Audubon Drive

This video was took in 2002 inside a house Elvis once owned in Memphis on Audubon Drive. This was the first house Elvis actually bought. It was his gift to his mom. It is a cool home and was once owned by Mike Freeman and his former wife. Mike is the coolest. He does tours and such of Memphis and Tupelo. Anyway no the house has been sold since. This house has a strong connection to Elvis because this is where he lived from 56-57 when he was taking over the world of entertainment. The inside for the most part is like it was when Elvis lived there. Many of the things in the house are things from the 50's similar to what Elvis had in the house. The glass trophy case if you notice is one of the many things Elvis had done when he moved into the house. He also added a pool in the back that never worked right when he was there. It was there until a short time ago when it was tore up and filled in by the people that bought it. A producer out of Nashville bought the house and has had done work to it and was going to donate it to a college to run a musical education class out of it or something. It almost got into the hands of some psychic and I was not comfortable about that. I did not go by the house this year but I was our there in 07 and it looked great and work was still being done on the outside. Anyway check this video out and hear Wink Martindale as he interviews Elvis in the 1950's. This is pretty cool.

Eagle's Nest or not?

For years now I have thought the above building was the site of the what was once known as

The Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest was a a nightclub in the 50's that mostly middle class white folks came to to enjoy drinking and country and western music. Elvis, Scotty, and Bill performed there many times in 1954. The Eagle's Nest was part of a two story building that had a dance floor on the second floor where people would dance and such and live acts would perform from time to time. The first floor housed a 24 hour restaurant, the only one in Memphis at the time. It also has dressing rooms for the pool that sat outside. The place sounds so damn cool. Just once more reason to wish I was a teenager in Memphis in the early 50's. Anyway for years now I had saw in several books that this was the site on the Eagle's Nest and some even said this was the actual building. So for a while I thought it was. A few years ago I had heard things saying that this was not the actual building and the old site had been torn down and very long time ago. Some said it was at this site, and some said it was across the street. The building in the picture shown above that was last know as the Americana is on the corner of Lamar and Winchester. On Scotty Moore's website they have some information on this and his thoughts on where the old place once stood. I really do not know what to think about this because I have heard about twenty different stories on this but it stands to reason that the old building in the picture above was not the old club. Sad, because I feel that one more of the significant places in Elvis history and Memphis is gone. The few places that stand to this day I love to visit because I feel like I am getting to see and know a little of the real Elvis at 19 and 20 and how it was like for him back then. Anyway be sure to check out Scotty's site to see more on this and some great rare picture from the Eagle's Nest.

http://scottymoore.net/eaglesnest.html

EW pictures

I took so many picture this year I had to share a few more. The picture above is the Overton Shell Park. I can't explain the feeling I got sitting there looking at this place. Knowing Elvis took this stage at 19 and tore the place down. I am so happy they are doing something with this place so people can enjoy the property in the future.
This old building was the Hotel Chisca. It is close to 100 years old. It was a very nice hotel in its day, though not on par with the Peabody or some of the other fine Memphis hotels. It is connected with Elvis. Dewey Phillips broadcast his "Red, Hot, and Blue" show form here. It is here where he first played Elvis' first record in the summer of 54. He also would interview Elvis here. Elvis visited this place many times. This building is sitting and just going to waste at the moment. Many plans have been batted around for this place but none of them have gained any life that I know of yet. I really wish they would do something with this. More and more places in Memphis that hold significant history for Elvis fans is going to waste. It makes me sad. Vince and I took this picture because we were kind of poking fun of this large crowd taking pictures of all this odd stuff. So I stopped by the first thing and was like, take a picture! I felt the need to post this to show off the shirt. It is the one Mr. Lansky talked me into buying. It is awesome, it is stylish and comfortable. I have the same one that is pink, with the collar black.

This is the crowd at the crossing the night before we left. I miss it so much. As much as I can;t stand SOME of the people performing, I miss the atmosphere. A big mess of Elvis fans enjoying each other and the work of Elvis Presley, awesome.

More EW pictures

This is some furniture that was in the den at Graceland before Elvis put all the Polynesian style pieces in there.
This was from the night of the vigil. Chris Drummond does something like this every years on the street. He is awesome and he can sing great as well. He is on of my favorite people to see during Elvis Week.
Vince with some guy who was wondering around on Elvis Presley Boulevard the night of the vigil. I have seen him every August for several years now during EW.
This is the Zippin Pippin the oldest wooden coaster in America. It was Elvis' favorite ride and sits at the fairgrounds In Memphis. Liberty Land closed in 2005 and the coaster has not been used since. It is up in the air as what will happen but hopefully something will be done with it and it will be used again.

Liberty Land has been closed and I am very upset I did not get to go when I had the chance some years back. The Mid South Fair has been held on this site for a long time and Elvis frequented it many times. When Liberty Land opened on this site Elvis was known to rent the whole park out many times for himself and his friends in the middle of the night. I am glad I finally found time to go visit the grounds.

EW 08 pictures

I am going to share some of my pictures of the next few days I took in Memphis. The first one is from night one of Music and Movies when we watched Jailhouse Rock. Seeing Elvis on the big screen is awesome but seeing Judy Tyler on it was pretty sweet too. She was so beautiful. Love seeing her. I though this shot was pretty cool.
Me posted up by the Clambake movie poster. One of my all time favorite movies and the inspiration for this blogs name.
These trailers sit behind Graceland and are two of many Elvis has for friends and family to stay in. These are the only two that remain from his lifetime and are now are used for offices.
These chairs are from Ellis Auditorium. It was tore down and now the convention center sits on that site. A lot of history when it comes to Elvis happened in Ellis. The center has many of these chairs in it to sit in. For some reason this really fascinated me. I will share more pictures later on.

EW DAY 7 AND 8

I am going to let you in on some of the things we did our last two days in Memphis. Saturday we went around Memphis looking at places that related to Elvis in some way. We started out at the fairgrounds where we saw the old wooden coaster. Right across the parking lot was the Mid South Coliseum. Elvis performed to sold out shows here many times. A lot of history in this old building. Sad to see it sit and pretty much be useless. The great live album from 73, Elvis Live On Stage In Memphis. It was recorded in 1974 and is honestly one of the best live albums I have ever heard. It has inspired me to make it a point to due a review of it at some point. Anyway next we went out to Lauderdale Courts. This was Elvis' home for a time during his teen years in a very poor part of North Memphis. We saw a few other spots before going down to Beale Street. We visited some shops before going over to the Peabody. It is such a beautiful and historic place I can't wait to go in there every time I am in Memphis. One day I am going to just say the hell with it and throw down the $250 and stay a night or two. Also I had to stop in Lanskys. I knew I would talk myself into buying something probably. As soon as Mr. Lansky saw me he took me right over to a rack to put me in a pink high collar shirt. I quickly told him I had that one so he put me in a black and green one. I has wanted it for a time, and it was on sale. So I had no doubt I was taking it home. I let him do his thing and make his sale and I wore it out of the store. It was cool to know the same guy who dressed Elvis starting in his early days and would continue to do so for the rest of Elvis' life. Then we went back to the room to get cleaned up. We decided to go eat a really nice meal while in Memphis. I took Vince to my favorite restaurant Ruths Chris. It was awesome. A nice filet with a glass of wine did me well. We spent the evening at Graceland crossing at the tent listening to the music and wondering around back and forth to the plaza and in front of Graceland. We did not want to leave knowing it was the last night. Sunday we pretty much messed around in the room until we just had to leave. We had to go back down to Graceland to do some shopping before I left. Vince and I stayed down there several hours as I was just wanting to spend money. I never can make myself leave those shops! I got some awesome stuff though. I will give my overview of the week and share some pictures hopefully tomorrow. Also I got fourteen new CD's so I will be doing a lot of reviews in the next month or so.

EW- DAY 2(part 1)

Today we got up and went down to Graceland to pick up our tickets for the events we are taking part in this week. We browsed some of the shops and I am already mulling over what five FTD's to get. After going to get some food we decided to drive down the road and check out the property Elvis owned at one time in Horn Lake. Circle G was the name Elvis gave the property when he bought it in 1966. He owned the property until the early seventies. It span over 100 acres when Elvis owned if my memory serves me right. The property is pretty run down at the moment. You can't get up to it, we has to stop on the side of the road to take this picture. Not much more can been seen from what I can tell. I am glad I went anyway and that Vince got to see it. We are taking a break for a moment but out day is nowhere close to being over. We are heading back down to Graceland Crossing later to hang at the tent. Later tonight is night one of Music and Movies on the lawn of Graceland. Tonight Jailhouse Rock will be playing on the big screen. I am excited since it is some of the best work Elvis did in movies. It has always been one of my personal favorites as well.

Images from Hawaii

My sister just got back from the island of Kauai. That is BS she got to go, when I have been wanting to go forever. Nah not really, I am glad she got to go. She was nice enough to go check out the site of the old Coco Palms and get a few pictures for me. It was a waste of a lot of money because she paid to travel to the other side of the island and it was all shut up and you can't get in. I am still glad she got me these pictures though. The sign above I am thinking is in the front at the old entrance.
She said the whole area was really beautiful. I really want to go, and I want to go check it out before they get rid of this place all together. I will say screw it and break in, and get some key pictures. She said she had heard while she was there they might try to do something with this soon. I have heard different and that it is not looking good for the property. I tend to think at this point there is no hope for it. I am sentimental when it comes to any historic spot from way back when it comes to Elvis history.
It never made any sense to me why this place has just sit in ruin since 92. This was the top resort in Hawaii for many years. It has a lot of history and deserves to be brought back to life. I hope it happens. Elvis fan or not I respect the importance and beauty of this great place. I have a few more pictures of the area that I might post in the next few days.

Also don't forget the great song "Island Of Love" from the movie Blue Hawaii. It is a very overlooked song. I have always thought it was key. Actually the whole damn soundtrack is key.

THE SHELL

The above picture is what the new Overton Park Shell could look like. A firm working on the project made this and shared it through Scotty Moore's site. I can't wait until this project is done. To see the Shell get took care of is very important. I wish I could have got some pictures of the Shell years ago when I was in Memphis for my photo books. For some reason I did not have a camera that day. Anyway, I am glad something is going to get done to this historic site. Anyone that is a fan reading this knows all about it. If not, you need a history lesson! I am going to blog about this place one day anyway. I have always found it very interesting and have studied up on it's history in the past.

COCO PALMS

One place I have always wanted to visit is Hawaii. I have been very intrigued with it ever since I first saw Blue Hawaii many years ago. I have always said If I ever did get married, it would for sure be in Hawaii. The Coco Palms resort is a place that I really want to see. Coco Palms is a resort that opened in the early 50's on the island of Kauai. It is famous for it's lagoons and coconut groves. It was a very beautiful place at one time. It was made very famous by the movie Blue Hawaii. Chad Gates takes his clients there to stay. Remember the line " what is this? game night at coco palms?". Of course all Elvis fans know about Coco Palms and it's significance. The last scene in the movie where Chad and Malie get married, that was filmed in the lagoon at the resort. Sadly in 1992 the whole island was hit by a hurricane and it pretty much tore the resort up. Coco Palms is the last hotel to still be damaged and unfixed. Plans to rebuild and reopen it has been in place for a long time now. Different things have got in the way before. From what I understand they have had some pretty extensive plans. Hotels, condos shops, and restaurants. Though I do not think it had been givin a go yet, and it is not looking good for the original location from the way I read it. This important and beautiful location deserves new life. To find out more visit the website cocpalms.com. When and if this ever happens, I will for sure start planning a trip. It might be several years, but I will get there one day. Hawaii and Coco Plams ranks right up there with Seattle and the Worlds Fair site as the places I most want to see. Late on in another blog I might go into further detail more things I find fascinating and want to see in Hawaii.

Take me to the fair

In my quest to visit the many historical places that have to do with Elvis I am going to set my sights on Seattle. I have found that many things from the 1962 Worlds Fair still exists. I would find it interesting to visit these grounds where the fair was held. It Happened At The Worlds Fair is my favorite movie and to see these things would be pretty special. The whole idea of what the Worlds Fair also intrigues me. I think it would have been neat to go to one back then. They seem so extravagant with a lot of neat things. To see where this movie was made and the history of the great fair would make this trip worth the trouble. I might have to look into this in the very near future.