Visiting Graceland: Elvis’s home

Every day flowers and tributes arrive at Graceland, in the small city of Memphis.

Sent from fans all over the world, they are placed around the gravesite of the man known by many simply as ‘The King’ and remain there until they wilt or are too weather-damaged to be on display.

The strange thing is not how much is sent to his final resting place, but that the tributes are still coming more than thirty years after his death.

At his gravesite, in the meditation garden of his former home, visitors still stop and spend a moment in quiet thought as they look down at the bronzed tombstone.

“He became a living legend in his own time; earning the respect and love of millions”, says one of the lines of the epitaph.

That, in some ways, captures the spirit of his enduring status.

In our recent memory is the death of another man they also once called a king amongst men. A man who also had his distinctive dance moves, adoring fans across the continents and, most importantly, influenced the way we came to see music.

I’m not sure if people will still be sending flowers and handwritten notes to Michael Jackson’s estate in three decades’ time, though.

What was it about Elvis?

In some ways, Elvis was the first musician to become a celebrity for more than just his art – he transcended his media and was lifted by the fans above the mortality of an ordinary performer.

They say that more people watched his TV special than saw man land on the moon.

True, you can’t get to that point without a certain amount of manufacturing. In the early days, his manager used to construct public appearances so that the hordes of screaming girls would be the story (Justin Bieber, anyone?).

Ultimately, though, Elvis had a natural ability to hypnotise the public, meld musical styles to create new sounds, and push the limits of decency only far enough that he was adored by the youth but still respected by their parents.

When President Jimmy Carter spoke upon the death of The King, he captured the mood of the nation when he said Elvis “permanently changed the face of American popular culture… and he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humour of this country.”

The Graceland Mansion

To tour his famous Graceland mansion in today’s world is to be transported back into the heart of his life as the world’s biggest celebrity (although having anything to do with Elvis’s heart for too long is at your own peril!).

The interior designs of the rooms are something special to behold and could only be justified by someone of his stature, who was always conscious of style.

There’s the lounge room with the jungle theme… the games room with a ceiling entirely of folded fabric… and the television room with more mirrors than any narcissist should need.

I stand there and peek into the rooms and imagine all night parties with friends and fellow musicians filled with music and the smell of alcohol, cigarettes and excess.

Elvis, though, didn’t really like the taste of alcohol so the image blurs a bit in my mind and I find it hard to get a fix on life in Graceland.

Who knows how the addiction to prescription medicine played out?

Besides the actual house and grounds, the rest of the Graceland experience feels like the museum that it is. Some of the outside buildings on the estate have been converted into showcases and large buildings on the opposite side of the road hold even more memorabilia.

There are the gold records he was presented, the Grammys, the costumes, posters, letters and, in one very large building, his car collection.

Oh yeah, and there’s the customised plane called ‘Lisa Marie’ with the gold seatbelt buckles and private bedroom in the rear.

I went to Graceland, not as a fan, but as an interested tourist (and so my road trip friends and I could sing the Paul Simon song on the way… which we did).

There were definitely some fans here – people who seemed more moved at the grave than the others, more interested in the obscure memorabilia, more likely to mime the words to the classic hits playing around me, and less likely to read the historical facts that true fans could recite from heart.

I came away with a much greater respect for Elvis than I’d had previously. What really struck me, though, was not how great a man he was but how great he could make a country feel.

His legacy is not in his music alone, and he won’t be remembered for a mansion where green shag pile carpet belongs on both the floor and the ceiling.

The legend of Elvis is about the man and the myth, the mood of a nation and what can be achieved with talent and determination.

Visiting Graceland

If you’re planning to visit Graceland when you’re in Memphis, the first thing you need to know is there is much more at the site than just the mansion these days.

Aside from the house, there’s the large ‘Elvis Presley’s Memphis’ complex. It includes a museum dedicated to this career, which has things like movie memorabilia and outfits; and also a museum with some of his favourite cars.

There is also a section called ‘Elvis Discovery Exhibits’, where you’ll find small exhibitions on topics like his motorbikes or his time in the army.

And then there’s the area that displays Elvis’s planes – with the highlight being the Lisa Marie that has a living room and private bedroom.

There are also shops and restaurants.

There are a number of ticket/tour options to choose from, each offering a slightly different experience. I think they are all quite expensive, but that’s the cost of celebrity, I guess.

In order from cheapest to most expensive, the options to visit Graceland are:

• Elvis Presley’s Memphis Ticket + Planes Tour: This gives you access to all the museum areas inside the entertainment complex, but does not include the main Graceland mansion.
  ($51 for 11+, $28.85 for children aged 5-10)
• Elvis Experience Tour: This gives you access to all the museum areas and planes, AND includes an audioguide tour of the Graceland mansion.
  ($84 for 11+, $48 for children aged 5-10)
• Elvis Entourage VIP: This includes everything in the Elvis Experience Tour, plus you get to skip the line, and you can visit an exclusive VIP exhibition.
  ($145, no concession)
• Ultimate VIP Tour: The big difference with this tour is that you get an actual guide showing you around the Graceland mansion in a group of up to 12 people, as well as a lounge and an exclusive photo opportunity.
  ($235 with meal voucher, $210 without)
• Inside the Graceland Archives UVIP Tour: This includes everything in the Ultimate VIP Tour as well as access to see the Graceland Archives and to ask the archivists about what you’re seeing.
  ($250 with meal voucher, $225 without)

You can buy tickets online in advance, which is a good idea during busy periods, although you can also get a ticket when you arrive, assuming there’s availability (most days there is).

Tickets are non-refundable but you can reschedule them up to the day before.

The audioguides of the mansion are available in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese.

If you’re driving to Graceland, there’s a parking area with a $10 fee per standard vehicle. There’s also public transport from central Memphis or a taxi/rideshare will take about 15 minutes.

A few other bits of useful visitor information:

• All rooms that are toured in the Graceland Mansion are wheelchair-accessible except for two basement rooms which can be reached only through stairs, but there is an alternate route to complete the house part of the tour.
• For deaf or hard-of-hearing guests, the iPad tour is fully captioned.
• The upstairs of Graceland Mansion is not included in the tour.
• Pets are not allowed on the Graceland tour.
• Strollers are not allowed inside Graceland Mansion due to space issues.

Photography is allowed in all areas of the Graceland complex, but you can’t use a flash.

Taking video is not allowed (including on your phone) in the mansion.

You can see more at Graceland’s official website.

If you’re hungry, there are two restaurants within the Graceland site.

Vernon’s Smokehouse serves Memphis BBQ and is a great way to get a taste of some of the local specialities.

Or there’s Gladys’ Diner, which does classic American fare, including Elvis’s favourite Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich.

And if you’re interested in music (which you probably are if you’re visiting Graceland!), don’t forget that there are some other places worth seeing in Memphis.

I would recommend the famous Sun Studio, where Elvis and lots of other stars like Johnny Cash recorded songs; as well as the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Although not quite as worthwhile (in my opinion), you may also be interested in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame or the Blues Hall of Fame.