Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Elvis Presley and the Beale Street


In his teenage life in Memphis, Elvis Presley spent some time on the legendary Beale Street. For instance, he bought clothes from the shop Lansky Brothers, which was focused on famous men’s clothier. Elvis didn’t buy clothes at the first time, but as he got more popular, the shop began to dress Elvis. The store, which has moved from the Beale Street to S Front St, is still available today, and has launched a new line of clothing entitled “Clothier to the King” in 2001.

Elvis and other musicians, such as B. B. King, often frequented the Beale Street. The street is an important milestone in the history of Memphis and of the blues. Nowadays, the Beale Street, located in Downtown, entices big crowds of tourists as well as younger people. It offers a bunch of restaurants, clubs and bars.

Pertaining to the history of it, the street was created in 1841. An entrepreneur called Robertson Topp named it for a forgotten military hero. In the 1860, a huge number of black musicians began to perform on Beale Street. Forty years later, the street contained plenty of clubs and bars. Especially between 1920 and 1940, legends, such as B. B. King, Louis Armstrong and Albert King, played in the bars there. During the sixties, Beale became run down and the most stores closed. 1977, a congress declared the street as the “Home of the Blues” and Elkington & Keltner began to rebuild and redevelop the street. As a consequence, the street is one of the most known attractions of Memphis, mostly recommended in every guidebook. (source: Wikipedia)

What is your opinion about the Beale Street? Do you see a connection between Elvis and it today? Or is the Beale Street just a party street without any linkage to Elvis’ history?


7 comments:

  1. I think Beale and Elvis are still linked, but today Beale is much more focused on Memphis' blues history than on that of Elvis. I suppose that has much to do with it being billed as the official "Home of the Blues," but growing up in Memphis, there was never that much of a connection between Beale Street and Memphis. Beale was Handy and BB King and Rufus Thomas and Elvis was Graceland and Sun Studios and the Levitt Shell.

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  2. I think Beale street and Elvis are still connected. For instance there is a huge statue of Elvis on Beale Street and restaurants that are related to Elvis. There is the Elvis cafe and the Hard Rock Cafe which has many artifacts related to Elvis and the blues. Beale street also sponsors many festivals such as Memphis in May music festival and BBQ festival.

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  3. Beale Street really built it's relevance in music history before Elvis became the mega star he was. It was built on the blues music genre, and Elvis was one of the pioneers of the rock and roll genre. Though these genres often get intertwined by the number of artists that are influenced by both, during Elvis' relevance they were two different styles of music. The blues pioneered itself on being the music of the poor blue collar worker, living paycheck by paycheck. Figures like BB king, Albert King, and Muddy Waters really personified that genre much more then Elvis did. Elvis transcended the music industry but was a very glamorized figure. Beale street is not so much a glamorized strip, but a strip that resembles the blue collar worker. Sun Studios and Graceland are really the workmanship of Elvis, and those spots are more iconic to the figure and brand that is Elvis. Both Beale Street and Elvis are very important to the history of music that has shaped this city, but the two are quite different.

    What a great article Daniel! Keep up the great work! Can't wait to read your next post!

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  4. I was never in Memphis so not really sure about the street. From your post, Daniel, it seems to be more a tourist attraction and the connection between Elvis and the street is not a continuous but a broken one as it was run down for several years in the 60s and then re-opened. Anyway, I feel the history of this street is worth to remember.

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  5. Hey Daniel, I've never been to Memphis either but according to your article (which is great by the way), Beale street is a must-see for every Elvis fan. Even if today, there are only some shops and cafés remaining that remind you of the King, it is a fact that he was hanging around a lot in Beale street when he was young. This should be reason enough to take a look at it!

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  6. I guess Beale is way different today than it was back in the days. It may have become more of a tourist attraction, its legacy being more and more commercialized. But anyhow, it is always fun to go there and Beale will remain a Memphis landmark. What where other famous places where Elvis hung out with his gang, besides Graceland??

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  7. It's cool to know that people as famous as Elvis have been in the same places that you are. it makes it seems like you're more connected.

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