Over the last couple of weeks I was on a road trip to see and photograph fall foliage in Smoky Mountain National Park. On the way (and the way back) we stopped in Memphis to enjoy barbecue, music, and the music heritage. We had a chance to visit the Sun Records museum, Stax Records museum, and the Rock and Soul Museum in Memphis. All of these venues were extremely interesting and it was fascinating to learn about all of musicians that played and recorded in Memphis: Elvis (of course), Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Otis Redding, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, The Bar-Kays, and so many more. Being a big music fan, especially the blues, I also wanted to make the trek down the Blues Highway (US 61) from Memphis to Clarksdale. Clarksdale being more or less the hub of Delta Blues had so many famous blues players come through there it was like a mecca for a blues lover. Spent quite a bit of time in the very nice Delta Blues Museum learning about the history of the blues and the many many musicians that got their start in the Delta. Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson, BB King, Muddy Waters, Charlie Musselwhite–all of whom I have long been a big fan. We also got a chance to visit Beale Street in the evening and enjoyed some barbecue at Blues City Cafe and listened to some live music. Awesome trip
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