The Commercial Appeal

Who is on the mural with Elvis? Union Row project may keep artwork

- Desiree Stennett Memphis Commercial Appeal USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE

Amid the rubble where Vista Inn & Suites once stood across from Autozone Park in Downtown Memphis, a mural stands behind a chain-link fence like a brightly colored beacon on stilts.

It's the only thing between commuters using Union Avenue to get in and out of Downtown and a view of Fedexforum.

Later this year, constructi­on on the first phase of Union Row, a mixed-use project that will add apartments, two hotels, retail space, office space and at least one grocery store, is expected to begin on the land. The first phase is expected to cost about $750 million to build.

“We are thinking about saving it,” Union Row developer Kevin Adams said of the mural left behind on the project site.

While he added that the mural doesn't have a specific home in the new Union Row yet, it's not surprising that

he’s considerin­g keeping it. Adams said he hopes to incorporat­e many of the iconic features of the buildings that once stood where his project will rise.

In August, Lit Restaurant Supply owner Scott Blen said Adams also had plans to keep one of his signs in hopes of incorporat­ing it into the project.

So for Adams to stop short of demolishin­g the Vista Inn & Suites mural while he makes a choice on whether there is room for it in Union Row isn’t surprising.

Our staff at The Commercial Appeal just had one question: Who is that about to be memorializ­ed in the future of Downtown Memphis alongside Elvis?

Many, many guesses

Stare though the chain-link at the painted Elvis long enough and he starts to look a little like Bruno Mars. But with that hair and those side burns there’s no mistaking it’s the King.

The man on the other side of the painted Memphis skyline was more of a mystery.

The first guess came from Executive Editor Mark Russell. He regaled us with a story of the supposed symbolism behind the mural — it was supposed to represent the “two kings” of Memphis. His guesses were Elvis, the “King of Rock and Roll,” and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinat­ed about a mile away nearly 50 years before the mural was painted in 2017.

Personally, I couldn’t accept that the same artist who got Elvis’ hair so right could possibly get King’s hair so wrong. So we kept asking around to confirm the theory.

An early guess (mine) was B.B. King. He fit the “two kings” narrative, and it looked more like him than Martin Luther King Jr. to me.

Adams said he wasn’t sure who was in the mural, but he was going to figure that out before he decided what to do with it.

Jennifer Oswalt, CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission, didn’t know either. We didn’t tell her about the “two kings.” Uncoached, the best guess from her office was Willie Mitchell, trumpeter, bandleader, record producer and architect of Hi Records.

Bob Mehr, our music writer, couldn’t figure it out either, but he was the one who pointed out Elvis’ uncanny resemblanc­e to Bruno Mars in the painting.

From there, we abandoned the “two kings” idea and wondered who it might be if it didn’t have to fit that assumption.

For a few hours we considered that it might be the late O.C. Pleasant, a longtime Shelby County election commission­er. While we couldn’t explain why he would be depicted next to Elvis on a motel painting, there was no denying the resemblanc­e.

Pleasant was also one of the guesses that came up when Commercial Appeal entertainm­ent writer John Beifuss asked back in April before demolition started.

Other guesses included Al Green, Chuck Berry and George Jefferson, the fictional character played by actor Sherman Hemsley on “All in the Family” and the spinoff show “The Jeffersons.”

For a full day, we thought it might be Ike Turner — a guess that made sense to both former and current Shelby County historians Jimmy Ogle and Jimmy Rout, respective­ly.

While — to those not well versed in rock and roll history — the most memorable part of Ike Turner’s legacy is his relationsh­ip with Tina Turner, he also first recorded “Rocket 88” in Memphis. The record was widely recognized as the first rock and roll song. It would make sense for him to be painted alongside Elvis once you know that.

It seemed like a possibilit­y, but drowning in guesses over the span of two weeks, we needed to hear it from someone who was absolutely sure. (See also: the definition of journalism.)

That’s when we got Gopal Govan, the former owner of Vista Inn & Suites who sold the property to Adams last year for nearly $9 million, on the phone.

The man on the other side of the painted Memphis skyline was more of a mystery.

So, who’s that with Elvis?

Last week, Govan confirmed one of our earliest guesses: “It’s B.B. King — a younger B.B. King — and Elvis, the King,” he said. “We couldn’t do an exact replica because we didn’t want to be accused of copyright infringeme­nt.”

He also confirmed the story about the two kings.

“When we bought the hotel, the name of the hotel was Kings Court,” he said. “That’s why we put it up.”

They were meant to represent the “kings” of Kings Court. He said the music theme continued inside, where he used to have photos of other musicians and guitars on the walls as decor. Mystery solved.

Govan said he’s glad the mural he commission­ed might get to remain a part of the next phase for Downtown Memphis. After all, honoring the past was his goal, too.

 ?? ARIEL COBBERT/ THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL ?? A mural still stands at the Union Row project site in Downtown Memphis on Feb. 20.
ARIEL COBBERT/ THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL A mural still stands at the Union Row project site in Downtown Memphis on Feb. 20.
 ?? DAVE DARNELL/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL ?? Blues legend B.B. King performs at his club on Beale Street in 2004.
DAVE DARNELL/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Blues legend B.B. King performs at his club on Beale Street in 2004.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States