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Memphis, TN, USA - August 5, 2015: The redbrick and blue trim Memphis Music Hall of Fame museum building

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Memphis Music Hall of Fame

Memphis

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It was a long time coming, but Memphis finally has a shrine to its own. This small but well-done museum, the sister gallery to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, has some fascinating personal artifacts from its native musical sons, from Elvis Presley to Big Star to Justin Timberlake. It could better spotlight the contributions of the city's musical daughters, however.

Highlights include Elvis' 1968 briefcase phone, half of Jerry Lee Lewis' 1983 Cadillac El Ballero (the other half sits at Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe & Honky Tonk on Beale), Isaac Hayes' mah-jongg set, Timberlake's 20/20 Experience tour getup and, coolest of all, a ruined and rotted Stax Baby Grand piano from Jim Dickinson's Zebra Ranch, which sits encased in glass like a beautiful piece of devastating art.

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