all of Beale Street, where Black culture thrived. The complex was renovated in 2000, and fans can stay the night in Elvis’s bedroom in apartment 328.”—Robert Gordon
“This is where the leg-shaking hip-swiveling began. On a country music show and misnamed on the poster as ‘Ellis Presley,’ Elvis shook, the girls screamed, and then the world screamed, too. Today, the Shell hosts two seasons of free public concerts.”—R.G.
Memphis Recording Service, aka Sun Studio
“A low-key storefront at 706 Union, near downtown Memphis, is home to the ‘Big Bang’ of rock and roll. Producer Sam Phillips consistently caught lightning in a bottle, discovering and recording artists like Howling Wolf and B. B. King, and then, by 1954, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison. In just nine years at Sun, Sam would record a millennium’s worth of music that forever changed the cosmos. Elvis’s ‘That’s Alright Mama/Blue Moon of Kentucky’ Sun single lit the fuse.”—Matt Ross-Spang
“Elvis purchased this house, located in one of the prettiest established neighborhoods in East Memphis, with the success of ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and his new future on the major label RCA. While a major upgrade from Lauderdale Courts, Audubon is a modest 1950s ranch home with only a four-foot high fence. It’s hard to believe now how many fans would respectfully stay behind the fence and wait for a glimpse of Elvis.”—M.R.S.
“Located on 827 Thomas Street, this unassuming one-story building showed no signs of the magic that came from within. The inside wasn’t more impressive, but Elvis declared, ‘What a funky studio.’ The studio had turned out dozens of hit records since 1964, including ones from Wilson Pickett and Dusty Springfield. Owner Chips Moman had a house band that was among the best in the world, and after two weeks of work in January and February of 1969, Elvis had recorded more than thirty songs, including the hit singles ‘In the Ghetto’ and ‘Suspicious Minds,’ and Don’t Cry Daddy, one of his best albums ever.”—Ernst Jørgensen
“Downtown near the famous Beale Street, Lansky’s has styled just about all the hip artists of the time, regardless of genre. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Isaac Hayes, and, of course, the King. Elvis’s first Lansky suit was seen nationally on the Ed Sullivan Show. Even better, the shop is still open and run by the Lansky family to this day.”—M.R.S.
“Stax was the epicenter of sweet Southern soul music in 1972, when Elvis recorded there. Isaac Hayes’s ‘Theme from Shaft’ and the Staple Singers’ ‘Respect Yourself’ redefined the former home of Otis Redding and Sam and Dave. Today, the Stax Museum is onsite, fun, and funky.”—R.G.
“One of the King’s favorite spots to eat, and it hasn’t changed much since he was last there. Elvis came for the fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I always go Eggs Redneck. Either way you’ll have a good time. Stick around after it closes and walk over to Earnestine & Hazel’s!”—M.R.S.
“Home of the BBQ pizza, which also happened to be one of the King’s favorites. Coletta’s is still owned and operated by the same family as when Elvis stopped by. Be sure and eat in, as the dining room and the bar are incredible time capsules.”—M.R.S.
