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By Root 549 0

“it all happened here” feeling, head to Sun Studio, the centerpiece of any musical Memphis trip. Here, in a shabby semi-industrial area not far from downtown, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips took a chance on a series of scrawny nobodies barely out of their teens (ever heard of Elvis, Johnny Cash or Roy Orbison?). Tours are led by enthusiastic guides, many of them country singers themselves. Descriptions of the studio’s history are interspersed with loudspeaker clips, like Elvis’ first recording. Pose with the old-school mic in the recording studio and buy a CD of the “Million Dollar Quartet,” a 1956 spur-of-the-moment jam session between Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Man, to have been a fly on the acoustic tile that day.

A few miles south of town, Elvis Presley’s beloved Graceland Mansion is a marvel of 1970s bad taste. Peering into the King’s wood-paneled kitchen and watching his TVs is fascinating and kind of sad. For an extra fee you can tour his private jet and visit the jumpsuit museum.

For funkier, more adult nightlife than the Beale St offerings, try the South Main area. A spooky brothel-turned-bar, Earnestine & Hazel’s is named after its late madams. Order a “soul burger” at the dusty, dim bar then poke around the old boudoirs with their rusty bedsprings and claw-footed tubs. At the upstairs bar (if you can call a plywood counter and a plastic cooler a bar), grizzled Nate serves warm beer beneath a flickering blue light. He’s been off the sauce for years, he says, but seems to have a soft spot for sorry drunks. The place heats up late, with occasional live music. Also check out the schedule at the Center for Southern Folklore on S Main St, with live blues in an intimate café setting. In a nearby concrete bunker, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken lives up to the hype. Have a spicy battered wing and thigh, and finish with the Caribbean caramel cake.

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“Most locals don’t go to Beale. If I do, I go to Silky O’Sullivan’s, where my friend plays piano. He’ll play anything you yell at him. Young Avenue Deli, in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, is the hipster mecca of Memphis. They have two really good jukeboxes. I like Murphy’s, a little hole-in-the-wall, and the Hi-Tone, for the That Thing You Do feel - the drums are all from the 1960s.”

David Brookings, musician & Sun Studio tour guide, Memphis

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Emily Matchar

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TRIP INFORMATION

GETTING THERE

From Nashville, take I-40 W about 200 miles, take exit 10B, then exit 1A onto Second St.

DO

Center for Southern Folklore

This storefront cultural center has live blues and regional music, and art books. 901-525-3655 www.southernfolklore.com; 119 S Main St, Memphis; show times vary

Full Gospel Tabernacle Church

Listen to the Reverend Al Green and his potent-voiced choir praise Jesus during their regular Sunday service. 901-396-9192; www.algreenmusic.com/fullgospeltabernacle.html; 787 Hale Rd, Memphis; tithe per person minimum $1; 11:30am Sun

Gibson Beale Street Showcase

See the factory where the legendary guitars are made, or hear live music in the lounge. 901-544-7998; www.gibsonshowcase.com; 145 Lt George W Lee Ave, Memphis; admission $10; 11am-4pm

Graceland Mansion

It’s forever 1970 in Elvis’ old house; the King himself is buried by the pool. 901-332-3322; www.elvis.com; 3765 Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis; adult/child $27/24; 9am-5pm daily summer, 10am-4pm Wed-Mon winter

Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum

This Smithsonian-affiliated museum traces the history of Mississippi Delta music. 901-205-2533; www.memphisrocknsoul.org; 191 Beale St, Memphis; adult/child $10-7; 10am-7pm

New Daisy Theater

This Beale venue has everything from soul music to rap to boxing. 901-525-8979; www.newdaisy.com; 330 Beale St, Memphis; prices & times vary

Orpheum

This old Vaudeville palace now hosts Broadway shows and big-name musicians. 901-525-7800; www.orpheum-memphis.com; 203 S Main St, Memphis; prices & times vary

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

See Isaac Hayes’ Superfly Cadillac and other