In 1956, Elvis Presley returned to his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, wearing a navy blue shirt his mother made for him. He sang to an appreciative crowd at the Tupelo Fairgrounds, and the mayor gave him the key to the city.
While he was in town, Presley discovered that his birthplace and surrounding acreage were for sale. He gave Tupelo enough money to purchase the property. The next year, when he returned for another concert, he gave the town money to build a youth center on the property.
“This was a 21-year-old rock star, and it says a lot about him,” said Roy Turner, executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace & Museum.
The birthplace and museum, along with 13 other sites dedicated to Presley, consistently draw tourists to the northeast Mississippi town in search of “The King.”
“About 60,000 to 80,000 visitors tour the home every year,” said Roy Turner, who’s been an Elvis historian since 1981. “His music touched people worldwide. It’s the quintessential American dream story, to be so poor and to go so far. Elvis touched so many lives.”
Presley was born in Tupelo, grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood, attended two schools and purchased his first guitar at Tupelo Hardware on his 11th birthday. He enjoyed watching Westerns at the Lyric Theatre, visiting with his friend Sam Bell, who was forced to sit in the “colored section.”
Elvis spent many evenings at the Bell house, always showing respect to his friend’s grandparents.
“They thought the world of little Elvis because he said, ‘Yes ma’am’ and ‘No sir,’” Turner said. “That tells me that Gladys did a good job teaching Elvis to respect people.”
The Presley home is decorated with period furnishings in Tupelo.
Tours and a festival
Visitors to Tupelo can visit 14 sites connected to Presley, either by the Elvis Tupelo Driving Tour or the Self-Guided Bicycle Tour. Attractions include the Lyric Theatre, where it’s rumored that Presley received his first kiss; Johnnie’s Drive-in, the oldest restaurant in Tupelo; and the Lee County Courthouse, where Presley appeared on the WELO radio show “Saturday Jamboree.”
At Presley’s birthplace, visitors will find an informative museum, a chapel, his childhood church with an interactive film that explains Presley’s early musical influences, and the Presley home, decorated with period furnishings. An interior door was created by Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father.
Elvis Presley purchased his first guitar at Tupelo Hardware on his 11th birthday.
“About 60,000 to 80,000 visitors tour the home every year,” said Turner, who’s been an Elvis historian since 1981. “His music touched people worldwide. It’s the quintessential American dream story, to be so poor and to go so far. Elvis touched so many lives.”
Tupelo hosts the annual Elvis Festival, where tribute artists vie for a regional title that will take them to the national competition in Memphis. The upcoming June 7-13, 2023, festival will be the event’s 25th anniversary and the largest to date, said Jennie Bradford Curlee, public relations manager at Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Elvis’ Memphis
Vernon Presley, in search of better employment, moved his family from Tupelo to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948. The family moved into the Lauderdale Courts Public Housing Project and lived there until 1953.
A teenage Presley entered Sun Studios one day, paying Sam Phillips $4 to record a song. Phillips asked him who he sounded like and Presley replied, “I don’t sound like nobody.”
“There was a great exodus out of the South at that time,” said Turner, adding that many Mississippians looking for better jobs went to industrial cities such as Detroit. “A lot of people that didn’t want to venture too far from home went to Memphis.”
Elvis Presley had heard the blues and soul sounds growing up in Tupelo, but his repertoire expanded along Memphis’ Beale Street, where musicians moving up from the Deep South played at blues clubs and lounges.
Because of the new sound emerging from Beale Street, record studios popped up across town. One was Sun Studios, owned by Sam Phillips. In 1951, Phillips recorded “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, which included Ike Turner, reportedly the first rock ’n’ roll song ever recorded.
A teenage Presley entered Sun Studios one day, paying Phillips $4 to record a song. Phillips asked him who he sounded like and Presley replied, “I don’t sound like nobody.”
The rest is history
The studio executive wasn’t impressed, but when Presley fooled around with “That’s All Right,” Phillips recorded the tune. The song went out on the radio and became an instant hit. The rest, of course, is history.
Visitors may tour Sun Studios and stand in the room where Presley recorded several songs in his early years.
Graceland and the surrounding 14 acres contain the Hall of Gold featuring Presley’s gold records and awards, the Sincerely Elvis Museum, Presley’s vintage auto collection, the plane he used while touring, and more, all explaining the Presley legacy.
Of course, no visit to Memphis is complete without a trip to Graceland, the elaborate mansion Presley built after becoming world famous.
The home and surrounding 14 acres contain the Hall of Gold featuring Presley’s gold records and awards, the Sincerely Elvis Museum, Presley’s vintage auto collection, the plane he used while touring, and more, all explaining the Presley legacy.
An ideal way to travel in Presley’s footsteps is by downloading the “Follow Elvis” app, which highlights places Presley worked, visited and dined in Memphis. The definitive guide includes articles on Presley, hours of film and audio, tourist destinations — even a quiz. The app is available from Apple and Google Play.
