Follow in the steps of Elvis Presley and Taylor Swift on a road trip through Memphis and Nashville

We walk in the steps of Elvis Presley at Graceland in Memphis, sing into Johnny Cash’s mic at RCA Studios, and follow Taylor Swift into the Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville

My journey begins with a fried peanut butter-banana sandwich and ‘Burning Love’. The sandwich, served beside golden sweet potato pancakes and strips of crisp bacon at The Arcade, Memphis’ oldest restaurant, was Elvis Presley’s favourite order here. I sit at his booth, drink multiple cups of black coffee, and soak in the sound of his voice, as smooth as butter, with that distinctive vibrato that made millions of fans go weak in the knees.  

I am on a music trail through the gracious American South, travelling by road from Memphis to Nashville, to discover how soul music and the blues had an impact on rock and roll, country music, and contemporary pop. Many of America’s most influential musicians performed and cut albums here. If you think this is just the music your parents listen to, remember that Justin Beiber, was born in Memphis, and Taylor Swift grew up, and was discovered in Nashville.  

Let me start by admitting I knew very little about American Soul. Fortunately the Stax Museum, which stands on the site where the influential Stax recording studios ran is a great place to learn about the ‘Memphis sound,’ shaped by race, religion, and the Mississippi river.  

This music, a lot of which was created at Stax, went on to influence the world through the creation of the blues, soul, and rock and roll, and took Stax recording from a tiny recording studio in 1957 to a multi-million dollar organisation. Performers here included Oris Redding, The Staple Sisters, and Aretha Franklin. 

Raw and authentic, the vocals are emotion set to rhythm, jazz, and gospel. I walk through exhibits that include vintage recording equipment, Tina Turner’s bright yellow sequinned dress and Isaac Hayes’ gold-plated, peacock blue 1972 Superfly Cadillac El Dorado. 

As an exhibit at the museum puts it: “Soul music is a groove. And a groove that makes you move... Soul stirs your insides and shakes your outsides.” 

In the evening we walk down scenic Beale Street, the neon lit ‘home of the blues’. Perched on bar stools at Itta Bena, we mop up bowls of steamy cajun shrimp with fluffy sweet cornbread as a pianist and saxophonist fill the room with that signature Memphis sound.