The house Elvis built turns 60: how much do you know about Graceland? – quiz

Elvis Presley at Graceland circa 1957. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

1. 

   When Spinal Tap visit Elvis Presley’s grave at Graceland in This Is Spinal Tap, they try to harmonise on a version of Heartbreak Hotel. In what style do they realise they are inadvertently singing?

   1. Barbershop raga

   2. Close harmony prog

   3. Metal yodelling

   4. Laurel Canyon doo wop

2. Which of the following has not been graffitoed on the walls around Graceland?

   1. Elvis, I’m bearing your ghost child, and I’m confused because I’m a man!

   2. Please show Jackie O a good time.

   3. Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me.

   4. Thanks for carpeting the ceilings of our hearts.

3. The reference to “carpeting the ceiling of our hearts” is based on which room in Graceland?

   1. The bathroom in which Elvis died

   2. The dining room

   3. The pool room

   4. The jungle room

4. 

   In the title track of his Graceland album, with whom does Paul Simon visit the Memphis mansion?

   1. Art Garfunkel

   2. The daughter of his best friend

   3. The child of his first marriage

   4. The dude from the label

5. Elvis bought Graceland on 19 March 1957. How much did he pay for it?

   1. $37,750

   2. $51,500

   3. $85,100

   4. $102,500

6. 

   Which foreign premier, a devoted Elvis fan, was given a tour of the mansion by President George Bush in 2006?

   1. Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan

   2. Prime minister Tony Blair of the UK

   3. President Vladimir Putin of Russia

   4. President Vicente Fox of Mexico

7. In the song Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn (and, in her version, Cher) follows Elvis from which street to the gates of Graceland?

   1. Beale Street

   2. Elvis Presley Boulevard

   3. Highway 61

   4. Union Avenue

8. 

   Which person listed below has never visited Graceland, according to those who run the place?

   1. Len Goodman of Strictly Come Dancing fame

   2. Nigella Lawson of cooking fame

   3. Ian McEwan of novel-writing fame

   4. Princes William and Harry of royal fame

9. In their song RICO, what do Meek Mill and Drake decide they should probably do?

   1. Tear down Graceland

   2. Move in to Graceland

   3. Eat cheeseburgers in Graceland

   4. Tag the walls of Graceland

10. 

    What did Paul McCartney leave on Elvis’s grave when he visited Graceland in 2013?

    1. A guitar pick

    2. A fried peanut butter and banana sandwich

    3. A copy of We All Stand Together, by Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus

    4. A photo of the Beatles meeting Elvis, on 27 August 1965

Solutions

1:A - Their visit, they decide, offers “too much fucking perspective”, 2:C - Public Enemy said that. All the others are noted in the book Sound, Society and the Geography of Popular Music., 3:D - The ceiling of the jungle room – named for its decor – is covered with green carpet., 4:C - The child was Harper Simon, who has made excellent records in his own right., 5:D, 6:A - He shares Elvis’s birthday, 8 January, 7:D - It would be a long walk. Union Avenue is nowhere near Graceland., 8:C - The Graceland website lists its celebrity visitors, in unnerving detail., 9:B - The track was recorded before the two rappers decided they couldn’t stand each other., 10:A - It was “so Elvis can play in heaven”.

Scores