By Madi Cogan

After waking up on time, we ate a great breakfast and loaded the bus to head over to Elvis Presley’s birth home in Tupelo, Mississippi. We got to see the house he grew up in as well as visit the amazing Elvis gift shop next door.

We then all gathered at a nearby picnic bench area where Billy shared all of his incredible knowledge of Rock and Roll music and how it originated. After singing along to “Walking In Memphis” we had our delicious Subway sandwich lunches. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way to Sun Studios where we got a fascinating tour of the studio. We learned about all of the musical legends affiliated with the studio such as Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis and the history of the studio. We even got to stand and take pictures in the exact spot that many famous musicians recorded their hit songs.

We then went to Beale Street and got free time to explore and shop. After this we went to the Smithsonian Rock and Soul Museum where we learned even more about how rock and roll was created and its place in the Civil Rights struggle.

After that we walked to Huey’s where we ate an extraordinary Memphis dinner. To end the musical day we went to a park off of Beale Street where we were able to dance the night away to a live Blues band. We all had a great time!

Singing along with “Mustang Sally”