13th April 2026

Hello and greetings from Memphis Town!  The Land of the Delta Blues!  As expected, this trip has been about music as well as other amazing experiences and sights.  From Country Music in Nashville, through Jazz in New Orleans, to Blues here in and around Memphis, Tennessee.  I’m no music expert or aficionado, but it has been interesting – the people down here seem to love their music!

After a couple of days exploring “The Natural State”, my Deep South Road Trip then took me eastwards out of Arkansas, and back into Mississippi again for the third and final time on this trip.  I crossed the Mississippi River once more, this time for the eighth, but not yet final time…!

On the first leg of my rather long drive for this day, taking me through the backwaters of these southern lands, I noticed a sign for an interesting-looking place, and followed it just off the US Highway 49 approaching the Mississippi state border – the Louisiana Purchase State Park.  It marks the location where the vast original French Louisiana Territory which spread from modern-day Louisiana up to the Canadian border around Montana, was first surveyed for settlement after the Americans had bought it from the French for a mere two cents an acre back in 1803.  As mentioned in a previous blog, this had been a surprise agreement between the US and Napoleon, as the latter did not want the Americans siding with the British against the French, so this seemed to appease their threats of doing so.  The French did this despite having promised the Spanish they wouldn’t when they re-acquired Louisiana back from them in 1800, as the latter were worried the Americans would be too close to their territories in Texas and Mexico – Louisiana had conveniently been a buffer zone between the two rival powers.  Of course the Purchase did lead to further US expansion westwards into both Texan and Mexican lands, starting a mere 18 years later.

In the State Park, there was a plaque at the spot marking the location of this first US survey of Louisiana, but what to me was more striking about this little gem was that it was covered with a swampy marshland over which a boardwalk is crossed to reach the plaque, with stunning wetland views all around.  I didn’t expect that!  It is only water-filled apparently at certain times of the year, and when the survey was being made it had in fact been dry land at the time.

I then headed up and over the Mississippi as mentioned, quite literally into the state of Mississippi, and onto the small city of Clarksdale.  Now this town is a famed location in these parts, for it is the place according to legend where Delta Blues star Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil for supernatural guitar skills in the early 1930s, at the crossroads intersection where US Highways 49 and 61 meet.  The exact truth to this story may never be known, but he did apparently have amazing guitar skills during his young life, and passed away at the tender age of 27.  I do believe this event inspired the Supernatural episode “Crossroad Blues”, as well as perhaps the lyrics to the immortal country song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”.

To be honest I’m not a big fan of this evil-sounding transaction, and actually felt concerned that this place would feel a spiritually bad place.  Fortunately it didn’t, and it made for an interesting if brief stop-off on this rather long driving day.  There were some interesting signs and street art around the intersection, and a fantastic local joint called Abe’s Diner which was doing a roaring trade with visitors like myself up for a bit of lunch.  Just outside, a Floridian blues performer called Michael J McCartan was singing away, and gave me a free copy of one of his CDs.  Apparently I had just arrived on the last day of the annual “Juke Joint Festival”, and he was one of the hundreds of Blues performers who was just putting in some final tunes before hitting the long road back again to Florida.  I’ve listened to his CD since, which has become a great and unique Delta Blues souvenir for me.

The rest of the city of Clarksdale was passable to say the least, and it had a Selma-style run-down feel to it which made me happy to be heading on out past its city limits and out of there.  On my playlist playing out during this drive was the fantastic Moby album “Play”, which I hadn’t realised until now was heavily inspired by and based on several Delta Blues and American Roots music samples from these parts.  It all made sense now, and I really came to appreciate the sounds of this fantastic and unique album even more.

My final stop for the day before the actual Road to Memphis was in Tupelo, Mississippi.  An otherwise non-descript town of just 40,000 inhabitants, its major claim-to-fame relates to it being the birthplace of none other than legendary southern singer Elvis Presley himself.  As such, it is nowadays home to the “Elvis Presley Birthplace” museum, and thus to my mind became an essential stop on this southern Road Trip.

I can’t quite think of any other pop or rock star whose status is up there and on a par with the man, and thus it was quite incredible to see in person his very humble beginnings in the two-room shack where he was born in 1935.  It had been built by his father Vernon only the year before he was born.  He was born a twin but his brother was sadly still born, and he had no further siblings.  Only three years after he was born, his father was jailed for nine months for allegedly forging a cheque, though otherwise was considered a good man.  The family attended the equally humble First Assembly of God Church nearby, which first introduced Elvis to Gospel music, and which has also been restored along with the original “shotgun cottage” home, so-called as in these humble two-room houses you can quite literally shoot a shotgun straight through the house from front to backdoor.  In addition to these restored original buildings, there is also a sizeable museum and cinema onsite, telling the childhood stories of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll before the family’s move to Memphis in 1948 when Elvis was just 13 years old, with Dad Vernon and Mum Gladys – more on that below!

The place was lovely, and had a nice atmosphere – I also had a nice talk with the museum’s owner who was even there greeting visitors!  It was interesting to learn of Elvis’ roots where he began his love of Gospel music, and later mixed it so uniquely with his own country, blues and rock ‘n’ roll flare.  It’s no wonder the Mississippi state slogan is “Birthplace of America’s Music”, shown on its number plates, welcome signs on state borders and more besides.

I also made a good connection there with an Italian guy living in Washington DC, and biking America from East to West first through the Southern states, and then back East again through the Northern states, on a Harley Davidson type of bike.  He told me he was heading to stop the night in Clarksdale, from whence I had just come, and I shared with him my feelings that the place didn’t have a good vibe to it.  Like Selma back in Alabama, it is really rundown, with lots of vagrants hanging around.  Not the kind of place I’d want to spend the night in, even more so if I was parking his stunning bike outside in the motel car park.  He seemed to appreciate my thoughts, and looked at me stunned.  He said this was his fourth and final sign for the day that he’d received not to stay in Clarksdale, and as we parted he was looking instead to stay in the nearby and much more upmarket university-town of Oxford (I’m serious, Mississippi’s most prestigious university town is named after the UK’s!), which I had just passed through myself.  I do believe I could have carried a message from God to him to be honest, the way he looked at me full of incredulity and awe at the signs he had received that day.  If that helped him, then I felt really honoured to be able to the Lord’s work for him.

But as the young Elvis actor said at the end of the short film in the place’s onsite cinema, it was for me also “Goodbye Tupelo, Hello Memphis!”

After a late lunch at a nearby Waffle House (of course!), and a stock up at a Walmart on the outskirts of Memphis, I checked into a very peaceful suburban accommodation a few miles out of the city centre.  I was so looking forward to walking in Memphis the next day, perhaps also even walking with my own feet ten feet off of Beale…!

It was indeed an absolutely wonderful day exploring Memphis – I couldn’t believe how much I was able to fit in on this day.

First up, the legendary Graceland, home to the absolute superstar of Elvis, and it couldn’t have been more different from the humblest of beginnings he started out life in back in Tupelo.  I couldn’t help but feel during my time there, that even with all that fame, glory and money, he still stayed true to his humble roots.  I particularly love how his parents lived there with him.

Despite having booked my tour for 10am, I managed to get in on the first tour at 9am, which probably helped me fit in everything else I wanted to see for the rest of the day.  Being the son of a huge Elvis fan, I grew up hearing his music and seeing his pictures all over my childhood home.  My visit brought back so many childhood memories for me, and it was a really special place to be in.

Highlights included the house itself, with each room so glitzed and glamoured out, and the highlight of this highlight being the famous Jungle Room where the King often did his socialising.  I loved how they kept the upper floor private, just as it had been in his day – he needed his time to himself up there apparently.  I get that.  Another highlight was the very moving tomb area, with Elvis buried next to both his parents, and his grandmother Minnie Mae, while the tomb of his recently passed away daughter Lisa Marie was nearby.  She died only in 2023 at the tender age of 54 – I find this really sad. While her son, Elvis’ grandson Benjamin, is also buried there alongside his Mum, passing away only in 2020 – really sad. There was a lady sat on a bench nearby crying, I could understand why.

The final highlights for me were his amazing car collection, and his two private aeroplanes which you could walk around in, one having his bedroom on board, as well as a toilet cubicle with a gold-plated wash basin!

Next up I drove just outside Downtown Memphis, and parked up on the famous Union Avenue to visit the equally famous Sun Studio.  Elvis was discovered here, along with other southern legends including Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis!  I followed a great guided tour there, which included a chance to hold the very mic used by all those who have recorded there, including more recent stars such as Ringo Starr, Def Leppard (from Sheffield!) and Bono.

I then headed to the very emotional, sobering and brilliantly done National Civil Rights Museum, actually built inside the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. entered the Promised Land on 4^th April 1968.  He was just taking in some evening air before heading out to dinner with his fellow activists, on the balcony outside his motel room, when he was fatally killed by a single shot fired from across the road.  James Earl Ray was apprehended two months later, interestingly at Heathrow Airport in London, convicted of his murder, and sentenced to 99 years in prison where he died 30 years later.

What touches me the most about this tragic event was that MLK mentioned several times that he would not live to see his 40^th birthday – he died at the tender age of 39.  Just the day before, he had quite presciently delivered one of his most famous speeches, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”, which also seemed to predict his upcoming journey to the Promised Land.  Many comparisons have been made in MLK’s story with Moses overlooking the Promised Land of Israel from the top of Mt Nebo, after the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt – Moses also died just before setting foot in the Promised Land.  The Promised Land can be seen as heaven, but it can also be seen in this regard as freedom for the black people of the southern states of America, as with the freedom of the escaping Israelites from Egypt back to their homeland of Canaan, over 3000 years ago.

The Museum had really interesting presentations on several aspects of the Civil Rights Movement, including School Desegregation, the Freedom Riders, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Sit-Ins, and the Selma Protest.  The most moving part was right at the end, when the visitor can walk inside the room location where MLK was staying when he was fatally shot on the balcony just outside – I shed a few tears in there.  The whole experience felt particularly poignant for me, after having travelled through several key locations during the lifetime of MLK, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, New Orleans, Little Rock, and now Memphis.

I then walked to explore nearby Beale Street, the centre of Memphis Town, and very prominent in Marc Cohn’s famous “Walking in Memphis” song as he was walking with his feet ten feet off of Beale – I must admit I needed to check these lyrics online, as I never quite knew what he was saying until recently!  It was an interesting street stretching along a few blocks and filled with bars and cafes – while Nashville had its country music joints, and New Orleans had its jazz joints, these were blues joints.

Even on this daylight afternoon, it felt a little dodgy to be honest, and not as chilled as the former two cities.  I heard that in the evenings there are bag searches to get into the area, with a strong police, security and even army presence in the evening!  Until quite recently, Memphis was one of America’s most dangerous cities, and often classed as its murder capital.  Things have been cleaned up somewhat recently, and this is apparently down to President Trump’s no-nonsense approach to crime in a number of the country’s more dangerous cities – I wish we had that here in London and the UK.

Then on to the Memphis Pyramid – one of the city’s icons, and in fact home to the biggest outdoors shop I have ever seen, called “Bass Pro”.  I didn’t realise this huge building was just a shop!  It was certainly a spectacular one at that, with catfish ponds, ducks, and even alligators!  The lift to the top for awesome city views was unfortunately closed, but the guy on the information stall there gave me a free Bass Pro cap to make up for it, which really touched me!

I then drove over the Mississippi again, over another stunning Mississippi River Bridge, the DeSoto Bridge, to take a quick look-see at West Memphis back in Arkansas, and then back again.  I only stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Centre and to fill up my tank for the next day’s driving, just to say I’d been there at least.  Coming back again over the River made it my tenth, and yes now final, Mississippi River crossing for me on this journey!

I stopped off briefly on Mud Island, a small suburban river island just off the river bank upon which Memphis is built, for great views of the DeSoto Bridge, the Downtown Memphis skyscrapers, and the River itself.  I even managed to get down and dip my fingers into it, which I hadn’t had a chance to do yet despite seeing this mighty waterway so many times!

It was then a final drive back to my accommodation, with wine and a butter chicken ready meal from Walmart awaiting me.  It had been a busy but excellent day exploring another one of America’s legendary cities.  I was ready for the final leg of this incredible Deep South Road Trip the next day, back to my starting point in Nashville, with plans for a few stop-offs along the way.

More on that in my next, and final, blog entry for my incredible US Road Trip 2026.