The lovely sunny weather that we experienced yesterday broke in the evening and we were treated to a wonderful thunder and lightening display. The rain was torrential with the roads becoming like small rivers. At one stage the pony and traps that during the day take tourists around the sights, could be seen rushing back to their stables at double quick pace. By the morning the roads had completely dried out but the rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance meaning the storm had not gone too far away. With this mind we decided to take the hotel shuttle to the last of the music museums, the Stax Museum of Soul.
Although standing at the location of the original studio, the museum is a faithful reconstruction of the old cinema building where the company was founded. Like many of the other museums we have visited on this trip, Stax told us of the journey that music had taken from blues, country and gospel leading to the soul music we all know. Stax was formed after Motown and according to the introductory movie was more soulful and less commercial than its Detroit counterpart.
The museum featured exhibits of all the major Stax artists such as Sam & Dave, Booker T and the MGs and of course Otis Redding.
Some of the original equipment was on view in the reconstruction of the recording studio….
…..where over 300 hit albums…..
…..and more than 800 hit singles were produced.
Perhaps one of the most striking exhibits was Isaac Hayes’ gold cadillac from the early 70’s that even had a built in TV.
Stax was proud of the fact that it was an integrated company with black and white musicians playing side by side. Interestingly they reckon that the death of Martin Luther King in 1968 put an end to this and effectively finished Stax as a major creative force.
The rain had restarted by the time we left the museum so we summoned the shuttle to drop us off downtown for lunch. Having tried a number of BBQ restaurants we decided today to try the most famous burger joint in Memphis, Dyers.
Memphis folklore suggests that Dyers secret flavour is due to using the same grease since it first opened in 1912, filtered daily of course. I’m not sure if thats true but they were very tasty.
Later in the afternoon the rain cleared so we decided to walk back to the Pyramid to explore again its quirky contents.
You can purchase here everything you might need for hunting and fishing, including guns, ammos, camoflague clothing but also tables for butchering the catch and smokers and BBQs for cooking it. Some of them being large enough for mass catering.
You can even purchase fryers that mean you could operate a mobile fish and chip shop.
Only in America!!