The King's Ransom Museum is a small-ish affair tucked into a ballroom at the Imperial Palace. Intended to be a temporary exhibit (currently booked through summer of 2010), those looking for a slick interactive experience will need to travel to Memphis. Instead here what you get are snapshots from Elvis' life - birth records, childhood mementos, selections from his personal record collection, a few costumes, jewelry, guns (even the gold plated ones), a car, and lots and lots of photos.

Some come with back stories on display including, most touchingly, a necklace that was given to a little girl during a concert.

But if you're really looking for the behind-the-glass-case information, see if Jimmy Velvet is on hand.

Jimmy was a friend of Elvis Presley's and a musician in his own right. Most of the stuff in the exhibit belonged to him at one point but now he mainly acts as curator, caretaker, and raconteur. His knowledge of Elvis and especially of the artifacts on display is virtually encyclopedic, but more importantly it is infused with genuine affection.

I have to admit that while I understand the Elvis phenomenon it is not one that I have ever fully embraced, so my enjoyment of King's Ransom was probably not as enthusiastic as it could have been. But there is something undeniably "real" about what is going on here and I felt like I got closer to actually learning about the man here than I did when I visited Graceland.

A lot of that probably had to do with Jimmy Velvet, but even if he isn't around to tell his colorful stories the items on display do a pretty good job of telling their own.

I heard some people balking at the $10 admission cost for what is admittedly a small collection but apparently there are easily found 2 for 1 admissions in local magazines, papers, and Imperial Palace coupon books.

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