Memphis, TN

Memphis: Where Legends Were Born (and Ducks Rule the Lobby) by Kate and Mike

Memphis doesn’t ease you in. It looks you straight in the eye and says, “So… you like music?” And if you answer yes, it immediately hands you Elvis, Johnny Cash, and a duck in formal wear.

Our trip revolved around three iconic stops: Sun Records, Graceland, and the historic Peabody Hotel. Each offered a completely different flavor of Memphis—and together, they made for a weekend that was equal parts history lesson, cultural pilgrimage, and “did that really just happen?”

Sun Records was Mike’s clear favorite, and honestly, it wasn’t even close. The building itself is humble, almost suspiciously small for a place that helped launch modern music. But once inside, you realize those walls have heard things. Important things. Legendary things. Possibly things that still echo faintly at night when the lights are off.

Mike was practically vibrating with joy. If enthusiasm were measurable, Sun Records would have had to reinforce the floorboards. Standing in the exact spot where Elvis recorded his first song was enough to make any music fan emotional—or in Mike’s case, quietly consider quitting his day job to start a rockabilly career about 70 years too late.

Then came Graceland, which can only be described as maximum Elvis. Where Sun Records is raw and gritty, Graceland is confident, dramatic, and completely unconcerned with subtlety. From the jumpsuits to the cars to the gold records, it’s a reminder that Elvis didn’t just succeed—he arrived. Hard. With flair. And possibly with a rhinestone budget larger than some small nations.

Balancing out all this musical history was our stay at the Peabody Hotel, a place so elegant it somehow makes you sit up straighter just by walking through the lobby. And yet, its most famous residents are ducks. Ducks who march. Daily. In front of a crowd. Like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

We watched the Duck March with the kind of respectful awe usually reserved for royalty or extremely well-trained Broadway casts. Memphis doesn’t question this tradition, and neither did we. When ducks commit to a routine, you let them lead.

By the end of our trip, Memphis had won us over. It’s a city that celebrates its past without getting stuck in it—and does so with humor, confidence, and a very strong soundtrack.

We came for the history, stayed for the ducks, and left with a deeper appreciation for where the music we love actually began. And for Mike? Sun Records still reigns supreme—proof that sometimes the smallest rooms create the loudest echoes.

Memphis, you nailed it.

Graceland

Sun Records

The Peabody