Music & Civil Rights in Memphis – 3 Days
Three days in Memphis, the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll. Elvis, Sun Studios and an educational visit to the National Civil Rights Museum.
Program Summary
Spend three days in the birthplace of Rock and Roll and home to the National Civil Rights Museum. Learn about the origins of blues, rock and roll and its influence on our country with visits to Graceland and other museums. Stand in the room where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, now a part of the National Civil Rights Museum.
Program Highlights & Inclusions
- Professional ETA Tour Manager throughout your trip
- Transportation throughout your trip
- Admission to the Pink Palace Family of Museums
- Admission to the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum
- Admission to Stax Museum
- Guided tour of Graceland
- Admission to the Cotton Museum
- Guided tour of Memphis
- Free time on Beale Street
- Admission to the National Civil Rights Museum
- Guided tour of Sun Studios
- Admission to W C Handy House and Museum
Daily Itinerary
Upon arrival in Memphis, you will meet your Tour Manager and visit the Memphis Pink Palace Family of Museums. The museum offers a wide-ranging collection of historic, educational, and technological attractions maintained by the City of Memphis, Tennessee and Memphis Museums, Inc. You will get to view the exhibits and enjoy the Sharpe Planetarium and the CTI 3D Giant Theater.
Next, you will visit the Memphis Rock & Soul Museum. The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum’s exhibition about the birth of rock and soul music, created by the Smithsonian Institution, tells the story of musical pioneers who, for the love of music, overcame racial and socio-economic barriers to create the music that shook the entire world.
After lunch, you will visit the Stax Museum. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, located at the original site of Stax Records, pays tribute to all of the artists who recorded there with a rare and amazing collection of more than 2,000 interactive exhibits, films, artifacts, items of memorabilia, and galleries designed to keep Stax alive forever.
After breakfast, you will take a tour of Graceland. Take an unforgettable journey through the most famous rock ‘n’ roll residence in the world. Explore the personal side of Elvis Presley and learn how his revolutionary style and unique sound changed the face of popular music and culture forever.
You will have lunch.
You will visit the Cotton Museum. This spectacular room is open to the public, and is devoted to sharing the story of cotton-the crop that created empires and the people that transformed American culture and changed the history of a nation and the world.
This afternoon you will enjoy a city tour of Memphis. 90 minutes of high-energy fun on this musical journey featuring Memphis’ greatest attractions from history and music to comedy and bongos – it doesn’t get any better than this! You will have dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Enjoy your meal while you take in memorabilia from Rock & Roll legends.
You will then have free time on Beale Street before heading to the hotel for the evening.
After breakfast, you will visit the National Civil Rights Museum. The Museum exists to assist the public in understanding the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement and its impact and influence on human rights movements worldwide, through its collections, exhibitions, research and educational programs.
Next, you will take a tour of Sun Studios. Reputedly the first rock-and-roll single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88” was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll.
You will have lunch.
You will then visit the WC Handy House and Museum. Recapture the flavor of Old Beale Street by touring this turn of the century home which depicts the humble beginnings of this musical genius.
Your Memphis adventure comes to a close as you begin your return trip home.
