For anyone who finds this post, a mere speck amidst an ocean of reviews, I need you to understand something. This is one of the greatest tours I've ever taken! For context, you have to comprehend that I've visited 82 countries, all seven continents, and countless museums and historic sites around the globe! I don't bestow these compliments lightly, because the unfortunate side effect of all that travel is that I've become almost impossible to impress. But on a rainy Saturday afternoon while walkin' in Memphis, I strolled into Sun Studio for the first time, a place I'd never visited despite a half century of living in Tennessee. It was long overdue! I entered at 10:15 a.m. shortly after the studio opened, showed my voucher that I had purchased on their website, and signed up for the 10:30 a.m. tour. And it's one of the best things I've EVER seen on all my travels which is saying something!!
You can feel the spirit of rock and roll here, expertly told by our guide Krista! It really gets in your soul once you listen to the stories, hear the musical excerpts, and realize the hallowed ground upon which you stand. What other museums in Memphis lack, Sun Studio more than makes up for with just one upstairs room of exhibits that are pivotal to the development of modern music. I won't give everything away so that you're motivated to take the tour yourself. But you'll learn how Sam Phillips founded the record studio, how a broken guitar in Mississippi led to the birth of a revolutionary sound, the legendary bands who recorded here and those who were inspired by the record label. Don't miss the original neon sign from Sun Studio and a radio station set rescued from an abandoned hotel!
And of course, you'll learn how a teenaged Elvis pad a few dollars for a recording session, and the employee who vouched for him before Sam Phillips realized he was the future of music! You'll also see the active studio downstairs where hundreds of legendary acts have recorded, where the same floor and acoustically designed ceiling haven't changed since the '50s! Even the same microphone that recorded all of these icons still stands in the room, perfect for tourist photo ops! Please take this tour in your lifetime!! Don't wait as long as I did!! read more