Elvis Exhibit Now Open at Musical Instrument Museum

Arizonans who have seen Elvis Presley in movies, TV shows and photographs can get an up-close look at items the King used in concert, wore onstage and kept at his Graceland mansion in a new exhibit at the Musical Instrument Museum. 

'ELVIS PRESLEY: THREE DECADES OF THE KING' is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays at the Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.  Admission is free with regular museum admission, $10-$15. Age 5 and younger admitted free.

Items on display as part of "Three Decades of the King" include:

Martin D-28 guitar - The tan six-string that was restored by Peters is one of several acoustic guitars used through the decades by Presley, who died Aug. 16, 1977, at his Memphis, Tenn., mansion. It came to MIM with a broken neck and a crack in the body. Presley used it in his last concert, in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977.

Jumpsuit - The so-called Red Ladder Suit was worn by Presley in Las Vegas during his summer 1970 engagement. Presley played scores of extended engagements in Vegas during his career, which launched in the mid-'50s.

Army jacket: Worn by Presley during his years of service in the Army from 1958 to 1960. Much of that time was spent stationed at a U.S. base in West Germany.

Bongos - Peters also restored a pair of bongos that were a Christmas gift to Presley from his future wife, Priscilla, shortly after the two had met in Europe. The smaller of the two drum heads on the bongos had a tear that needed repairing.

Double-necked Gibson guitar - This burgundy electric guitar is similar to the model used by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in the '70s. The two-neck configuration allows the player to switch between six- and 12-string setups. The Gibson was used in the 1966 movie "Spinout."

Microphone - A gold microphone used onstage by Presley. Much of his career was in an era before the wireless microphones now in wide use.

For further information, please call: 480-478-6001 or visit: themim.org.

 

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