Sun Studio, Memphis

Often called "The Birthplace of Rock-‘n'-Roll," this small storefront recording studio launched the careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and other mid-century giants. If you've listened to music in the past, oh, six decades, chances are you've already been touched by the "Sun Sound." Excellent guided tours (many of the guides are local musicians) take you through the artifact-filled upstairs and into the actual studio. Here, you'll get the chance to pose, Elvis-style, with an old-fashioned microphone. On your way out, pick up a CD of the "Million Dollar Quarter"—a spur-of-the-moment Sun jam session between Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

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