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  | As you approach downtown Memphis you see a building shaped like a pyramid, made of glass. It is a symbolic tribute to the ancient Egyptian city after which this Memphis is named. Then in the blink of an eye, you reach the Mississippi River, which like that "Ole Man River" it "Just keeps rollin' along". Forget to exit, and the next thing you know you're over the bridge, and in Arkansas. When you finally do exit from the highway, you discover two things. Memphis is a small city, tiny in comparison to its huge reputation! And Memphis is a historic city, preserved intact, the downtown essentially unchanged since the day Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically murdered at the Lorraine Motel. It is a gigantic, beautiful relatively empty artifact of a city that stopped changing in the '60's. Many of the beautiful red brick buildings, and gracious but ramshackle homes, are for sale! |
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It would not be possible to ignore Elvis even if you tried. Apart from the impact on the city of Elvis' final home Graceland, there are billboards everywhere, posters, souvenirs; Memphis could rightfully be called Elvis-ville, his aura is so powerful there. The most amazing thing is that it seems that he touched everyone there very personally; anyone you speak with either knew him, met him, went to school with him, or intimately knows someone who knew him intimately. This writer believed every story she heard! And all this without even mentioning such places as The Peabody Hotel, whose famed ducks get the red carpet treatment each day as they waddle their way to and from the fountain in the lobby, or the sweet Talbot Aires Hotel across the street, or B.B. King's Club on Beale, or the amazing barbecue, or, or, or. . . get the picture? If you are lucky enough to make it to Memphis, and you want to get the inside scoop, including some amazing sights and unprintable stories that may or may not be true, you absolutely must find the charming host of the AMERICAN DREAM SAFARI TOUR, TAD PIERSON. You and Tad will cruise the town in his pink 1955 Cadillac, exactly like the one that Elvis owned. He describes what he does as "the difference between a tour and an experience." You will find out what he's talking about and have fun galore as Tad drives you around, stopping to say hello to virtually everybody in town, as fascinating little tidbits of, shall we say gossip?, are happily and gleefully shared! DISH asked Tad to share "his" Memphis with all of you: |
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My grandfather gave me his 1950 Buick, which started my car collection. I love the road myself. I've traveled a lot and I've worked overseas. In 1988, I was working in Indonesia. I met a French couple who explained to me that their dream vacation was to come to America and rent an old Cadillac like they'd seen in the movies. That was the genesis of the idea right there. What brought you to Memphis? I started my tours out West, Route 66, Arizona, New Mexico. I thought Memphis to New Orleans had the same mythic qualities as out west; jazz, blues, Mississippi River, icons of America that are unique. I arrived in Memphis driving my 1955 Cadillac, and lo and behold, at Graceland's Elvis car museum was a 1955 cadillac just like I was driving. So, I thought destiny was at play here; perhaps Memphis chose me. Because Elvis' 1955 Cadillac was similar to mine the Tourism business community in Memphis quickly warmed to my idea and embraced what I was doing. The themes I was working on, myth and legend of America, American Dream Safaris, were more obvious in Memphis and maybe more exploitable. What do you find so special about Memphis? It's unique blend of mojo stew; the blending of cultures, Mississippi River water, the funk and soul of the characters in the town, the originality of the town, the existence of old buildings, original architecture, those are some of the things I like about it. |
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I go off the beaten path. I do research in neighborhoods that don't particularly get tourists. I find the restaurants, blues clubs, the shops and small businesses, where the locals go. What's your favorite thing about Memphis? The red brick on the old buildings. The signs on the red brick. Some neon. Is Beale street as crazy as they say? It's crazy in the way America is crazy now; party in the streets, drinks are oversized, bucketsful of whiskey, party all night. It used to be the craziness happened in the clubs! Now it happens on the street. Tell us about Elvis! He was far more complex and tragic than I first realized. By finding out more about his young life, you begin to see the seeds of the dreams that propelled him forward and gave him his great success and tragic failures. In my opinion, insecurity caused his tragic failures; his severe self- doubt, which later expressed itself as self-loathing. He came from such poverty. I think he was ashamed of that, so when he achieved success, fame and money, he somehow felt undeserving. That's what led to his self destruction. |
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Memphis' world got turned upside down, inside out. It forever changed the hierarchy of the social structure. Old Southern aristocracy that had been on the top and black culture that had been on the bottom were forever torn apart. Mostly, though, the upheaval was caused by his life's work. Name your three favorite spots in Memphis. Wild Bill's, a blues club and juke joint as he calls it, the Cozy Corner for barbecue on the unsavory side of town, and a view of the Mississippi River at sunset. Memphis is known for barbecue? There's something special about Memphis barbecue! The abundance of it for one thing, the infinite varieties, wet, dry, hot, sweet, vinegar, molasses. It's the one thing I always long for when I'm gone. Do you have any plans to leave? My back's against the wall. This is my final stand.
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