Would you believe that we weren’t even planning on going to the Sun Studio tour while we were in Memphis? Wacky, huh? But when we saw this gigantic Gibson glowing in the morning sun, we had to investigate. So glad we did, as the tour ended up being a highlight of our entire visit to town.
We saw the ginormous guitar as we were driving to see the ducks at the Peabody Hotel and knew we didn’t have time to tour. But we pulled in for a quick photo op and chatted with the friendly folks behind the counter, thinking maybe we’d return. When we did head back there later in the day the previously empty cafe gift shop seen below was jam packed with tourists just like us.
The Studio is open from 1o-6 with tours on the bottom of the hour. We loved seeing all of the memorabilia upstairs, and learning about the history of the Sun label, the recording studio, Elvis and all the famous people that made their way through the hallowed halls. Our tour guide was great- funny, informative and enthusiastic, and really made it an interesting tour. I’m not going to give away anything we learned – that’s why you take the tour, silly!
We went from the upstairs memorabilia area into the studio downstairs, which is used to record music to this day.
Who knows what famous voice might have been recorded in this microphone?
We were told about songs that were recorded there, and asked to sing along if we knew the words. We all did of course!
Here’s that famous shot of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash – it was quite a trip to be in the same room that they had been in!
After learning about “the birthplace of rock & roll” we were given the opportunity to take photos – these English gents are seen posing with a vintage mic.
We had just come from another famous tour in Memphis but I have to say that the Sun Studio tour was the highlight of our visit! Informal, informative and interesting – if you only have time for one tour when you’re in Memphis, we say make it Sun Studio.
(And PS – don’t forget to check out the cool vintage neon sign for Walker Radiator Works just next door!)
Sun Studio Tour
706 Union Ave
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
(901) 521-0664
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You’ll have to go back and take a shot of the Walker sign at night!
We were there in 2004 and thought it was every bit as awesome as you did. I love how the crumbling walls of soundproofing materials are left untouched, like it’s sacred, which it is!
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