Gibson Guitar showcase, Memphis © Barry M Winiker, Nashville CVB
This relatively small landlocked state is bounded on the west by
the Mississippi River and on the east by the Appalachian Mountains,
and bordered in total by eight other states. It may have been the
combined cultural and historical mix infused from its many southern
neighbours that assisted Tennessee in becoming the central melting
pot of musical styles, eventually coalescing into modern country,
blues and rock 'n roll music, for which the state is now
world-renowned.
Since the mid-1950s, Tennessee's main tourist attraction has
been the legendary King of Rock 'n Roll, Elvis Presley: he may have
died close on 30 years ago, but his soul goes marching on, drawing
thousands of fans to his former home in Memphis, the state's
largest city.
The State capital, Nashville, has a musical heritage
second-to-none as well, being home to the Grand Ole Opry, the
worldwide Mecca of country music.
Outside the main cities, long and lean Tennessee, which is only
480 miles (772km) long and 115 miles (185km) wide in total, offers
a surprising number of wilderness areas and natural attractions,
where the only music is the bubbling of mountain streams or the
call of birdsong. In the eastern part of the state, a series of
beautiful ridges and valleys rise up to the highest point of
Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which
Tennessee shares with North Carolina. The state is blessed
throughout with a vast system of reservoirs, which offer 29
appealing lakes, filled with fish and offering water sports
opportunities.
The state also boasts some historic heritage trails, the main
one being the scenic 'Trail of Tears', starting just east of
Chattanooga in the south and stretching for 260 miles (418km)
through Tennessee before heading into Kentucky. Along this route
13,000 displaced Cherokee Indians were marched to Oklahoma.
Tennessee, which was the centre of the western theatre of the Civil
War and witnessed more battles than any other state except
Virginia, also preserves and maintains numerous war sites, like
Shiloh and Lookout Mountain.
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