Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 93

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endary Sun Records label and the King of Rock ’n’ Roll,
who died much too young in 1977 at the age of 42.
Today his grave on the Graceland estate has become a
place of pilgrimage for rock ’n’ roll fans from around
the world.
Onward to the Lone Star State: Texas. I turn onto the
legendary Route 66 and then follow the tracks of rock ’n’
roll to Colorado. The air has gotten gradually thinner and
the soothing flow of oxygen has been compromised so
it’s time to park. I am in Denver to ponder on the geo-
logical wonder that is Red Rocks, a natural amphitheater
forever chiseled in the rock of the mighty mountains.
The careers of some of the most successful rock bands of
our time took shape on this sacred ground. Hardly any
other place in the world can provide such an imposing
backdrop to stage performances that guarantee a lasting
impression as Red Rocks.
Now headed north, somewhere between the Grand Canyon
and Monument Valley I feel myself becoming grouchy
so I pull into The Mexican Hat Lodge, a bar and one-time
dance hall where the kind of country music that made,
well, this country great, first emanated.
has always been one of the best rock venues in the world,”
says James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, who played one
of their first concerts here some 20 years ago. “It has
great sound, a great room, and a history of booking clas-
sic and of-the-moment bands.”
It’s time to head south – like all white kids with indie
record collections do when they need a little soul-ifying.
You will find it here in the Mississippi Delta – the blues.
A Blues Trail has just been developed to honor the great
musicians born and bred in Mississippi. The trail winds
its way through the homes and birthplaces of the most
famous singers, blues bars of all sizes, museums and
even cemeteries. Throughout the state, commemorative
plaques mark the individual stations. One day, there
should be over 120 plaques.
People also come to pay homage to their own ancestors
in the southwestern Tennessee metropolis of Memphis.
A center of the slave trade and hard-fought key city in
the American Civil War, Memphis was Afro-American from
early on and so was exposed to the influences of black
music. In the 1960s, Memphis rose to the status of
music capital of the United States – as home to the leg-