ROCK and SOUL MUSEUM - Memphis

As we had already gone to Stax, it was only natural to take the drive downtown to see the Rock and Soul Museum, a Smithsonian affiliated museum. By the way, I just hate driving downtown from East Memphis. There is something about driving over the viaduct in midtown, people don’t seem to know how to drive past that demarcation line and it’s not as though the license plates are from Mississippi.

We had recently procured a 2011 Entertainment Book of Coupons, which includes a buy-one-get-one-free admission coupon. The internets and coupon listed the address as 191 Beal Street. This is a misnomer. We walked up and down Beal looking for a building that simply did not exist. Luckily, a taxi driver provided us with directions. He pointed out that the Museum was just a few doors down on General Lee Street next door to the FedEx Forum. While it was just off of Beal, it is not “on” Beal.

The museum tour starts with a requisite into video. The remaining Founding Fathers of the movement were interviewed and featured. This becomes tiresome as their quotes are recycled more than a ziplock bag at my mother’s house. These quotes are also pervasive at the other Memphis music museums. The museum focuses on the roots of soul music and is in fact similar to the Stax Museum. We were given personal headsets to guide us through the Museum. This alleviates having to do any heavy reading. It also cut down on noise and allows patrons to listen to examples of music. The Rock and Soul museum is more comprehensive than Stax because it covers more musical types.

I think that this museum would be fun for old folks who can be nostalgic about the music of their childhood. But, it is also important for those of us young enough to not remember a world without rock and roll music. One of the most interesting things in this museum for me was when the audio tape played the “first” rock song, Elvis’s “That’s All Right”, followed by the original non-rock version by some music dude of that bygone era. In the immortal words of Paula Abdule, Elvis took “That’s All Right” and made it his own.

Also on display is the required Isaac Hayes blingage. While the Stax Museum has his Cadillac, Rock and Soul has an ostentatious diamond and emerald encrusted bracelet/watch shaped like a piano. The Museum also has an old mangy fur coat from the Isaac Hayes collection.

For each musical epoch represents, a jukebox from the same era is displayed. At first I did not realize the significance of the jukeboxes, but each one has a selection of music from same time period. At this juncture, museum visitors can enter a selection into their headset and listen to the music.

Recommendation: A must see on a sunny or rainy day.