Elvis' Gold Piano At The Country Music Hall Of Fame

by Matthew Schulze
(San Antonio, TX)

Hi! My name is Matthew. I am 17 and have been playing rock and roll and country music since I was a
toddler. I want to tell you about the day that I saw Elvis' Gold Piano at the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

My mom tells me that my favorite toys when i was little were toy guitars, drums and keyboards. I wrote my first song when I was four. It was called "I'm Standin' On My Bone" and I don't really remember it, but I sang it all the time around the house while I played one of my toy guitars. I was a big Elvis fan
back then, I guess because my parents loved Elvis and played his music.

When I turned 7, I got my first real guitar and started lessons. I taught myself to play drums and
keyboard also. When I started 6th grade, I started real drum lessons at school and five years ago,
I started real piano lessons. I say this because I love to sing and play Elvis songs. My mom has a
Liberace DVD showing highlights of Liberace's career. My favorite clip is one of Liberace with Elvis
Presley. They traded jackets and instruments. Elvis is playing the piano and Liberace is on the guitar.
It is so cool. I think it is from back in the 1950's. (My mom is also a big Liberace fan.)

In June, I got to visit Nashville for Camp Electric, a Christian music camp. We got to Nashville a
little early so that we could visit the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall Of Fame. My mom
arranged these visits since I am a fan of country music and I hope one day to play at the Grand
Ole Opry. We got to meet Eddie Stubbs, the Grand Ole Opry DJ at the Country Music Hall Of Fame and
that was quite a thrill in and of itself! He was in the lobby and we walked up to him and even got to
take a photo with him.

Once we got inside the exhibits, I had some exciting thrills seeing all of the instruments and other
things that belonged to great country music stars. The greatest thrill was seeing the actual gold
piano that belonged to The King, Elvis Presley! Yes, Elvis's gold piano!

I have been an Elvis fan nearly all of my life. I play the drums, guitar, and piano and I was so excited
to see and stand next to the piano that Elvis actually played. It is so beautiful. I wanted so badly to
play it. Maybe once I am a star, they will let me??? Anyway, I wish I could have met The King. He died in
1977 and I wasn't even born until 1991, but I felt pretty close to him the moment I was next to that
piano. My favorite Elvis song is "In The Ghetto" and it would have been a real thrill for me to be able
to play that on his piano.

Moving on, we got to see one of Elvis' cadillacs. Absolutely beautiful. I am just learning to drive and
I sure would love to drive that car.

I also got to see some of his gold records hanging on the wall at the Country Music Hall Of Fame, along
with so many others. I could have spent the whole day in the museum but we only had a few hours before
we had to check in at Camp Electric for the week.

I hope someday soon to go back to Tennessee and this time visit Memphis so I can go to Graceland and see
all of the magnificent treasures in Elvis' home.

Thank you for letting me share one of the greatest days of my life with you when I got to stand right next
to one of the most incredible pianos I have ever seen!
You can see more photos of this day at my site, www.guitar-beginner-center.com .