Down at the end of lonely street, rush hour begins early and preparations are under way to handle the traffic. Gardeners spruce up the lavish Christmas decorations, guards sip coffee, and guides tug at their jackets as the first visitors ascend the curving drive. Ready, Teddy -- it's show time at Graceland, and Elvis Presley, who knew how to stage a stunner, would have loved every lucrative, down-home, star-spangled minute of it.
A decade ago, it was easy to name America's best-known historic homes. They were Monticello and Mount Vernon. But since it opened to the public in 1982, Elvis' place...