An Inside Look at Graceland: Home of Elvis Presley

“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is anywhere you are. Anywhere you are is home”

-Elvis Presley, Home Is Where the Heart Is, 1961

Located on Elvis Presley Boulevard lies Graceland: Home of Elvis Presley. Walking through the front door of Graceland is something I will never get over. From the moment “Moody Blue” starts playing over the headset it is difficult for me to hold back the tears.

The excitement knowing Elvis walked down those steps, Elvis once enjoyed conversations in the living room, and knowing he played upon the piano in the backroom makes the entire experience much more amazing.

Though there have been little changes brought about in Graceland, the color scheme transitioning back to when Elvis first purchased the house and even converting the former hall of records to the racquetball court that existed before, stepping into the home where Elvis Presley himself lived is something every Elvis fan should experience and music lovers should take the time to see.

– Elvis Presley’s Living Room/Music Room; PC: Ash Dion

From the lavishly designed front white living room to the insane interior of the “Jungle Room”, Graceland is full wonderful surprises and very obvious 70s décor. The upstairs is off limits to guests; however, the rest of the house is available for touring.

Some of the most famous rooms located in Graceland consist of the previously mentioned “Jungle Room”, the TV Room, and the Pool Room. Each of these rooms are extremely unique to Graceland and stand apart from the rest. Having a very clear and distinct design, the rooms alone are famous.

One Man-Cave was not enough!

The Pool Room is extremely unique and very distracting. Thinking about it, Elvis was smart to decorate his billiard room this way. It must have distracted players and assisted with Elvis winning games.

Designed Bill Eubanks helped design this room which contains more than 350 yards of fabric. The wall to ceiling fabric was a time consuming and took three people to hang them. Even with the manpower, it still took 10 days for the fabric to be hung. The same fabric was also used to upholster the couch.

The TV Room is one of the most Elvis-ified room. Elvis’s moto “TCB – Taking Care of Business in a Flash” was adorned with a lightning bolt. He, along with other members of the Memphis Mafia, sported necklaces of TCB with a lightning bolt.

The TV Room is painted with a large lightning bolt just behind the couch to signify his personal moto. The room was dubbed the TV Room because it consisted of three television sets mounted to a wall along with a pull-down screen to project movies. Elvis had the idea to place multiple televisions in a room after hearing that President Lyndon Johnson had three sets to keep up with the newscasts at the same time.

“There’s a pretty little thing, waiting for the King, down in the Jungle Room”

-Marc Cohn, Walking in Memphis, 1991

Probably the most famous room in Graceland, the “Jungle Room” is home to exotic décor, a waterfall, and even home to some of my personal favorite Elvis songs. This room was an addition to the mansion in 1965 and became Elvis’s man-cave. Here he would contemplate life, record music, and even decide to shoot his television – just because.

This room is my favorite, not just because of the decorations itself, but because of the amazing recording session that took place in this room in 1976. When you walk into the “Jungle Room”, Moody Blue is once again played over the headset. Many songs from his last album were recorded in this room including the one that is the inspiration to this blog’s name.

 

“Now the King is gone, and oh what a reign”

-Ronnie McDowell, The King is Gone, 1977

Outside in the Meditation Gardens lies the graves of Gladys Love Smith, Vernon Elvis Presley, Minnie Mae Presley, and Elvis Aaron Presley himself. Alongside them is a memorial for Elvis’s twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley.

Guests have the opportunity to walk up to the grave and pay respect to a man that started a musical revolution. Having this moment is difficult to put into words, but something every Elvis fan should experience in their lifetime.

Touring Graceland is unreal. The short video presentation that now takes place just before the tour is exciting. It gets guests ready for all they are about to experience. Fans flock from all over the world to visit Graceland.

Graceland is the second most visited home – first being the White House. Fans are able to take home the iconic painted souvenir photo just before stepping onto the Graceland shuttles.

The shuttle takes you across the street, through the gates of Graceland, and drops you off at the front door while you await entry into Graceland: Home of Elvis Presley. The audio tour led by John Stamos provides home videos, personal photos, and tons of music that aligns perfectly with the mansion itself. Take the trip to step back in time and see how Elvis lived.

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Until we meet again,

TCB and TCE,