line. They had brought their dad up for the tour, which, by all accounts was quite a rush for him. We were hooked up for the VIP Tour, which
lasted several hours. More “walking in Mem- phis.” The mansion was great. Just what I ex- pected. Beautiful living room and dining
relax. Elvis and his parents are buried there, and I finally got to see the eternal flame at the head of his grave. I watched as women from the world over
stood at his grave crying. Talk about being loved! Even 38 years after his death, Elvis is as popular and loved as ever. The tour was a blast, and after stopping off for a cold drink at one of the many stores on site, and hit a cou- ple of souvenir shops, it was back to the car. (Again, I think we parked near Nashville? Maybe Lebanon?) Back at the Peabody, Craig went downstairs
Down in the Jungle Room.... Graceland.
room, and the room he had for his Mother is right close by. The top floor of the mansion is blocked off, as it was when Elvis was alive. They told us that he always entertained on the main floor, and only family ever went up- stairs. The tour took us into the kitchen, the
“media room” where the King had three tele- vision sets so that he could watch all three networks at the same time. (That’s right kids, we grew up with only three channels to choose from!) We went downstairs into the famous “Jun-
gle Room,” and visited Elvis’ game room with its pool table. We walked all over, moving outside where he kept his horses, the stables and other out buildings, into the huge trophy room, with its never ending gold and plat- inum records and countless other awards, costumes and memorabilia. It truly was an Elvis fans dream. The tour ended at the Meditation garden, a
beautiful spot behind the house where Elvis used to go and sit, pray, meditate and just
to use the computer in the Fed Ex room and once again ran into a celebrity. None other than James Alexander, bassist of the mighty Bar-Kays was using the facilities to research something. Craig, who has not a shy bone in his extra-tall body, struck up a conversation with James. Again, I miss the cool moment! Back in the room I reminded Craig of a mo- ment the day before while we were at Stax, when I commented on the Bar-Kays exhibit. I had asked him to read the band members names because the print was too small and at that distance my readers didn’t help at all. I said “I love that Fender P-bass!” Sunburst but with tons of character. It had been played a lot! It was James Alexander’s bass! When I brought this to Craig’s attention we both started laughing at the serendipity of the situ- ation.
THE BLUES AWARDS Thursday night we went over to the con-
vention center for the 36th Annual Blues Awards. Talk about fun! Right when we walked in Craig spotted none other than Keb Mo talking to some folks. We went over and introduced ourselves and spoke briefly and got pictures. I have loved Keb Mo’s music since I first saw him in concert back in 1994. Speaking of great musicians, I was stand-
ing there waiting to go into the banquet hall for the show when I was approached by Mark May. I had not met Mark in person before,
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