Memphis MansionSweet Inspirations, The Imperials and
his musical conductor Joe Guercio, his
stepbrother David Stanley and cousin
Donna Presley. Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson,
Van Morrison, Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats
and Suzi Quatro are other visitors. Some
even donate their own Elvis memorabilia.
“There is a famous picture taken of the
American Sound musicians, where Elvis is
holding Mike Leech’s bass,” says Knudsen.
“They later did a tour here and liked it so
much, Mike gave me the same guitar.”
The ever-expanding Elvis archive
amounts to one of the largest private
collections in the world. It spans some
80,000 pictures and 20,000 LPs, EPs,
singles and master tapes, clothing, jewellery,
instruments, contracts and private
correspondence. Of these ‘King’s crown
pieces’, a particular highlight is the tape box
Elvis did not, in fact, give his Memphis mansion its
moniker. From 1939, it had been named Graceland
by its original owners the Moores, in honour of Mrs
Moore’s aunt Grace Toof, who had bequeathed her
the property in her will. Purchased for $102,500
when Elvis was 22, he lived at Graceland from 1957
until he died in 1977. As the second most visited
home in the US after the White House, it still
welcomes more than 700,000 visitors annually.
An American brand as famous as Coca-Cola, not
surprisingly, Graceland is trademarked to the hilt.
As reported in Danish newspaper, The Local, in
2016 the Elvis estate sued Graceland Randers and
its founder Henrik Knudsen, on the grounds that
the initial name was too similar. According to
Knudsen, further press reports suggesting he was
personally being sued by Priscilla and daughter
Lisa Marie were wrong: “It was the lawyers of CKX,by then the new majority owners of EPE,” he
clarifi es. “Now everything’s cool,” he continues.
“They didn’t win, we didn’t lose. We’re not
offi cially endorsed as such, but Priscilla’s still in
touch, and always says that she appreciates my
Elvis work in Denmark.”A ll in t he
Graceland name
from the legendary Million Dollar Quartet
session. Otherwise, probably the costliest
item is the red Lincoln Continental that
Elvis gifted to his backing singer JD Sumner
in 1974. In addition, there are many of
Elvis’ quirkier personal belongings. These
include his beloved police badges, his old
Box Brownie camera, a grandiose golden
telephone, cuffl inks
gifted by President
Nixon, a copy of the
book The Omen,
a bumper car from his
favourite fairground,
Libertyland, and a
wig worn in 1964 fi lm
Kissin’ Cousins. With
an estimated valued of
€1.5 million, Knudsen
concedes it’s hard to
work with insurers, as
the collection is “impossible to price, being
priceless”. Every artefact either belonged to
Elvis, was given to him, or made for him.
Knudsen still buys an Elvis artefact “on
average every month”, and can advise fans
on purchasing original pieces – sometimes
available from his own shop. Collector’s
vinyl is another treasure in this Aladdin’s
cave, with many specialist rare releases:from Elvis On Television 1956-1960 and
At The Hayride (Live 1954-56) on pink vinyl,
to Danish, Indian and Japanese pressings.
For the Memphis Mansion’s 10th
anniversary in April which, pandemic
permitting, will now take place in the
autumn, Knudsen has “extraordinary”
plans. Concerts pencilled in include James
Burton, Glenn D Hardin,
The Imperials and the
Holladay Sisters. Further
ahead, Knudsen dreams
of building a replica of
Sun Studio; not as
a shrine, he says, but
“a living creative space
for making music, from
rock’n’roll to rap –
with Elvis on the
wall, watching!”
Knudsen is most
proud, he concludes, of coming “from a
small town in Denmark, having succeeded
in putting out a statement to Elvis Presley.
It’s no longer just one crazy guy’s vision, but
40 people’s daily bread. Most important of
all, I am a fan like everyone else. Memphis
Mansion is by the fans for the fans.” 9
For further details, visit the website at:
memphismansion.dkAmong the personal artefacts are sunglasses, police
badges and cuffl inks given to Elvis by President Nixon
MA
RK^ DUFF
ETT“Memphis
Mansion is b y
t he fans for
t he fans”
MICHAEL^ OCHS^ ARCHIVES/GE
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