Take a look at a different type of cultural property voice, exaggerated sexual posturing, and primitive ballet performed in Going to Graceland white jump suits bejeweled with Aztec sun or American eagle designs with Richard West Sellars matching capes made him the premier in the house; the smell of a pot roast rock-and-roll star of all time. Why On August 16, 1987, Elvis Presley or some other kitchen delight often should the place look "proper"? At had been dead for ten years. In death, permeates the air, giving a pleasing best shouldn't it remind us of Elvis? as he was in life, Elvis is a sense of life to the place.) Graceland was where the "King" phenomenon. The rock star who People who visit Elvis' home pay for lived-a young man who spent his became the single most popular enter­ the experience. About 65 percent of money wildly and whose home tainer in American history has become the visitors buy the $12.00 "combina­ reflected his desire to have a good an international cult figure. And the tion" ticket that gets them into time. Enjoy the place. focal point for this posthumous adula­ Graceland, Elvis' two airplanes, his And don't fret about the changes tion is Graceland, Elvis' home in tour bus, and a small museum. Others Priscilla (Elvis' ex-wife and co-executor Memphis, Tennessee. buy the $7.00 ticket just to see the of his estate) has made to the interior. With more than 500,000 visitors an­ house and grounds, the centerpiece of She returned it to the way it was nually, Graceland is one of America's this remarkable shrine. when she lived there, replacing red most popular historic homes. Highlights of the house tour include curtains and red upholstered furniture Although the White House and Mount the blue-curtained dining room with with softer blues. The reds dated from Vernon are currently drawing just over ornate white table and chairs beneath the era of Linda Thompson, Elvis' live­ a million visitors per year, other sites a large chandelier; the mirrored, all­ in girlfriend after Priscilla. such as the Abraham Lincoln home, in white living room with a 15-foot sofa; Priscilla's changes may have Springfield, Illinois, and Thomas Jef­ and beyond that an alcove, its en­ reflected a desire to remove traces of ferson's Monticello each receive about tryway framed by stained glass panels Linda's involvement; but careful _ 500,000-approximately equal to featuring brightly colored peacock now-don't be cruel-there were other Graceland. The dwellings of the figures. In the alcove is enshrined good justifications. Priscilla's replace­ presidential gods have a formidable Elvis' gold-leafed grand piano. ment furnishings are original, the very rival in the home of the "Hillbilly Mirrors abound, intended to give the pieces used most of the time Elvis oc­ Cat." ordinary-sized rooms a larger ap­ cupied Graceland. She simply re­ Elvis bought Graceland when he ,, , pearance. The stairway to the base­ trieved them from a warehouse. And was only 22 and enjoying an early suc­ ment has mirrors on both sides and a sampling of the red furniture from cess that must have been especially overhead, making a small tour group Linda's era is exhibited in the museum sweet. A 1953 graduate of Memphis' look the size of the Ohio State mar­ across the street from Graceland. blue collar Humes High School, he ching band. Downstairs are the blue Please note: furnishing historic houses had been an ordinary student-not and yellow TV room and, across the to their peak period is a strategy one of the popular class leaders-and hall, the game room, its walls and ceil­ employed at hundreds of historic had faced ridicule when he adopted, ings covered with several hundred places, from Mount Vernon to his greasy duck tails and sideburns. yards of pleated paisley cloth. Back on Monticello-to mention a couple of But soon Elvis rocketed to cosmic fame the main floor and at the rear of the high-status sites. So just which side of and fortune as a rock-and-roll sex sym­ house is Elvis' green-carpeted "jungle the tracks is Graceland on anyway? bol: the wild one, Marlon Brando with room," crowded with heavy In back of the house one sees some a guitar, titillating millions of virginal Polynesian-style furniture. of Elvis' cars, including his pink 1955 squealers and striking terror in the Critics often sniff dryly and delicate­ Cadillac and two sleek Italian-made hearts of mommies and daddies across ly skirt the subject of Graceland's in­ Stutz Blackhawks. Next comes the the land. terior decor-or else salivate as they trophy room, with a display of Elvis' Elvis moved from the brilliant spon­ launch a slathering attack on its 120 gold records, many of his favorite taneity of his early recordings made "vulgarity and tastelessness," exposing costumes, a replica of his six-tiered, while still a skinny kid, through his to the world what they believe Elvis five-foot-high wedding cake, his gun army years and a dreary movie career. (and rock-and-roll for that matter) real­ and badge collection, his huge red He made his great on-stage comeback ly was-a Hound Dog: "Well they said Harley-Davidson, and more. in 1968 as a leather-clad rock-and~roll you was high class, but that was just a Fittingly, the final stop on the stud knocking his fans stone cold lie." Graceland tour is the gravesite, where dead. In his last years his shows drew Granted, the rooms do look Elvis, his parents and grandmother are record-breaking crowds in Las Vegas, somewhat like the interior of a full­ buried. Hard-core Elvis fans find this and his satellite special from Hawaii in sized Buick, but what should be to be the emotional peak of the tour. 1973 was viewed by an audience expected of a rock-and-roll star? Accommodating public interest, estimated at perhaps more than a Hepplewhite or Chippendale?-the Graceland's management allows direct billion people. But in 1977, obese and familiar, comforting pieces with access free of charge to the gravesite in bloated from drug abuse and an delicate curves and pineapple finials? the early morning. Mementos, notes, unhealthy diet, Elvis died alone on his Those who crave the proper, conser­ remembrances are often placed at upstairs bathroom floor at Graceland. vative decor of the Newport mansions Elvis' grave, at the head of which Today, at peak periods, as many as should wait until they are invited bums an eternal flame. Here one may 24 minibuses per hour disgorge there, or else go to Williamsburg or contemplate the pain and pleasure of a tourists at Graceland's white-columned any of a thousand other places and lifestyle for which there was no front porch. The public is not allowed thrill to the predictable, high-style preparation-and consequently little upstairs; they ~ee only four rooms on look-alikes. control. the main floor and two in the base­ Graceland was the home of Elvis Across the street from Graceland is a ment. (Elvis' Aunt Delta Mae still lives Presley, whose familiar, rich, rhythmic small shopping center where tickets 26 /COURIER, October 1987 are purchased and minibuses loaded. the golden days of yesteryear-when author, but a rock star whose music Here also, after the tour, the buses are the fabulous fame and fortune of his still threatens or offends segments of unloaded-at the far end of the shop­ nephew must have been dizzying to American society. Both Elvis and the ping center. Only the most determined those around him. enormous popularity of Graceland are can make their way non-stop past the A visit to Graceland makes it ap­ important reflections of public values many Elvis shops and back to the parent that, like Elvis himself, held during the last half of the 20th parking lot the size of Rhode Island. Graceland has become an institution century-regarding our musical taste Those who don't stop may miss an and difficult to judge: only a passing and what part of our past we choose extra treat. In a special alcove of the fad?, only a bit of "popular culture" to commemorate. record shop sits Elvis' uncle, Vester without real historical importance? In Presley, in his 70s, wearing his good­ fact, there is nothing else quite like Dick Sellars is Chief, Southwest Cultural old-boy cap, and ready to talk. A Graceland. It is a new and different Resources Center, Southwest Region. The genetic link with the King himself, kind of shrine in that it commemorates above article first appeared in the Santa Fe Uncle Vester passes the time answer­ a different kind of public figure-not a Reporter and the Richmond Times­ ing questions and reminiscing about revered politician or a celebrated Dispatch. COURIER, October 1987 I 27 .