King and I

But I was devastated. I was only a child and it was my first brush with grief so it was some relief that more than 20 years later, I finally got to journey to Memphis, Tennessee, to pay homage to the man they called the King and to explore the birthplace of rock 'n' roll.

The story of Memphis is quite simply the story of modern music. Your record and CD collections would not look the same if it had not been for the influence of the many legends to come out of the Mississippi delta.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Memphis produced musical superstars like a racing stable produces thoroughbreds.

Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, Elvis and Johnny Cash all got their big breaks in that sleepy southern town.

The catalyst for this proliferation of talent was a little recording studio on Union Avenue called Sun Studios.

This is an ideal spot to begin your visit to the place locals call: "The city which taught rock to roll".

Despite standing empty for a number of years, Sun Studios remains pretty much as it was when an 18-year-old delivery truck driver, called Elvis Presley, walked in there for the first time back in 1953.

The part-owner now runs tours of the hallowed building providing a fascinating insight into the birth of rock 'n' roll.

You can even hold the microphone into which Elvis howled his first hit That's All Right (Mama).

It was from that single that Elvis went on to become the most successful recording star ever and, flush with success, he soon fulfilled a promise to his mother and father by buying the biggest house in town and moving them all in.

More than 20 years after his death, that house - Graceland - remains the second most visited building in America after the White House, with 750,000 pilgrims each year.

The official Graceland tour gives a relatively candid insight into the home life of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

You can see where his cook prepared his favourite snack, fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and the kitsch Jungle Room with its indoor waterfall.

You are free to tour the premises at your own pace accompanied by an audio cassette containing commentary by friends and family of Elvis including Priscilla, his former wife.

The grounds of the house also contain the Meditation Garden where Elvis and his family are buried.

With so much focus on Mr Presley it is easy to forget that Memphis's passionate love affair with music began long before the King was even a twinkle in his daddy's eye.

Music is so deeply ingrained into the foundations of Memphis that the national Smithsonian Institute chose to fund a Museum of Rock and Soul in the city.

Housed in the newly-built Gibson guitar factory on George W Lee Avenue, the museum opened in April this year.

It charts the history of the Memphis music scene from the slave songs of the cropsharers in the cotton fields to the soul explosion of the Seventies.

Once you have gained your basic grounding in the theory of the sounds of the south, it is time to head off and enjoy the real thing and there is no shortage of opportunities.

On a weekend, the place to head is Beale Street. Crammed with bars and blues clubs it offers a diverse selection of music, from traditional delta blues to rock 'n' roll.

Some of the most talented musicians in the deep south jam on Beale Street so you are guaranteed to be toe-tapping well into the small hours.

It is hard to get away from music in Memphis but the city is also famous for being the cradle of the civil rights movement.

It was at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1963 that Martin Luther King was gunned down, sending shock waves throughout the world.

The motel still stands but is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum. This moving monument charts the struggle of the African-American people from when the first slaves arrived on the continent to the dismantling of segregation in schools in the 1960s.

It stands as a poignant reminder of the deep south's turbulent past and the heroism of the struggle for equality.

But if it's a break from music and politics you are after then a good place to head is Mud Island on the Mississippi River.

A monorail takes you over to the island which is home to the Memphis Belle Second World War bomber and a scale model of the entire Mississippi itself.

There is also a museum which recreates the days when paddle steamers would saunter up and down the famous river from St Louis to New Orleans.

Mud Island is a great place to relax during the day and prepare yourself for another round of blues appreciation in the bars of Beale Street.

Finally, no trip to Memphis would be complete without a visit to the famous Peabody Hotel.

The Grand Hotel of the South, as it prefers to be known, is home to a group of mischievous ducks who frolic in the huge lobby fountain during the day.

At 5pm, a red carpet is rolled out and the ducks head up in the elevator to their home on the roof.

The scene is typically Memphisonian, slightly eccentric with a twist of humour thrown in.

Memphis is a unique city that no true music fan can visit without being impressed. But as I discovered, you don't need to be an Elvis nut to have a great time.