Hi pals,
Here is the intel for Sunday 8th October

We will board a paddle steamer to Memphis and make our way on to Graceland, the home of the late King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley, where we will have a tour of Graceland, his fabulous mansion.

There’s no villain this month, but there is a crazy Elvis impersonator that is running riot within the mansion who needs catching and we have the job of finding him.

You will need to note down the image number you saw this crazy person, answer the Quiz questions and make up a caption in our regular photo caption competition.

Here is the intel to read about Graceland, the questions in the Quiz will be within this article, so read it all incase you miss anything when you need to send in. your answers.

Intel:

A History of. Elvis and Graceland

Graceland is the 13.8-acre estate in Memphis, Tennessee, that Elvis Presley once called home.

It’s been 46 years since Elvis Presley died. Elvis lived in the mansion from 1957 until his death in 1977. Located off a highway that was renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard in 1971, the two-story residence sits on 13.8 acres of land. Since 1982 Graceland has operated as a museum dedicated to Elvis.

Also known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Presley was a cultural icon of the 20th century.
He was born on January 8, 1935, in Mississippi. Heavily influenced by the country, gospel, and blues music that he listened to as a child, Presley started his singing career in 1954,
with hits such as “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” he would go on to become one of the most successful performers of all time, with 14 Grammy nominations and millions of records sold, per the Recording Academy.

On August 16, 1977, Presley collapsed in his Graceland home and was found unconscious by his girlfriend, Ginger Alden.

According to The New York Times, the coroner pronounced him dead on the same day, with the official cause of death attributed to heart failure. He was 42 years old.

Presley purchased the Graceland estate in 1957 for $102,500.The Colonial Revival-style mansion, which was built in 1939, has eight bedrooms and four bathrooms, About half of the 23 rooms in the house are off-limits to visitors, including the entire second floor, where the star’s master suite is located. Visitors are only allowed access to common spaces, including the living room, the kitchen, and the TV room.

Spanning 17,552 square feet, the sprawling residence has five sets of staircases, three fireplaces, and a kidney-shaped swimming pool.

Presley frequently had friends and family over at the mansion, including an entourage of confidants and associates the media dubbed the “Memphis Mafia.” Some members of the group were childhood friends of Presley’s, including his bodyguards Red and Sonny West.

In 2006, Graceland was designated a National Historic Landmark, by the National Park Service.

One of the most iconic features of Graceland is the entrance gate. Designed to resemble a musical score, there are figures on the gate depicting the star with his guitar.

Presley had the the gate, which cost $1,339, installed shortly after he purchased the residence. Occasionally, he would also sign autographs for them through the gate.

The brick wall that surrounds the estate is popular with fans. Over the years, it has been covered in personal messages that fans have left in memory of their idol.

The interiors of Graceland are lavishly decorated. The living area has a custom-built 15-foot sofa and a 10-foot coffee table. The sofa was originally a metallic blue, but Presley later had it reupholstered in white, which it remains today. Elvis added the stained-glass windows in 1974 and chose to use a peacock design, which symbolises eternal life and resurrection in ancient Christianity. Elvis was a deeply religious man.

The dining room, which has a black marble flooring in the centre was a place for Presley and his friends to gather. Elvis sat at the head of the table because it did give him one of the best views of the TV that was in the corner on the right. There’s also a button under the table where they could ring the kitchen if they needed more food.

One of the most famous rooms in Graceland is the Jungle Room.

The room’s name only came about after the mansion opened to the public. Presley personally picked out the Polynesian-inspired furniture because it reminded him of Hawaii, which was his favourite holiday spot. He installed a waterfall and covered the room in plants to complete the tropical look.

A shag pile carpet covers the floor and the ceiling. This soundproofed the room and allowed Elvis to turn the space into a makeshift recording studio. He recorded some of the songs on his album "From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee,” in that room.

The pool room features fabric-lined walls and ceiling, which took 10 days to install. Presley worked with a designer, Bill Eubanks, to come up with the final design. A crew of three people were needed to cut and attach around 350 to 400 yards of cotton fabric strips onto the walls and ceiling.

Presley died upstairs in his master suite, and it has been preserved exactly as he left it.
It looks as if he just got up and left. The record on the record player is the last record he listened to. There’s a styrofoam cup that sits on a bookshelf.

Towards the end of his life, Presley spent much of his time in his bedroom upstairs, especially if he was in pyjamas or unshaven.

The TV room, which is designed in a navy, white, and yellow colour scheme, has three television sets. Inspired by US President Lyndon B Johnson, who liked to watch three news broadcasts simultaneously, Elvis also wanted three television sets in his TV room.

Although the upper floor remains off-limits, Presley’s office desk has been brought down and turned into an exhibit for fans to see.

Presley’s record label, RCA, gave him the desk as a gift for selling one million copies of the “Blue Hawaii” soundtrack.. Elvis’s gold records are on display in the Hall of Gold in the Trophy Building.

Presley constructed a new wing in the mansion in the mid-1960s to store a slot car track. It’s connected to the main house via a sheltered walkway, the estate subsequently renamed the new wing the “Trophy Building” and remodelled it to house his awards.

The estate updated the building in 2017 to feature an exhibit that focuses on Presley’s personal life and his family. Some items on display include his wedding , family photos, and his daughter’s childhood toys.

Presley enjoyed playing racquetball and after he died, the racquetball building was transformed into an additional trophy hall for a few years.

The entire room was filled with posthumous awards and included a display of his famous jumpsuits. In 2017, the racquetball court was restored to its original condition and all the trophies were moved into a new exhibit hall.

When Elvis died he was laid to rest alongside his parents on the grounds of the Graceland estate, in the Meditation Garden.

Elvis Week, which commemorates the anniversary of Presley’s death, takes place between August 9 and August 17 and every year, fans from around the world flock to Graceland to leave flowers at his grave. The estate hosts around 500,000 visitors every year.

Lisa Marie Presley Elvis’s only daughter, died on January 12, 2023, age 54, and is also buried at Graceland, close to her father and next to her late son Benjamin Keough who died by suicide in July 2020, at 27.

Elvis Presley saw a resurgence in popularity last year when the Baz Luhrmann movie, “Elvis,” starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks came out in theatres. Members of the cast showed up at Graceland for the Memphis premiere of the film on June 12, 2022.
A press junket to promote the film was also in the screening, including a GMA interview with Tom Hanks and Austin Butler recorded in the Jungle room.

End of Intel

The intel will also be posted about 5 minutes before we begin tomorrow to give those who haven’t had time to read it on the app to read it on Twitter/X

Good luck pals!
See you at the riverbank!

Location

Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis, TN 38116, USA