Member-only story
The Mystique of Beale Street
A BMT Mixtape Dedicated to Wynonna Judd
I took my son up to Oxford, Tupelo, Graceland, and Memphis over the Easter break. I’d never been to that part of the country before despite living on the Mississippi coast for almost three years. A long overdue adventure!
A tour of Sun Records; the perfect spring day at Graceland; a lovely visit with Elvis expert, Mr. Wayne, at Tupelo Hardware; and a Clark Griswold moment at William Faulkner’s house in Oxford (it was closed for Good Friday — #momfail).
I am obsessed with Oxford and had a magical day at Graceland! But I had no idea that my desire to walk along iconic Beale Street would lead to the highlight of our road trip.
After the long day at Graceland, my son opted to stay in our hotel room along the Mississippi River. It was a gorgeous late afternoon, so I took an impromptu walk down Beale Street over to the Peabody. It was about 5:30 when I walked into the lobby. I popped into Lanksy’s on a whim. The Lansky Brothers dressed Elvis, so the fashionista in me couldn’t miss the opportunity to take a peek.
Within moments, I realized something was going on in the back of the store. I saw a microphone and someone with flaming red hair. Was it Reba? Bonnie Raitt?
