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CNN Live Today

Elvis Fans Flocking to Memphis

Aired August 12, 2002 - 11:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Elvis fans are flocking to Memphis, Tennessee this week to visit Graceland, a trip to honor the king of rock 'n' roll.
Joining us to talk about Elvis destinations is Jason Cochran. He is a senior editor from "Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine." He joins us from New York.

Good to see you. How are you?

JASON COCHRAN, "ARTHUR FROMMER'S BUDGET TRAVEL MAGAZINE": How are you doing? Pretty good.

HARRIS: Listen, I have got to ask you about some news we heard this morning about Lisa Marie, Elvis' daughter, getting married to Nicholas Cage.

COCHRAN: No, I heard those reports, too. They are just reports right now, haven't been confirmed. But I think Lisa will be showing up in Memphis later this week as part of Elvis Week. So she can probably confirm anything that happened in Hawaii. It's pretty appropriate, too, I've got to say, if it is true, because her father had a very strong connection with Hawaii, as you know. You know, movies and (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and of course that famous special in early '70s.

HARRIS: That's right. I remember him shaking on the beach quite a bit. Now, is Hawaii one of your Elvis destinations that you've suggest we go check out.

COCHRAN: What I was thinking if you can't get into Graceland itself this week, there are a lot of things around Memphis itself that you can see if have you have really got the Elvis jones going on. One of them of course being all of the other Elvis-owned properties inside of Memphis. And one of them of course s that restaurant, Elvis Presley's Memphis, and that's the place that serves Elvis's favorite food, pretty moderately priced, right there on Beale Street, as you see right there, in Memphis. And of course Beale Street is famous for the place where blues was imported from the Delta and brought to mainstream America. Elvis did a lot of his shopping right there on Beale Street.

HARRIS: That's right. What else is on Beale Street to check out, though?

COCHRAN: Beale Street happens to be one of the original four historic sites that the National Historic Registry put in place in the 60s. There are a lot of blue clubs there, popular with tourists. A lot of it has been lost over the years, but you still have a few old theaters, W.C. Hendy's (ph) old home, things like that.

HARRIS: What about Graceland Too? I heard there is a place called Graceland Too but it's not exactly in Memphis.

COCHRAN: No, that's in Holly Springs. If you drive down 78, about an hour southeast from Memphis to northern Mississippi. Graceland Too is spelled T-O-O, by the way. That is a place owned by a guy named Paul McCloud, who was probably the world's biggest Elvis fan. For about $5,you can show up at his house, any time, day or night, three in the morning, it doesn't matter. You walk right in, he will show you all of his Elvis memorabilia. He has hundreds of thousands of clippings. He sleeps in front of a bank of televisions, so he records every single passing reference to Elvis.

I bet tomorrow, if you go, this interview will be on there.

HARRIS: You've got to be kidding me. Is his psychiatrist on the speed dial, too? Good grief. That's kind of going overboard.

COCHRAN: Yes, you'll want to bring a friend.

HARRIS: How about hotels? If I decide to go there, where is the best place to say?

COCHRAN: Well, right now, they are really full up. They're expecting as many as 75,000 people for Elvis Week. That's twice as many as they usually get this week of the year. So what you should do is head out to west Memphis, which is right over the Mississippi River, in Arkansas. You can find hotel rooms for about $40 there.

Another idea is you drive down 61 to northwestern Mississippi, Tunica County. There is about 10 giant casino hotels about a half hour away from Memphis, and they'll sell you a room for about $30 a night. Not a single room is less than a decade old, so it's actually a pretty good deal if you can't get in Memphis itself.

HARRIS: How about -- what's happening in Tupelo? That's Elvis' birthplace. Anything happening there?

COCHRAN: Oh, yes, of course. Tupelo is of course the birthplace of Elvis, and they are very proud of that, and I think that they believe it's better than Graceland, because it's where Elvis came from. You can see the shack where he was born. It's just pretty much a two-room shotgun shack. He was born and raised the first few years of his life, and then he moved up of course moving to Memphis. And when he was rich and famous in the '50s, he brought it bath and bequeathed it to Tupelo, which he was very fond of, as a park in his own name. Of course, you can see it for about $2. It's very inexpensive.

HARRIS: It's obviously easy to get into there. How about Graceland, or any other site that does have a definite link to Elvis, and his legacy and his family? Are they easy to have access to?

COCHRAN: This week?

HARRIS: Yes.

COCHRAN: No, this week it's a big crowded. You need to make reservations at least three or four days in advance this week, and it'll be very crowded. But next week, the crowds will thin out again, and you can see it probably without much of a wait at all.

HARRIS: All right. If I'm the kind of guy that wants to take in an Elvis tour and get my Elvis jones taken care of, can I do it with my kids?

COCHRAN: Of course, kids love Elvis. As you might remember, "Lilo and Stitch," that Disney movie came out in June, had a lot of Elvis songs in it. I have a friend with a 3-year-old who dances to Elvis every morning in the living room, and you wouldn't think the new generation would understand it, but they love him, too. He is eternal.

HARRIS: Have you tried any of the food at the Elvis restaurant?

COCHRAN: Unfortunately I have. It is really good, but I'm afraid I might go the way of early death like Elvis if I have too much of it. Deep fried pickle chips, by the way, are my favorite. Just take regular pickle chips, deep fry them, dip them in ranch dressing, a meal fit for a king.

HARRIS: You know what, you just put me on a diet. I'm not eating much today. Thank you very much. Jason Cochran, appreciate the advice. Have a happy Elvis Week. Appreciate it.

COCHRAN: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: Take care.

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