Giant Aluminum Rock 'n' Roller
Sheffield, Alabama
The purpose of building an attraction in a town is to get people to visit who otherwise wouldn't. In that respect, the 18-foot-tall rock 'n' roller in Sheffield is a success, because the town seems like a place where outsiders rarely enter. Driving down the bumpy streets of this hardscrabble city, you think your directions must be a mistake; the statue seems so out-of-character. But there it is, shiny and hard not to notice.
The statue was unveiled in late 2012 by local artist Audwin McGee. Although it looks a lot like a 1950s Elvis statue, complete with stage suit, big hair, and hand-cradled microphone, McGee wanted it to be generic. It commemorates the Muscle Shoals sound, named for a group of famous rock 'n' roll session musicians based in Sheffield's neighboring city, Muscle Shoals, which finally got its own, different, giant aluminum rock 'n' roller in late 2014. But shiny pseudo-Elvis still makes Sheffield a town to visit.