It’s been a tough few years for the cause of peace. The Russian invasion of Ukraine just hit its two-year anniversary, with no end in sight. After the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel responded with the most deadly military operation of the 21st century, which has devolved into a quagmire of violence and famine in Gaza, where two million people face hunger in a bombed-out landscape that used to be their home.
These high-profile conflicts have drawn attention from Sudan, where a civil war has displaced eight million people, and millions more are entering into famine while both sides try to starve the other one out. Meanwhile, in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is slipping into warlordism as Port Au Prince gangs conduct running battles with what’s left of the government. It’s enough to drive you to despair if you’re paying attention.
The antidote to despair is music. Italian (by way of Memphis) musician Mario Monterosso organized the Memphis Freedom Band to put out a message of peace. Last December, he invited a who’s who of Memphis musicians to record with producer Scott Bomar at Sam Phillips Recording, including Kallen Esperian, Rev. Charles Hodges, Dr. Gary Beard, Dr. Keith Norman of First Baptist Church Broad, The Bar-Kays’ Larry Dodson, Priscilla Presley, and a rare appearance by the queen of Memphis soul Carla Thomas. Filmmaker Billie Worley was on hand with a camera to capture the historic moment in the studio, as the big band sang “Simple Song of Freedom,” a 1969 hit by Bobbi Darin.
“Since the middle of the 20th century, Memphis music has been the strongest musical bridge across the world,” says Monterosso. “And now we come together in solidarity as one voice to create a bridge of hope and freedom for the people and children of Ukraine and all those countries hit by wars.”
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
The museum and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame purchased the Hard Rock Cafe at 126 Beale Street for $5 million. The building will be branded as the “J. W. and Kathy Gibson Center of Memphis Music,” thanks to the Gibson contribution.
Kathy and J. W. Gibson at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Asked what she felt the importance of Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum moving to Beale Street, Priscilla Presley says, “It’s everything. It’s music. It’s Memphis. It’s entertainers. Artists. All coming together. It’s beautiful. Memphis is the place to be. Memphis, Tennessee.”
John Doyle, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum executive director, greeted guests. Among those attending were Memphis music greats David Porter, Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, and Jerry Phillips as well as Congressman Steve Cohen, Geri and Hal Lansky, Leighanne and Jack Soden, and Pat Kerr Tigrett.
Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and Congressman Steve Cohen at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)David Porter was at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jerry Phillips and Pat Kerr Tigrett at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jack and Leighanne Soden at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)
According to a news release from the museum, “Following renovations, the ‘Center of Memphis Music’ will eventually house the Memphis Rock ‘n’Soul Museum, whose original exhibit was researched and developed by the world-famous Smithsonian Institution….The J.W. & Kathy Gibson Center of Memphis Music will also house the Memphis Music Hall of Fame Museum, already located at 126 Beale, as well as other planned music exhibitions to compliment the complete Memphis music story.”
Also, the release states, “Three major donors of $1 million or more include J.W. & Kathy Gibson, the Assisi Foundation of Greater Memphis, and Mike & Linda Curb. Mike Curb is a former Lt. Governor of California and owner of Curb Records, the country’s largest independent record label.…In appreciation of Mike & Linda Curb’s generous commitment of $2.5 million, the former Hard Rock space will be renovated into the ‘Mike & Linda Curb Music Center,’ a performance space which will offer a great facility on Beale Street for musician workshops, free rehearsal space for musicians, guest speakers, music education and summer camps for students, documentary screenings, and even more music on Beale Street…
“As a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul, Inc. will also be able to raise funding for increased daytime and family-friendly events on Beale Street.”
The release names other major supporters, including the Lansky family, of the purchase and preservation. “In the mid-1950s, the Lansky Family, under the leadership of patriarch Bernard Lansky, operated Lansky Bros. Clothiers in the building, and sold clothes to young emerging musicians like Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others.”
Hal and Geri Lansky at Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum reception (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Other major supporters are Melissa and Kevin McEniry, Memphis Tourism, and the late Pat Halloran.
“The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul organization has already launched Phase 2 of its capital campaign, which will fund the renovation of the building and the relocation of the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum to the new address. The goal of the Phase 2 capital campaign is $10 million. Anticipated increased attendance, an expanded gift shop, activation of the ‘Mike & Linda Curb Music Center,’ and paid parking on the property will help increase earned revenue for the building’s maintenance and utilities, as well as expanded staff to grow programming and promote Memphis music, studios and musicians.”
Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum is moving to the old Hard Rock Cafe building on Beale Street (Credit: Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum)
The Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame have purchased the former Hard Rock Cafe at 126 Beale Street for $5 million. It will be the new home of the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum. And much more.
J. W. and Kathy Gibson, Mike and Linda Curb, and the Assisi Foundation of Memphis are the largest donors who stepped forward to make the purchase a reality, says Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum director John Doyle.
“We found out about this opportunity eight months ago when Hard Rock Cafe vacated,” Doyle says. “That’s when we knew the possibility was happening. Memphis Music Hall of Fame was in that building. We stepped forward. That $5 million was raised in eight months and we were able to purchase the building.”
The building, which was home to the original Lansky Bros. clothing store, is known as “The Historic Lansky Building,” Doyle says. “Someone could have bought it and torn it down. It was where Elvis used to shop for his clothes. Isaac Hayes shopped there. B. B. King shopped there. Jerry Lee Lewis shopped there. And Johnny Cash bought his first black coat there from Bernard Lansky on the second floor where the Memphis Music Hall of Fame exhibit is.”
Priscilla Presley, a strong supporter of the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum as well as the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and Beale Street, will host a press conference and then christen the building at 2 p.m. March 28th.
That’s when Doyle says they will tell the full story “about the impact that we look forward to making for students and musicians, and working with Beale Street.”
Dorothy Orgill Kirsch, center, with Mario Monterosso and Dabney Coors at a "Simple Song of Freedom" event in 2023 (Credit: Michael Donahue)
It was time to honor Dorothy Orgill Kirsch.
You’ve probably seen her for years at cultural events around Memphis.
Earlier this month, Kirsch was the guest of honor at an ARTSmemphis tribute at the group’s headquarters. “It was attended by a representative of every single organization invited,” says longtime family friend Dabney Coors. “She has supported all of them.”
The celebration was to recognize “65 years of Dorothy Orgill Kirsch’s support for all of our arts organizations,” And, Coors says, “We are going to celebrate her ongoing gifts to the city.”
According to the City of Memphis proclamation, organizations Kirsch has supported include Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Opera Memphis, Playhouse on the Square, and Theatre Memphis, as well as ARTSmemphis.
Other groups she underwrote include Memphis Zoo, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Rhodes College, TheatreWorks, Hattiloo Theatre, Ballet Memphis, and New Ballet Ensemble. “Every theater, every ballet group, you name it, she has underwritten it,” Coors says.
Debbie Litch of Theatre Memphis, Whitney Jo of Playhouse on the Square, Dorothy Orgill Kirsch, and Dabney Coors at the Kirsch tribute at ARTSmemphis headquarters (Credit: ARTSmemphis)
Kirsch also supported Mario Monterosso’s “Simple Song of Freedom” humanitarian project for the war in Ukraine. She underwrote 30 musicians and 30 singers for the project.
Monterosso envisioned using Memphis performers in a video similar to “We Are the World” based on the song by Bobby Darin. The video, which he wanted to use to send a message of peace and freedom, includes a wide range of performers, including Carla Thomas, Kallen Esperian, Amy LaVere, Larry Dodson, Gary Beard, the Stax Music Academy choirs, and the First Baptist Church gospel choir with Rev. Keith Norman. It ended with Priscilla Presley quoting Mother Teresa.
In her speech at the tribute, Coors, who referred to Kirsch as “the angel of Memphis arts” says, “Dorothy was tapping her hands and feet when she listened to ‘Simple Song of Freedom’ and she said, ‘Yes. I want to support this effort.’”
Monterosso premiered his video December 20th at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
Carla Thomas with Mario Monterosso at the “Simple Song of Freedom” premiere at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kirsch “loves Memphis beyond everything else,” Monterosso says. “In my opinion, every time she sponsors a project, it’s like she’s sponsoring Memphis.”
She “likes to see Memphis behind every single project,” he says, adding, “Everything she does represents Memphis around the world. And this is incredible.”
People like Kirsch “are very rare,” Monterosso adds. “People who do things just because of their love of art, their love of the city where they great up and live their entire life, is so incredible.”
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of legendary singer Elvis Presley, died Thursday in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 54. Press reports state that the cause of death was a cardiac arrest.
Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla Presley, issued the following statement: “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us. She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.”
Presley was the mother of four children and was formerly married to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage. She had been in Memphis as recently as January 8th, to help commemorate her late father’s 88th birthday at Graceland.
Credit: Elvis Presley’s Graceland/Facebook
“Priscilla Presley and the Presley family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Lisa Marie,” Elvis Presley’s Graceland posted on Facebook. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued the following email: “I am saddened to learn of the untimely death of Lisa Marie Presley. She will always be beloved in Memphis, and my thoughts and prayers are with Priscilla and the Presley family during this difficult time. I share my condolences with everyone who knew and loved Lisa Marie.”
The Flyer will update this story as more details emerge.
Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, Austin Butler, and Baz Luhrmann at the Memphis premiere of “Elvis” June 11th, 2022 at the Guest House at Graceland. (Michael Donahue)
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) released the following statement:
“I am terribly saddened. She was much too young. She was just here in Memphis on Sunday for her father’s birthday and talked about how energizing it was to be among his fans.
“She looks so much like her father. I was pleased to see her Tuesday night on the Golden Globes where she saw her father’s bio-pic recognized.
“I remember 1977 when Elvis died and how I was affected. When he died, it was personal because we’d grown up with him. This is a sad day for Elvis fans, including myself. I extend my deepest condolences to Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla, and to her children.”
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.”
OK. I had to have a photograph with Priscilla Presley at the Theatre Memphis tribute to her. (Credit: Jonathan Finder)
Wearing a striking Fouad Sarkis black-and-white gown, Priscilla Presley took the stage to thank her fans at “Honoring Priscilla Presley: The Artist, The Woman,” which was held July 22nd at Theatre Memphis.
“This has been a very overwhelming evening for me,” Presley told the audience. “It’s very difficult to take compliments.”
And, she joked, “I didn’t know I did so much, to be honest with you.”
Presley told the audience she learned about Memphis at age 14 from Elvis when he was in Germany during his Army days. “We had long talks about Graceland, about Memphis, about his childhood, about how much he loved Memphis.”
And, she says, “When I came here I was absolutely amazed at the friendships that I made. But not only that, the Southern hospitality just absolutely blew me away. Everyone was so kind, so wonderful as far as bringing me in, accepting me. It was something I will never ever forget. And won’t forget. I do believe Memphis is my home.”
Dabney Coors was co-chair of the event with Elizabeth Coors, as well as the organizer of the event.
The evening began with a reception in the lobby with food from chef Erling Jensen and live Memphis music, and ended with a party featuring more of the same, in addition to a chance for guests to meet Presley.
In between the parties was a tribute, where the 275 or so audience members learned about the staggering amount Presley has done and been involved in. Kym Clark and Kontji Anthony were the emcees. Special guests included T. G. Sheppard and his wife, Kelly Lang, and, by video, Jerry Schilling.
T.G. Sheppard, Priscilla Presley, and Kelly Lang at Priscilla Presley tribute (Credit: Michael Donahue)
For one, Presley was responsible for Graceland being saved and being opened to the public, instead of being sold.
She portrayed “Jenna Wade” on TV’s Dallas. She was in movies, including the Naked Gun trilogy. She came out with her own perfume and line of bed linens. She came up with the idea of coupling a lightning bolt image with the words “TCB” during an airplane flight with Elvis in a storm.
All of this and much more was referred to during the evening. According to the program, Presley also is an ambassador with the Dream Foundation, which helps fulfill dreams of terminally-ill adults. And, the program states, “She has also worked closely with the Humane Society of the United States and has spent time in DC to lobby Congress to pass the ‘Prevent All Soring Tactics’ (PAST Act) bill that will strengthen enforcement of the 1970 Horse Protection Act.”
“Congressman Steve Cohen announced from the stage that he entered a declaration in to the Congressional Record that Priscilla Presley is now an honorary Memphian,” Dabney says. “The Mayor (Jim Strickland) came with a key to the city and a proclamation, and the Tennessee governor (Bill Lee) had a proclamation for Priscilla. Kevin Kane was the presenter.”
Congressman Steve Cohen at Priscilla Presley tribute (Credit: Michael Donahue)Mayor Jim Strickland, Jack Soden, Kevin Kane, Hayden Kane, Leighanne Hart Soden, and Melyne Strickland at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
All the presentations were in honor of “this 40th anniversary of her opening Graceland. It could not have been a better celebration for her.”
Debbie Litch, Theatre Memphis executive producer, announced “The Theatre Memphis – Priscilla Presley Scholarship,” which, according to the program, will “make an artistic dream come true.”
Erling Jensen and Debbie Litch at the Theatre Memphis tribute to Priscilla Presley (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Memphis artists who performed during the evening included guitarist-songwriter-producer Mario Monterosso, singer/pianist Brennan Villines, who wore a pink tuxedo and slippers with the “TCB” lightning bolt on the toes, and Kallen Esperian, who sang “God Bless America.”
Kallen Esperian and William R. Eubanks at the Priscilla Presley tribute (Credit: Michael Donahue)Brennan Villines at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“One of the most popular drinks of the evening was the one created for the party named the ‘Priscilla,'” Dabney says.
“The drink was a French 75 made with vodka instead of gin.” It also included lemon juice, simple syrup, and champagne.
Lansky Brothers was corporate sponsor of the event. And, as a side note, Monterosso’s tuxedo came from Lansky’s.
Dabney says she received more than 100 texts, telephone calls, and emails from people about the tribute. People are “so thrilled for her and for the city of Memphis to acknowledge her continuing great works on behalf of our city,” Dabney says.
It was also good timing that the celebrated movie directed by Baz Luhrmann, Elvis, recently released and premiered at The Guest House at Graceland. “We were able to celebrate her a month after she welcomed the cast and crew and Warner Brothers into Graceland. She had a dinner party inside the mansion for them.”
Lurhmann also gave remarks via video at the event.
Dabney met Presley 25 years ago at a red carpet event in Los Angeles. “We just see each other all the time. And we just have a ball.
“This has been in my heart to honor Priscilla in our city for years and years. And her family knows it, my dear friends know it.”
Priscilla stayed in town several days after the event. Elizabeth Coors and her husband, Giles, held a private dinner party for Priscilla the night after the tribute.
Giles and Elizabeth Coors at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Dr. Jonathan Finder, who attended the tribute with his wife, Jana, talked with Presley a few days after the event at Sam Phillips Recording Studio. “What struck me about chatting with Priscilla was how she came across as incredibly kind and down to Earth,” Finder says. “And at the same time so very sharp and insightful. A remarkable person who has led a remarkable life.”
Dabney Coors and Dr. Jonathan and Jana Finder at Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Lucy Woodson and Pat Kerr Tigrett at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Veronica Batterson, former Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, Rev. Keith Norman, and Brett Batterson at the Priscilla Presley Theatre Memphis tribute (Credit: Michael Donahue)Cristy Beasley Cass and Cary Brown at Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Doug Browne and J. W. Whitten at Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Jerry Phillips, Scott Bomar, and Laura O’Mell at Priscilla Presley tribute. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Shirley Brown, Don and Elizabeth Scott, Gary Beard, Randall Hartzog, Dr. Mel Litch at Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Josh and Lindsey Hammond at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Leslie Fowler at the Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue)Kerri Mahoney and Scott Bomar at Priscilla Presley tribute at Theatre Memphis (Credit: Michael Donahue) We Saw You
You never know who you’ll run into late at night if you stop by a restaurant or bar that serves food after 10 p.m. In Memphis, it could be a drunk bounty hunter at now-closed CK’s, an election conspiracy theorist throwing back Bud Lights, or hopefully, a local celebrity.
Rocky Kasaftes remembers when Priscilla Presley stopped by Alex’s Tavern with a group of people around 11 p.m. Kasaftes, who owns the iconic bar/restaurant at 1445 Jackson Avenue, made his famous Greek Burgers, hot wings, and ribs for everybody. But he fixed something special for Presley.
“I don’t eat meat,” says Presley, who was in Memphis recently. “So instead I asked him to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. I still eat grilled cheese sandwiches when I need to.”
The sandwich was “great,” she adds. And Alex’s Tavern was “very quaint. And nice. Not too large. I enjoyed it very much.”
The Memphis Flyer recently set out on a quest to check out some late-night dining spots that continue to serve food after most places have shut down their kitchens. And while there used to be plenty of easy fixes for the late-night munchies, Covid saw some restaurants decide to forego their nocturnal offerings. But fret not: For the night owls among us, there are still those who work tirelessly to make sure that, yes, after stumbling out of the bar or getting off work late, they’re still here to keep us fed. As we ventured out into the night, our odyssey took us to three different pillars, old and new, of late-night dining that are sure to do the trick when Taco Bell just won’t cut it.
The authors’ first late-night stop took them to Pantá where they sipped on a Toussaint Daiquiri and split a Catalan Hot Dog. Oh, and they had coffee. Can’t forget the French press coffee. (Photo: KD Holliday)
Pantá
For our first stop, we trekked to a bumping new Midtown Catalan hot spot. Chef/owner Kelly English specifically wanted a late-night menu at his latest endeavor, Pantá, at 2146 Monroe Avenue.
“Pantá is a real view of Catalan eating and the way they approach dining in that region of Spain,” English says. “In Barcelona, a lot of restaurants don’t even open until 7 or 8. We open at 6. They stay open at least until midnight. This is a natural part of what we have set out to provide. The kitchen has been open until 11 on Thursdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday since we opened.”
The response has been great, English says. “We’ve recently changed the program for late night a bit to give our guests what we have heard them asking for — a little more approachable late-night food served with some of the exact same ingredients we use earlier in the evening.”
Diners who come in after 10 p.m. order from a special late-night menu, not from the earlier menu.
“We originally served our entire dinner menu through the end of service. We started this new menu a couple of weeks ago. It is also available during normal hours during Sunday supper.”
Pantá’s late-night menu has six items that harness the restaurant’s Catalan inspiration. They’re all a bit cheaper than the regular menu (think the $8-$12 range). There are some enticing-looking options like the Brava Burger — a patty of spiced beef with grilled onions, mozzarella, olive pickles, and brava sauce — or Pantá’s take on a Philly — made with pork secreto, slow-cooked onions and peppers, and a healthy helping of “melty white cheesiness.” We opted for the Catalan Hot Dog to start, a grilled “glizzy” placed on a bun, but there’s no sauerkraut-and-mustard combo here. Instead, the dog is topped with escalivada (a traditional Catalan vegetable mix) and a smooth garlic aioli. We cut it in half for an easy shareable and also ordered French press coffee to prepare for the journey ahead.
But perhaps the best late-night snack is the Loaded Brava Fries. It’s almost like a fries-based version of loaded nachos but with a Catalan twist. Let’s just say it certainly made a good impression. The tender, slow-roasted duck is delicious and very easy to scarf down with a handful of fries. And there’s a bit of a kick to it from a spicy harissa pepper sauce. It’s an approachable, but elevated, snack that has all the right ingredients to keep that buzz from spilling over. All the while, front-of-house manager and overall vibe-setter Aaron Ivory is ready to whip up one of his specialties.
“Personally, I like that we have a spot for people in my industry to come after work,” English says. “Or people in the world of theater. Both patrons and professionals. A place that can grow with what we think is a new chapter of Midtown that is coming about. I love the new avenue of freedom that our manager, Aaron Ivory, can show behind the bar and our chef, Patrick Kee, can express in the food.”
A group of young people came in Pantá around 11 p.m. and sat at a table in the dining room. They wanted to eat after leaving Tiger and Peacock, says Ken LeGassey. This was their first time at Pantá.
They wanted to eat as well as “continue to drink and socialize,” LeGassey says. Speaking for themselves and other young people out on the town, he says, “After they’ve been drinking, they’re looking for a place with the right food that’s unique, high-quality.” LeGassey and his friends found it at Pantá. “This is the new Taco Bell.”
Like Priscilla Presley, our authors made their way to Alex’s Tavern, where they caught up with owner Rocky Kasaftes about his famous Greek Burger. (Photo: Samuel x. Cicci)
Alex’s Tavern
Our next stop took us to Alex’s Tavern, which has been serving food late at night for decades.
Rocky’s dad, Alex Kasaftes, who opened the bar in 1953, used to serve ham sandwiches.
“Remember the big hams? You could put a ham in a rack and slice off the bone? He did that.”
After his dad died in 1978, Rocky took over the bar. He began serving hamburgers, but he also concentrated on people who arrived late. “It was really for restaurant people that got off work at 11 or whatever. That’s kind of how it started. For a while it was mostly restaurant people or people who worked at the hospital or police to get a burger.”
His mother, Eugenia Kasaftes, would “make the patties at home, slice cheese and tomato, and I’d come pick it up.” Alex’s Tavern served food until 3 a.m. in those days. Now, it’s until midnight during the week and maybe 1 or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Rocky now makes the hamburgers, which are 80/20 ground chuck. “My mom was big on just a good ol’ burger with salt and pepper, but we added Cavender’s to it.” Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning is on just about everything Rocky serves. He even sprinkles it on the potato chips. “Cavender’s, that’s the key to everything, which makes us different, I guess.”
His Greek Burgers have “the good crust on the outside.” And, he says, “You never press it on the grill. Never do that. The cheese has to be melted. You never want cold cheese on a piece of meat.”
Alex Tavern’s Greek Burger was featured on Burger Land with host George Motz on the Travel Channel and in Motz’s book, Hamburger America.
Rocky began doing hot wings in the late ’80s. “They’re not breaded at all. We just fry them.”
He dips the wings in a vat of Texas Pete Hot Sauce and butter for those who want hotter wings. He dips the others in a vat of Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce for people who prefer a milder snack. “I put them on the plate and sprinkle the Greek seasoning on top.”
He also uses Cavender’s on his ribs, which he began doing during football season about 20 years ago. He adds apple juice to the ribs while he cooks them. He then adds Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce. “While I cook them, I spray them with apple juice. Then when they’re almost done, we wrap them in tinfoil and I’ll put more apple juice on them. They’ll steam in that juice on the flattop.”
Gumbo came next. “It’s just really shrimp, sauce, and chicken. I’ll add other stuff, of course.”
He also does barbecued shrimp with lemon butter and garlic and cold shrimp with his own sauce “with lots of horseradish. Enough to where it brings a tear to your eye.” Usually during the winter Rocky makes his mother’s Mama K’s homemade vegetable beef soup.
Sometimes he makes toasted ravioli and fried cheese and pork tenderloin for special occasions, including events he caters. “Usually, I’m the one cooking. I like it that way.”
But Rocky doesn’t stop there. “I’ll do stuff for folks when they request it. A filet with a baked potato and salad, filet and shrimp. I’ve made my mom’s spaghetti recipe. Everything is from scratch. I made Alfredo with shrimp or chicken. They just have to let me know ahead of time. And they do.”
They’ll say, “Hey, I want something different.” And Rocky responds, “Okay, I got it.”
Just like when he came up with a grilled cheese sandwich for Presley. “I think I put two or three different kinds of cheese on it just for her.”
“Tell Rocky I’m coming back on Elvis Week in August,” Presley says. “I’m going to be here for about five or six days. It’s a wonderful, wonderful restaurant, and I know I’m going to get great food. Especially great grilled cheese sandwiches.”
An unusual menu item, the Tofu Nachos are RP Tracks’ secret weapon. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
RP Tracks
The final stretch of our journey took us to RP Tracks at 3547 Walker Avenue, home of an eclectic guest list, thirsty University of Memphis students, and those oh-so-delectable barbecue tofu nachos. It’s a tried-and-true template, one that’s been working for Tracks and its customers for almost four decades now. Mary Laws has been running the place alongside her husband, Bernard, since 2015, after buying Tracks from original owners Rick Johns and Peter Moon.
And Laws has her own history there. “I’m a U of M grad, and I’d started working at RP Tracks in 2004,” she says. “And I met Bernard there. I was a server, he was a dishwasher, so it was kind of like a fairy-tale story that Rick and Peter approached us to buy the place.”
And since taking over seven years ago, Laws has continued to make sure that Tracks is a place that anyone can come to for some relaxation and recreation. And maybe even to meet some new people. “We’ve got a large crowd Monday through Friday that comes to watch Jeopardy!,” she says. “And late at night hanging out at the bar or in the restaurant, it’s so easy to strike up a conversation with someone who is virtually a stranger to you.”
Laws says Tracks has grown the food side of the business since trimming down the menu so that the cooks could get things out more efficiently. “We only have eight or so feet of cooking space, so they were bending themselves into pretzels to accommodate the larger menu.” But one steadfast presence at Tracks has been the popular barbecue tofu nachos. It’s the perfect snack, and certainly a perfect choice for late-night diners. It’s a heaping bowl, with thin chips covered with all the regular fixings: jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, and sour cream. But Tracks’ secret weapon added to the mix is the layer of black bean chili (carnivores can order meat chili instead) that accentuates the crispy tofu blocks. And there are plenty of other nacho customization options to find the right flavor.
“Those nachos are wonderful and delicious, and always have been,” says Laws. “But I also enjoy our barbecue chicken Gouda quesadilla, and I like to put hot sauce on there for some heat. And the RP Burger with cheddar cheese is my other go-to.”
And at RP Tracks, there’s almost always something for everyone. The menu is “all over the place, in a good way,” says Laws, boasting everything from quesadillas to nachos to burgers to sandwiches to salads. But the ace up Tracks’ sleeve is the wealth of vegetarian bar food options they have for late arrivals. There are the nachos, of course, but the sandwiches and quesadillas both have a separate “animal-friendly” section featuring more tofu and fresh vegetables. Even hot wings can be swapped out for tofu slices. “It’s really important we have that. In addition to being the place where I cut my teeth on drinking, it’s where I also grew to really appreciate vegetarian food.”
For now, Tracks’ kitchen is open until 12:30 a.m., with the bar closing half an hour later. While Tracks would stay open until 3 a.m. pre-Covid, Laws says they didn’t see much business during that last hour and likely won’t bring that back. However, they will be expanding their hours again soon, pushing the kitchen to 1:30 a.m., with closing at 2 a.m. “We’ve been getting everyone acclimated again to our new schedules,” says Laws. “And I think in mid-August, we’ll be ready to keep our kitchen open until 1:30.”
Laws’ push to return to later hours comes from her trouble finding places to eat late on her drive home. “I would leave Tracks at midnight and be driving around, and things just weren’t open. And I think that’s one of the ways Covid really shaped things. I realized, ‘My god, there’s not much late-night dining anymore! We’ve gotta stay open until 1:30 so that people have a place to go, a place to eat.’ And I think that’s something a lot of Memphians want.”
Jerry Schilling at the Memphis premiere of Elvis at The Guest House at Graceland (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Jerry Schilling was Elvis’ buddy for 23 years after he played football with the King one hot Memphis afternoon on July 11, 1954.
Schilling, who was 12 at the time, went on to become part of Elvis’s entourage, a business associate, and a long-time friend.
Now Schilling is watching himself being portrayed on screen in Elvis. The motion picture, which opens June 24th, was directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Austin Butler as Elvis. “I think the movie, overall, is the best piece of work in a project done on Elvis,” Schilling says. “One, I think it answers a lot of questions by just telling the story of misconceptions of my friend.”
And, he says, Luhrmann, “put his heart and soul into it and put together an unbelievable cast.”
The project took 11 years from the idea to the finished movie, Schilling says. “There were sets burning up in Australia, Covid, you name it.”
But the delays “gave them time to really marinate this story. And everybody went back and rethought it and made it a much better film.”
Schilling now is manager of The Beach Boys, who recently released Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys box set.
Author of the 2006 book, Me and a Guy Named Elvis, Schilling also has been involved in numerous Elvis-related projects. “Over the years, I have produced more shows on Elvis than I think anybody can count. I’ve cast or been part of casting various actors to play Elvis over the years. And I’ve worked with others cast by other people.”
He thought Michael St. Gerard, who played the King in the 1990 Elvis TV series, was “innately Elvis, because he was playing the younger Elvis and he didn’t have the high collars and jumpsuits and everything. But when I saw Austin Butler, he had the young Elvis down. He had the middle. He had the end. He didn’t overdo it.”
Austin Butler at the Memphis premiere of Elvis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Butler concentrated on the part, Schilling says. “For years he did nothing but become Elvis. He was not a performer, not a singer, but a terrific actor. It was Denzel Washington who brought Butler to Baz Lurhmann. They had done something on Broadway — The Iceman Cometh. Denzel was so impressed with his work ethic.”
Butler’s role as Elvis was “multi-faceted,” Schilling says. “He did a lot of his own singing, which Michael didn’t do. I will never take anything away from Michael St. Gerard. I was in awe of him.”
But Butler was “so sincere. He fell in love with the character. He said it was like, ‘I can climb Mt. Everest.’ That was the challenge.”
But, Schilling says, “He doesn’t overdo it. He does it subtly. None of that curling the lip, ‘Thank you very much,’ all the bullshit. He’s got charisma. You want to be around him. You like him. And, you know what? When he walks in the room he’s got that little shyness Elvis had as well. It’s like a magnetic attraction goes to him.”
And, he says, Butler “fell in love with Memphis.”
Butler and Lurhmann spent time in Memphis and Tupelo, Schilling says. “They really put their heart and soul into this movie and I think it shows on the screen.”
Schilling met Lurhmann three years ago at dinner with an RCA executive during the promotional tour of the Elvis Presley: The Searcher at HBO documentary that Schilling conceived. “I think he was still looking for his Elvis at this point. He just said, ‘If this ship pulls anchor, I want you on it.’”
Baz Luhrmann at the Memphis premier of Elvis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Schilling and Priscilla Presley got together with Tom Hanks — who plays Elvis’ manager, Col. Tom Parker — before filming began. “Priscilla ran into Tom Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, at the grocery store and Rita said, ‘Why don’t you and Jerry Schilling come over for dinner?’ This is two weeks before Tom went to Australia to start filming. So, we go there and Tom opens the door and the first thing he says is, ‘Jerry, are we going to talk about the Beach Boys or Elvis?’”
Hanks is a huge Beach Boys fan, Schilling says. But they spent the next three or four hours talking about Elvis and Parker. “Priscilla and I really wanted to give a full picture of Colonel Parker to Tom.”
The movie was “pretty much finished” when Schilling met Butler. “Priscilla and I went to New York for the Metropolitan Gala that Baz Luhrmann invited us to.”
They met Butler in a revolving door at The Carlyle hotel on their way out to dinner a few days before the gala. “He comes in and says, ‘Hi,’ to both of us. Seems like a nice guy. Good looking guy. It’s Austin. So, he goes, ‘Oh, my God.’ He’s really nervous. He says, ‘I want you two guys to be happy with this.’”
Schilling and Priscilla wouldn’t commit to going to the Cannes Film Festival for a showing of Elvis until they saw the movie. So, Lurhmann arranged a special screening of the film for the two of them. “I purposely didn’t sit next to her. I sat down, wanting to have my own thoughts. I wanted her to have her own thoughts. Half way through, I’m beside her. By the end, Priscilla looked at me and said, ‘Well, I guess we’re going to Cannes.’”
Priscilla Presley at the Memphis premier of Elvis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
They knew Luhrmann was going to make his type of movie. “Baz is a very private filmmaker. He’s going to do what he wants to do. So, you never know” — like the Russwood Park concert scene, where Elvis/Butler pulls out all the stops with his seductive gyrations, shakes, and wiggles. Schilling was 14 when he went to that show. “In real life, it was much more subtle than they make it in the movie ‘cause you’re making a movie. But he did make the statement and he did his own show. And it was a ‘wow’ show.”
Elvis had recently appeared in a tuxedo singing “Hound Dog” to a dog on TV’s The Steve Allen Show after being introduced by Allen as “the new Elvis Presley.” Elvis, Schilling says, told the Russwood audience, “I’m not going to let those people in New York change me. That was his way of saying, ‘You’re going to get the real Elvis.’”
Was Parker a villain in real life? “The film is really difficult for me because I know the controlling side of the Colonel. I know the bullying side. But I also know the human side of the Colonel. I don’t think he was dishonest at all. The only concern I have was when Elvis wanted to do A Star is Born and travel overseas and have his own production company.”
Tom Hanks at the Memphis premier of Elvis (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Elvis eventually started his own production company with himself and Schilling as heads of the company. But he never got to travel overseas. “The Colonel didn’t want it known he wasn’t an American citizen. But, creatively, the Colonel was really holding Elvis back.”
Elvis did “some good movies,” but most of them were the same type of musical. “I think I lost my friend at an early age because of creative disappointments. He was embarrassed and he tried to fight. And the machinery was too big.”
As for Elvis’s ambitions, including doing more serious roles, Shilling says Parker and other business associates “killed all that.”
With every Elvis musical, there was a soundtrack, “no matter how good or bad the music might be. At one point, Elvis said, ‘I’m not doing any more of this stuff.’ And the Colonel said, ‘You’ll fulfill your contract or you’re not doing anything.’”
As for Schilling talking back to Parker in the early days, he says, “Listen, I wasn’t in a position most of the time to be telling Colonel Parker what to do, or any of that.”
Schilling stopped working for Elvis for a time and went into film editing. “Because I quit working for him, I didn’t have to be under the Colonel’s supervision. For me, idolizing, looking up to Elvis as a 12 year old, and him not having a hit record when I met him, to be able, years later, to discuss a movie of his or a tour of his, that’s full circle.”
But, Schilling says, “There was a human side of Colonel Parker. Did he love Elvis Presley? Yes. Did Elvis love the Colonel? Yes.”
And, he says, “It was the best team. Elvis never forgot what the Colonel did for him in the beginning. It’s hard to get all that in the film.”
Schilling is portrayed in the movie by Luke Bracey. But Schilling hadn’t met Bracey when he, Priscilla, Hanks, and Butler flew to Cannes. “I asked Tom Hanks, ‘So, how was Luke Bracey playing me? I haven’t met him.’ He said, ‘He was the voice of reason through the whole thing.’ And Austin said, ‘Yep. He really was.’”
“I think what it means to me — and I think what the message they were trying to give me — is so many times the guys around Elvis were these hangers-on who laughed when Elvis laughed. And were just ‘yes’ men.”
Schilling wasn’t one of those. He remembered when he “challenged” one of Elvis’s decisions. “And he goes, ‘Okay, you can go back to Memphis if you don’t like it.’ Over the 23 years I knew him, we had three or four arguments. It wouldn’t have been a real friendship if we hadn’t.”
Schilling was “totally pleased” with Bracey’s portrayal of him, which he says was respectful and based on facts. “They read my book, I’m sure, more than once. Austin told me they read everything.”
Schilling says Bracey “doesn’t overdo anything. And yet when it was time to maybe have a difference of opinion whether it was Elvis or it was the Colonel, he played it right. He didn’t come back and do a big argument, which I wouldn’t have done either. He got me down.”
In trying to put Elvis’s life in perspective, Schilling says, “We’re all familiar with the ‘68 Comeback Special’ and what that did to Elvis’s career when it was really, as the movie says, in the toilet.”
Elvis, the movie, is “the ‘’68 Legacy Comeback,’” Schilling says. “I think this is going go do for his legacy what the ‘’68 Comeback Special’ did for his career while he was alive. It gives viewers an understanding of how special this man was.”
Schilling adds, “Ironically, 68 years ago in July was when Elvis’ first record was played, and when I met him.”
When I interviewed him, Schilling was headed to see the Elvis movie with Priscilla for his fourth time, and Priscilla’s fifth. “I’m glad this movie will be a record years from now for the history of Elvis, the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and of Tupelo, of Memphis. It really needed to be documented. If this was written and not filmed, I would put it in the National Archives.”
Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis is electrifying.
The most insightful film I’ve ever seen about Elvis Presley is “The Singing Canary,” a five-minute experimental short by Memphis director Adam Remsen. It contains neither images of Elvis nor his music, only footage of astronauts and rocket launches. Remsen’s voice-over casts Elvis not as a singer or entertainer or idol, but as an explorer of new psychic spaces.
Yes, Elvis was supremely talented, superhumanly good looking, and unbelievably charismatic. But it was sheer luck that he came along at exactly the moment in history when a combination of rhythm and blues, amphetamines, and television could transform a penniless truck driver into the most famous person who had ever lived. “No one had ever been in his position before. He did the best he could,” said Remsen. “He was just living his life, making the best choices he could. As it happened, he was unprepared to make those choices, in one way or another.”
Who could have been prepared? The only people who had been as famous as Elvis circa 1957 were pharaohs. A decade later, The Beatles would express relief that, when they were thrown into the maelstrom of modern fame, at least they had one another. Elvis was alone, going through stuff no one in the entire 300,000-year history of Homo sapiens had ever gone through before. “He was the singing canary we sent into the gold mine. And when the singing stopped, we learned it was dangerous in there.”
The latest big screen attempt to tell The King’s story shares this view of Elvis as a martyr for the information age. Baz Luhrmann is one of a handful of directors with an instantly recognizable style. As technically exacting as he is bombastic, Luhrmann’s films are the closest thing we have to the lavish MGM musicals of Old Hollywood. Emotions are heightened, the cutting is frenetic, and realism is an afterthought. Music and montage are Luhrmann’s love language, and everything else is in service of maintaining the momentum. When he’s on his game, Luhrmann can sweep you up and transport you to another place like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz.
This film rises above the simple jukebox musical I feared we would get when I heard Luhrmann was taking on the story of The King. Credit for much of its success must go to Austin Butler, who has the unenviable task of trying to bring to life the most impersonated man in history. On the Louisiana Hayride and at the triumphant July 4, 1956, Russwood Park homecoming show, Butler is electrifying. He’s got the cheekbones, and he knows how to use them.
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley.
The racial politics of the era are never far from the surface. In Luhrmann’s vision, Elvis’ smoking-hot sexuality was what made him dangerous. But what scared The Establishment about this poor white kid singing Black music was not how he danced — it was that Elvis represented a crack in the South’s Jim Crow apartheid. He didn’t just laugh at the minstrel show; he identified with B.B. King, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Little Richard. Some of the white kids who followed him would go on to discover The Bar-Kays, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin, and begin to think, “Hey, maybe these Black people are humans, just like me.”
But the protean summer of ’56, which has for so long formed the fetish of rock-and-roll, doesn’t interest Luhrmann as much as the Vegas era. It begins with an elaborate staging of the ’68 Comeback Special. Instead of focusing on the in-the-round jam session, which remains one of the greatest live musical performances ever put before a camera, Luhrmann finds meaning in Elvis’ selection of “If I Can Dream” as his closing number. Butler delivers the moment with maximum gravitas.
Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) advises Elvis (Austin Butler).
Luhrmann’s most polarizing decision is to tell the story from Col. Tom Parker’s perspective — and not just because of Tom Hanks’ accent. Having the villain as the narrator is a very Shakespearean choice, intended to make Parker into Iago, a malignant influence confiding to us about the lies he’s whispering in the hero’s ear. Parker was the consummate confidence man and a natural-born carny barker. In the early days, he and Elvis were an unstoppable team. When Elvis was languishing in Vegas, it would have been better if he were alone. Parker gets the blame for Elvis sitting out the Civil Rights fights of the late ’60s and for missing opportunities to tour the world. He gets credit for the groundbreaking Aloha from Hawaii concert, the definitive document of Elvis’ late period. But Luhrmann declines to use the first satellite broadcast to a global audience of one billion as a climax, like Queen at Live Aid in Bohemian Rhapsody. As for Hanks’ performance as the shady Dutch immigrant, let’s just say that the veteran actor knows when to put the ham on the sandwich.
Elvis (Austin Bulter) and Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge).
The standouts in the sprawling supporting cast include Helen Thomson’s sad turn as the alcoholic Gladys and Olivia DeJonge’s uncanny Priscilla. The Power of the Dog’s Kodi Smit-McPhee gets a standout cameo as Jimmie Rodgers Snow, one of the first people to understand the depth of Elvis’ power. During the early film’s frequent digressions into the Beale Street music scene, Yola Quartey and Shonka Dukureh each get show-stopping moments as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Big Mama Thornton.
Ultimately, your reaction to Elvis is going to depend on whether or not you can vibrate on Luhrmann’s frequency. I was a fan of the director’s early work, like Romeo + Juliet, but found The Great Gatsby off-putting and snoozed through Australia. Elvis is a return to the explosive Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge. He freely twists the songs, sometimes in ways that are insightful, and sometimes in ways that betray a lack of trust in the material, like using anachronistic hip-hop beats whenever we return to Beale. The film is massively overstuffed with striking images, but that kind of sounds like complaining because you have too many scoops of delicious ice cream. It’s understandable if you find the constant barrage of visual information disorienting or the constant dance on the edge of camp cloying. But when Elvis is on stage, and Luhrmann is on fire, you understand why The King will live forever.
