Known fondly as the birthplace of Rock & Roll, Sun Studio opened its doors as Memphis Recording Service in 1950. It was Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88” Sun Records recording in 1951 that goes down in history as the first Rock & Roll single. A litany of legends came to Sun Studio to record and make music history—cats like Howlin’ Wolf, James Cotton, B.B. King and Johnny Cash. This is the place where Elvis recorded his first single “That’s All Right” in 1954. And Sun is

March 3 rd 1968 Martin Luther King delivered his last speech at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. 6:01 p.m., April 4 th 1968--Martin Luther King was assassinated at the Loraine Motel in Memphis. Twenty three years later, the National Civil Rights Museum was unveiled and it has continued unabated to showcase and teach the history and legacy of civil rights--from the arrival of the first slaves on the shores of America to lynchings, sit-ins, the Freedom Riders, Rosa Parks in Birmingham,

Tennessee Safari Park receives 200,000 visitors annually. It’s a family affair in more ways than one, as owner John Conley’s grandfather birthed the park in 1958. What started with a monkey ordered from Sears has grown to include a lexicon of wild, exotic animals from African warthogs to Giraffe, Bison, and White Bearded Wildebeests. Join John Conley as he shares his passion for the family run Safari Park, located on the Music Highway route between Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee .

Saint Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock , Arkansas raised the roof when their gospel choir recently performed at Little Rock's Wildwood Park . Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a visit with Darius Nelson, Pastor of Music and Arts, followed by 20 minutes of some powerfully awesome gospel singing. Saint Mark's choir has performed at the White House as well as around Arkansas. You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR Podcast travel show Journeys of Discovery with Tom

The Buffalo National River , situated in Northern Arkansas is free flowing for more than 135 miles. It’s one of North America’s last remaining undammed rivers. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer on the banks of the Buffalo River for a conversation with National Park Ranger, Joyce Umbach, and Ben Milburn the owner and operator of Buffalo River Outfitters .

When Terry MacRae was a student at Cal Poly State University back in the early 1970’s he had no clue that the University’s learn by doing model would lead him on a life journey where he would eventually become the CEO of Hornblower Cruises . Considered the greenest fleet in America, Hornblower employs wind and solar technology and operates the largest small passenger-vessel operation in the country. MacRae shares his passion for the untapped potential of waterborne ferry transportation as a

A journey of discovery at the brand new Elvis Presley’s Memphis Entertainment Complex and 400-room Guest House with Gary Hahn, Vice President of Marketing and Media for Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis, Tennessee .

Come along for a stop-off along the Music Highway in Brownsville , midway between Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee . We’ll visit with the town's first elected African-American Mayor, Bill Rawls. Sonia Outlaw-Clark Executive Director of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center takes us on a walking tour of the Tina Turner Museum, and adjacent, fabled bluesman, Sleepy John Estes’s cottage where he was rediscovered in the 1970s. You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR

As a young man, Dr. John Freeman spent 10 years as a medical missionary in Thailand. He even helped build a new Bridge over the River Kwai. Freeman subsequently settled in Alamo, Tennessee . In addition to working as an ER doc, he dedicated the next two decades relocating and reconstructing pioneer log cabins, an old church and more than 18 other historic structures--including a circa-1910 cotton gin and moonshiner’s shed--on his farm. Today 83 year-old Doc Freeman’s historic village, dubbed

If Hollywood icon, John Wayne were still alive he’d be 110 years old this month--but the revered yacht the Wild Goose a converted WWII minesweeper lives on, home ported in Newport Beach, California. Join Tom Wilmer for a journey of discovery aboard the yacht Wild Goose. In celebration of John Wayne’s birthday there’s an assortment of festivities and special cruises offered to the public. And there’s a greater good component, as many of the festivities are actually fundraisers for the John Wayne