One of the greatest ironies of Elvis Week in Memphis is that the joint most likely to conjure up the vibe of The King’s reign here is a place Elvis Presley almost never visited. But don’t think less of the place for it: That was just because it was a bar. “Priscilla [Presley] said Elvis and the Memphis Mafia never went there because Elvis didn’t like anybody drinking. He didn’t really go in there after the ’50s,” says the bar’s co-owner, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dale Watson.
Of course, that’s a dead giveaway that we’re talking about Hernando’s Hide-a-Way, just a mile or so up Elvis Presley Boulevard from Graceland. Since its soft reopening in late 2019, Watson has helped captain the club that was a legendary hangout for nearly every other Memphis musician except Elvis, and in so doing, has helped keep the spirit of Elvis alive there. That’s partly because, as Watson freely admits, “I’m such an Elvis fanatic.”
That will be most apparent on August 16th, the precise anniversary of The King’s death, when Watson takes to the Hernando’s stage to perform numbers from his 2014 album, Dalevis, as well as from a much earlier self-released EP of the same name. But don’t expect the singer to become a “tribute act”: Watson is an artist in his own right, and his Dalevis repertoire mainly consists of originals. “My Dalevis set consists of songs I’ve written that were inspired by Elvis. And then I mix in Elvis songs as well.” Indeed, the songwriter confesses, Elvis is never far away from his music. “On the new record that I just cut in Nashville, I recorded ‘Nothingville’. Remember that song? Most people don’t because it was done in passing on the ’68 special. It’s just a snippet in a medley, and it’s only on that NBC ‘Comeback Special’ album [the 1968 RCA LP, Elvis].”
No doubt that number will find its way into Watson’s set on the 16th, as well as other Presley tracks. Indeed, all of The King’s output falls neatly into what Watson calls the “Ameripolitan” sound. “The good thing about Ameripolitan is, it not only covers rockabilly and Elvis’ early stuff, but also the honky tonk stuff he did in the later years, like his country hits. There’s even some covers Elvis did that he made his own, that we play, too. Like ‘Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues.’ His version is my favorite recording of that song.”
For Watson, that mix of genres is true to the spirit of this city. “Memphis in general fits that whole thing,” he says. “Memphis has it all. And of course during Elvis week, we’re going to be promoting Ameripolitan coming up in February.” That’s when Hernando’s will host the Ameripolitan Music Awards festival, devoted to “music with a prominent roots influence.”
In keeping with that aesthetic, Hernando’s other star on the 16th will be none other than Jason D. Williams. If Williams conjures strong echoes of Jerry Lee Lewis, he too is an artist in his own right. The way Watson sees it, the unique identity that he and Williams embody is the point. “John Lennon said that ‘One’s inability to imitate their influences, that’s where originality lies,’” quips Watson. “Even with these Elvis tribute acts, when they’re trying to imitate Elvis, they have their own originality in their inability to completely imitate him.”
Even those latter artists will have their moment at Hernando’s, when the club hosts “Images of the King,” a well-curated show of Elvis tribute acts, from Saturday, August 11th, until Monday, August 15th. But what cinches Hernando’s claim to the Presley vibe is Priscilla Presley’s fondness for the place, ever since she dropped by the club in 2020. “It was on his birthday,” Watson recalls. “She’s been there several times since. And she’s gonna try to come in there that Tuesday [August 16th]. Of course I’m sure with that Elvis movie, things have been kicked up a notch, a little bit like they used to be. She’s got to play it by ear. But she likes the place a lot and she told us that it gives her the vibe of old Memphis.”
