On the morning of Day 12 we left St Louis and continued south along the Great River Road towards Memphis. We drove through parts of Missouri and Arkansas before entering Memphis by crossing the Mississippi River over the Hernando de Soto Bridge. The first part of the drive (in Missouri) took us through some very scenic back roads. In Arkansas we stopped at the boyhood home of Johnny Cash, located on an isolated gravel road surrounded by nothing but farmlands. After checking into our hotel in Memphis, we went to have an authentic barbecue dinner at a place called BBQ Central, one of the more famous rib joints in a city known for its barbecue. The restaurant was located near a beautiful upscale neighborhood called Central Gardens, which was lined with large, expensive-looking homes. The following morning (Day 13) we visited the historic Sun Studio for a 45-minute tour. Sun Studio is a recording studio opened in 1950 by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips. His label, Sun Records (which he founded in 1952), originally focused on African-American rhythm and blues artists because Sam Phillips loved the music and wanted to bring the sound to a wider white audience. In 1951, Phillips produced what is considered the first rock-and-roll song ever recorded, "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm band). Many notable rhythm and blues artists in the early 1950s recorded songs at Sun Studios. Phillip's Sun Records would also go on to discover and record such influential musicians such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. Elvis' first recording, a private song dedicated to his mother, was made at this iconic studio. The tour of Sun Studios (which is still an active recording studio) was a lot of fun. Our guide walked us through the studio while giving us an entertaining and enlightening history of America's music during the 1950s and the important role Sun Studio played in bringing this music to the masses. Throughout the tour he would play over a sound system some of the historic tunes that made these artists famous. If visiting Memphis, put this place on your must-do list, I highly recommend it. From here we headed over to Graceland Mansion to tour the home of Elvis Presley. The photos for Graceland I will put up on the following webpage. After touring Elvis' former home we continued south along the Great River Road towards our next destination, Natchez, Mississippi.