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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Sunday at Sun Records, Memphis

Sun Recording Studio. The birthplace of Rock-and-roll (according to them.)
Just a small sort-of dump in a bad part of town. Elvis put them on the map. He wasn't the only one though.

The actual mixer that U2 used to record "Rattle and Hum"
I used the bathroom at Sun Records. That puts me in an elite group of people now.

My favorite Elvis guitar live here now. It has a leather tooled cover and is in rough shape but is still WAY cool,

This is another famous guitar. "Lucille" any body know who it belonged to?  Yepper, Mr. B.B. King.  Did you know that B.B. stands for "Blues Boy"? His real name was Riley. I guess B.B. does sound better.

 Inside the studio. They still record people there at night. There are three black tape X's on the floor that the owner put there. They mark the spots where Elvis and his original band stood and recorded a series of hits "Hound Dog" was one of them. A cool story is that Bob Dylan came to the studio during a tour. He didn't say anything but simply walked into the studio, kneeled down by the X where Elvis stood, kissed it, then got up and walked out.

 
Some old original microphones that were there when Elvis, Perkins, Lewis, and Cash were recording there. They let you mess around and pose with a Sure 55 that Elvis used if you go on the tour.

A close up of the control booth. You can't go in. Just as well though because there isn't any original stuff, just new junk they use at night.

The reception desk. Elvis came here on his lunch break on his mom's birthday and recorded a song for cheap. "My Happiness". They still have a copy that plays over the speakers. He was 18 and drove a truck for an electric company. The receptionist really liked him an was a huge part in his journey.

All in all a really nice trip and the tour guide was fun too. She had a bunch of tat's AND didn't mind showing them off. Didn't take pictures of them. Let's just say that some of them will look really funny in about 30 more years. It reminded me of my Dad's Air Force mistake. Someday she may regret some of the choices a teenager made for her.
On Saturday.

What a trip to Memphis.. otherwise known as "And I thought people from Oklahoma had driving issues."
They closed off an entire stretch of I-40. There were 5 sections all together, I was sure glad I bought that huge bag of beef jerky and had enough water.

LONGEST traffic jam in my life!!! 40 minutes sitting on I-40. Some people ran out of gas waiting. Noooo Idea where I was at only know I was 100 miles to Memphis.  The trees up ahead were cool though. Frogs were singing and the bugs were biting. My little hula girl was dancing up a sweat. All in all it wasn't so bad. Just really slow. The good news is I got great gas mileage. I had a tearful moment that caused a truck full of teen girls to roll their window down and ask if I was ok. When their mom heard the song I was listening to she helped explain. Yep, I was listening to the  Momma Mia soundtrack and the song "Slipping Through My Fingers" was playing. It made me think of my daughter Melody and how much of her life I wanted to share but didn't. The "Tyranny of the Urgent" robs us of SO many of life's more important events.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Almost Ready....

Ready to go bright and early tomorrow morning. Hope to make it through most of Oklahoma in the dark. Bah Ha!  Did my check list:
1. Road Trip Music
(Areosmith and Adam Ant also the Momma Mia soundtrack for when things get weird.)
2. Beef Jerky (3/4 pound bag.)
3. Solar Activated Hula Girl figure.
5. Money
7. Keys
8. Phone
9. Sun Screen (It's a convertible.)
10. Towel ( Hitchhiker's nod.)

 Nap time.... She calls to me.... "Here am I your special island, come to me. Come to me...."
       (from The South Pacific musical)                            
Just ten more hours to go.
DP

Sunday, June 23, 2013

okay so I've never done a blog before here we go.

The Starting Point. .