The Graceland house was the first house Elvis bought at age 22. The house was named after the previous owner’s daughter and he kept the name. He wanted his parents to be comfortable after growing up very poor so he purchased this large home and property and they lived with him. They all stayed in this house till they died and it now belongs to Lisa Marie who still uses it on occasion but when she’s not using it she allows tours throughout. The one place people aren’t allowed is the upstairs where most of the bedrooms are. His parent’s bedroom is downstairs and is part of the tour.

The house isn’t anything spectacular when compared to some famous homes but it is a nice size and apparently he loved his time there. One thing I liked, being an avid racquetball player, is he also loved racquetball and built a racquetball court out back. In fact, the day he died he was scheduled to fly to Boston, I believe, for a show. He played racquetball that morning and went to take a nap before flying out and died that afternoon, August 16, 1977. My best friend, Vinnie, also died playing racquetball. Maybe I should quit.