Tupelo, Mississippi is located in the northeast part of
the state in Lee County. It is about midway between Memphis, TN
and Birmingham, AL. It is renown to most fans for being the
birthplace and childhood home of Elvis. The fairgrounds in Tupelo
were located on the Eastern outskirts of the city not far from the
hardware store where Elvis got his first guitar. The first fair
was held there in 1909.1
The Mississippi-Alabama Fair viewed from the midway
looking north - ca. late 1920s
Photo courtesy Tupelo (Images of America)
Running for several days each fall it was originally
called the Lee County Fair but later became the
Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. No fair was held during
the first three years of the Depression but it resumed in 1933 and
continued each year after.1
This view looking west on Main Street shows a fair parade
on October 5, 1934, the original Tupelo Hardware visible on the right
Photo courtesy Tupelo (Images of America)
The fair was always a popular event with evenings and
weekends filled with rides, displays, events and entertainment. The
opening was always celebrated with a parade through the city.1
Graham Dawson and Charlie Boren of WELO, Elvis on far
right at the Fair and Dairy Show in Tupelo - Oct. 3, 1945
Photo courtesy
Lee County Courier
In 1945, at the age of ten, Elvis was encouraged by his fifth garde
teacher, Oleta Grimes, to participate in a
talent contest at the fair sponsored by Station WELO. He sang "Ol'
Shep" and won 5th place. The following year he got his first
guitar and by the end of 1948 his family moved to Memphis.
Downtown Tupelo looking East up Main St. with Fairgrounds
and Grandstands in distance.
Photo courtesy
Ronnie Harris
The Fairpark Portal on East Main St. at the intersection
of Commerce
Photo courtesy Elvis Album
Ad for August 1, 1955 show at the fairgrounds
courtesy Roy Turner
Though the 1956 performance at the fair was heralded as
Elvis' "homecoming," he, Scotty and Bill actually performed at the
fairgrounds first on August 1st in 1955. It was the first stop on
a short tour billed as Bob Neal's "eighth anniversary tour." Lee Cotten
wrote, Webb Pierce headlined the jamboree when Elvis returned to play
his hometown of Tupelo for the first time since he began his recording
career. Also on the bill for this 8:00 p.m. show were Red Sovine,
Wanda Jackson, Bud Deckelman, the Miller Sisters, Gene Simmons, Bob
Ritter, the Dixie Playboys
and Bill Perkins. Bob Neal was the show's emcee and promoter.
This short tour also included Sun artist Charlie Feathers and his band
from Memphis, featuring Stan Kesler on steel guitar and Marcus Van Story
on bass. Tickets for the hometown folks were $1.00 for adults and half
that for children. Reserved seating cost a quarter more. Attendance was
estimated at 3,000.2The tour completed on the 5th in Memphis
at the Overton Park Shell.
Poster for Elvis at the Mississippi-Alabamba Fair and
Dairy Show
However, Elvis' rise to fame in 1956 gave cause for Tupelo to pull all
the stops and they heralded his return that September as a featured act
at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show.
'Presley
Homecoming' Theme Of Parade On Children's Day
Theme of the annual Children's Day parade Sept. 26 at the
Mississippi - Alabama Fair will be "Elvis Presley's Homecoming," it was announced Friday by David Baker, parade
chairman.
Floats to be entered in the parade will use titles of Presley's songs as
their themes.
All Lee County schools are invited to enter floats in the parade.
Prizes-for the floats will be $100 for first place; $75 for second; $50
for third; and $35 for fourth. All other floats will receive $25 each.
It was decided to make the theme that of Elvis Presley since the
Tupelo-born singer will be the guest of the city the day of the parade
and will present two performances at the fairgrounds, Mr. Baker
said.
Mr. Baker said he hoped the bands entered in the parade would play some
of Presley’s famous songs as part of their music for the parade.
An effort had been made to have Presley ride in the parade:
But EIvis' manager replied that it would be too dangerous for the singer
to ride down Main St. with thousands of people on either side. Elvis has
been mobbed by teenagers on several occasions and his manager felt that
putting him in the middle of a parade would be inviting trouble.
The Tupelo Journal - September, 1956
courtesy Roy Turner
Come TO THE FAIR - This is a bird's eye view of the Mississippi-Alabama
Dairy Show as it was readied Monday for the grand opening. A bigger
attendance is expected than ever before in the 49-year history of the
fair. The fairgrounds officially opens at 7 a.m. today. - staff photo by
Arnold Collins
Gates Open for Fair's 49th Show
Grand Ole Opry appears tonight
Competition Keen For Top Booth Prizes
Native Son Elvis Presley Shows Wednesday
The gates open this morning for the 49th showing of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. When they close about midnight Saturday,
thousands will have seen what is generally regarded as the top exposition in the long history of the event.
Today's highlights will be judging of the community booths, the flower show and the homemaking and crops exhibits. Tonight, the Grand Ole Opry troupe in front of the grandstands and the presentation of a Dodge automobile will be the top events.
The Olson Shows, presenting the midway attractions this year, will open this afternoon and will be in full swing tonight.
Twenty Journal Area communities have constructed eye catching booths to
compete for the several hundred dollars in prizes.
A shift in the livestock show schedules leaves today without the traditional opening day swine shows. The swine events will be held Wednesday, as will the State Junior Dairy Show and the poultry shows.
But all the livestock barns will be open to the public today. Visitors will tour five barns chock full of beef cattle,
dairy animals and swine. Two of the barns are brand new, in use for the first time.
Particularly attractive is the well - lighted new swine barn at the east end of "livestock row."
Admission prices to the fairgrounds remain unchanged from previous years.
Prices are 25 cents for children under 12 and 50 cents for adults.
General Manager James M. Savery reminded fairgoers that tickets to all grandstand shows with the exception of the two
Elvis Presley performances are 75 cents for everyone.
This year the grandstands ticket office will open each afternoon at 1:30 for advance sale of tickets. This is being done in
an effort to avoid long lines at the ticket windows each night, Mr. Savery said.
Mr. Savery said there were still plenty of tickets left for the Elvis Presley shows. Advance sale of tickets for his two performances 8 a.m.
Wednesday.
the annual Children's Day parade on Main street in Tupelo
- Sept. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Tupelo (Images of America)
The Welcome Mat Is Out For Presley Homecoming
The city of Tupelo will throw out a welcome mat seldom seen here Wednesday, when Elvis Presley comes home for two fairground performances.
Sky High street banners and all the other trappings of a royal welcome await
the boy who once wore overalls and strummed a guitar on the school steps here.
Elvis will be well-covered in more ways than one. Local telephone operators have been swamped with calls from all over the nation" calls to fair president J. M. Savery, the Tupelo Journal, and
others, asking information about Elvis; Tupelo appearances.
Mr. Savery said news and magazine reporters "from all over" will be on hand to occupy a special news press section in
front of the grandstand stage Wednesday.
TV News and Fox Movietone plan to send cameramen to record Elvis' homecoming
for nationwide distribution, Mr. Savery said. The fair association has received calls from New York, Hollywood and other news distribution points.
Calls have come in to the Tupelo Journal office from Los Angeles and from the London Sunday Express, making arrangements for coverage of Presley's appearances.
Units of the National Guard, city police and state highway patrol will form a cordon around
Elvis during his performances, and furnish an escort through the city when he arrives shortly before his 2:30 p.m. appearance.
Mr. Savery said Presley's hideout between his afternoon and evening performances remains a secret "for his protection."
Elvis will drive from Memphis with his parents, but which of his five cars he will use also remains secret.
Newsmen realizing their front row seats put them squarely in the path of any potential stampeded, were considering erecting signs reading 'Don't Be Cruel', it was rumored Monday.
But which direction the signs will point, audience - ward, or Elvis-ward, also was among the ranks of the secret.
the annual Children's Day parade on Main street in Tupelo
- Sept. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/vincent67
Elvis Traffic Brings Ban On Main Parking
Parking along the downtown area of Main Street will be prohibited from 6 a.m. to midnight
Wednesday, Police chief Robert M. Monaghan said Monday. The one-day restriction will extend from Church Street to Front Street.
Vehicles parked in violation of traffic rules will be towed away at the owners expense. This will apply to all cases of improper parking during the day, Chief Monaghan added.
The measures are being taken as an aid to controlling what is expected to be the heaviest flow of traffic through Tupelo in the city's history.
any Wednesday promised to be the most hectic of the five day Mississippi -
Alabama Fair with an enormous parade scheduled for the morning and the signal attraction of
Elvis Presley punctuating the afternoon and evening activities.
"We think there will be people here who would never have heard of Tupelo but for Elvis Presley," said the chief. "They'll be coming from all over to get a look at him in his own home town, and with all the people and traffic we're
going to have a hard time enforcing the law."
Chief Monaghan said that from 5 to 30 highway patrolmen will be assigned to Tupelo during the week to complement the city force. "We've cancelled all days off so every city patrolman will be available," he added.
Mayor James Ballard announce that extra police would be on duty to augment Tupelo's full-time force. Special attention will be paid to policing the downtown areas, especially the alleys.
the mayor also said that the fairgrounds would be checked very closely. Spot checks will be made of sideshows and shows considered indecent will be closed down, the mayor warned.
Chief Monaghan called for public cooperation in handling the traffic problems and asked local residents to keep their automobiles at home unless it was
necessary to drive downtown. "If we have a congestion," said Chief Monaghan, "it will be the biggest one we've ever had."
The police chief also warned the public to take precautions against a possible influx of pickpockets and petty
thieves. "Don't carry valuables with you and don't leave packages in your cars, " he said. He also advised against the parking of cars in remote places.
The Tupelo Journal - September 25, 1956
courtesy Roy Turner
For the 1956 fair a new stage was built in addition to new
cattle and swine barns. Though Elvis was the big attraction, the
1956 fair was the first time name, or semi-name acts were offered each
day in front of the Grandstands. The previous fairs all featured the
same act daily.
Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours, the Wilburn Brothers, Hank Locklin and Bobby Helms were
featured on the opening day, The Blackwood Brothers and
the Statesmen on Thursday. Wally Fowler and his Chuck
Wagon Gang, the Bond Sisters, Oak Ridge Quartet and Sister Kate Freeman
were featured on Friday and lastly Carl Perkins, Johnny Mack Brown, Smiley Burnette, Warren Smith and Eddy Bond and the Stompers.
The grandstand attractions alone cost them $22,000.3
Hugh Jarrett of the Jordanaires and Nick Adams onstage in
Tupelo, Nick interviewed by
Charlie Watts in the evening - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown, WTUP:Charlie Watts audio courtesy youtube**
Tickets for the Grandstand attractions sold for 75 cents
though for Elvis' appearances they increased to $1.50.3
The acts that preceded Elvis were backed by Poppa John
Gordy's band. Gordy, was a big band and Dixieland jazz band leader
originally from Arkansas. A piano player, he had recorded with RCA since
1954, recording with, among others,
Anita Carter and Bob Moore in Nashville. Nick Adams, who accompanied
Elvis to the fair also entertained onstage with comedic impersonations while Elvis was interviewed
by the multitude of press backstage.
Hugh Jarrett and Nick Adams onstage with Poppa John Gordy's band - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/E-Cat
Nick would write in The
Rebel
and The King, When Elvis came up on that stage I thought someone
had just dropped an Atomic Bomb. They cheered so loud I thought I was
going to lose an eardrum. Someone told me the population of Tupelo was
12,000. Well there were close to 50,000 people at Elvis’ Homecoming.
Elvis told everyone what a great thrill this was for so many reasons.
One of them was because he used to sneak into this very same fair when
he was younger because he didn’t have any money to buy a ticket. Elvis
said, “Last time I was here, I didn’t even have a nickel." 4
Hugh Jarrett of the Jordanaires and Nick Adams onstage in
Tupelo with Poppa John Gordy's band - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Among the many members of the press and photographers covering the show
that day were Eldred Reaney and
John Seigenthaler of the
Tennessean,
Edith Haynie of the Tupelo Journal,
Bob
(Vance) Moulder of the Birmingham News,
George Pierce and William B. Williams for the Memphis Press Scimitar,
James Kingsley of the Commercial Appeal, Tupelo photographer (James)
Terry Wood, and
Roger
Marshutz, at the time a Hollywood photographer on assignment for
Photoplay Magazine. Several of the reviews in the press, or parts
thereof, are included as follows:
Tupelo Pays Noisy Tribute to Him:
Girls Battle Police, Guardsmen
By William B. Williams,Press
Scimitar Staff Writer
TUPELO, Miss. - Elvis Presley returned to his birthplace of Tupelo
yesterday, and in seven hours there had the town rockin' and rollin'
Screaming teen-agers overcame 100 police and national guardsmen during
his second of two performances at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy
Show.
"I can't sing with this going on," Elvis walled into his microphone
while the stage swarmed with youngsters making lunges for his clothing.
He halted his singing, and begged the besieging fans to return to their
seats. They obeyed, and the show resumed.
Elvis with his parents in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/Riley
Elvis Surprised
Even Elvis was surprised at the fair's turnout, estimated at up to
50,000. "I didn’t expect coming home to be such a big deal. Why, people
were lined up on the highways when I came into town."
But tho the crowds of adoring teen-agers, which required the protection
of over 100 state and city police, didn’t give Elvis any freedom to look
around his hometown, he managed to see a few old friends.
W. M. (Bill) Angle took time off from parking cars to come over and
shake Elvis' hand and hear the 21-year-old singer recall, "You've been
here a long
time, haven't you?" Another old friend, Clyde McStair, pointed out,
"Elvis used to be one of 'my boys'."
Elvis with his parents in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/jinjoe
Elvis with his parents in
Tupelo, MS, and his parents interviewed by Charlie Watts in the evening - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/jinjoe, WTUP:Charlie Watts audio courtesy
youtube**
Recalls Childhood
Chatting with reporters in a tent behind the outdoor stage at the fair
while other performers entertained the impatient crowd, Elvis recalled
his childhood days in Tupelo.
"Why, I used to sneak into this fair," he said. "I got carried out once
or twice, too." Then thinking of the crowds which had pressed against
his white Continental when he entered the Fairgrounds, he added, "Hope I
get
escorted out today, too. Last time I was here, I didn't have a nickel to
get in."
The big moment came when Elvis stepped on stage for his ? numbers.
A group of several hundred, consisting mostly of ‘teen-age `girls,
crowded toward the stage to get nearer the idol.
Elvis with his parents and key to the city backstage at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Button Torn Off
Elvis accommodated them, getting as near the outstretched arms as he
dared, singing directly to the screaming worshippers.
At one point in the afternoon show he got too close, had a button torn
from his bright blue velvet blouse.
As usual at Presley performances, the crowd grew frantic when Elvis went
into his wiggling dance. A number of teen-agers wept freely.
During "Don’t Be Cruel," blond, 14-year-old Judy Hopper
from Alamo, Tenn., leaped to the stage and ran toward Elvis.
Police pulled her away and held her while she continued to struggle to
reach the singer. After that, six policemen stayed on the stage near
Elvis.
Pandemonium at the first performance reached its height during the last
song, "Houn' Dog," about which Elvis cracked, "It's a beautiful song.
Has great lyrics—four lines."
Elvis with his parents backstage at the fairgrounds in
Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy FECC/riley
Key to City
Between numbers, Tupelo‘s mayor James L. Ballard gave Elvis a key to the
city: a metal framework in the shape of a guitar, with the initials "EP"
and the words, "Welcome Home, Tupelo, Miss."
Gov. J. P. Coleman presented Elvis a certificate calling him America’s
No. 1 entertainer in the field of popular music."
Several hundred fans were waiting at noon in the stadium, two and a half
hours before Presley arrived and the show began.
Elvis with Sara Ann Patterson - Sep. 26, 1956
In 1956, Sara Ann Patterson was
working For James Kingsley, the Tupelo photographer and correspondent for the
Commercial Appeal at the time when she heard Elvis was coming to
the Fair & Dairy Show. She badgered James all summer to get
her backstage to meet Elvis which he did to assist with his camera.
Photos from fan magazine courtesy Ger Rijff,
quote courtesy Anthony Stuchbury
Elvis with Sara Ann Patterson - Sep. 26, 1956
Going in, Sara was given a hat to
put on Elvis. When she did, Elvis reached down and kissed her
as the camera clicked. My picture came out in a movie magazine the
next month and I received letters from all over asking what was it
like to kiss Elvis. She had a steno pad with her which Elvis
signed. The following year she went backstage and met him
again.
Photo courtesy FECC/javierTCB,
quote courtesy Anthony Stuchbury
'Just a Quiet Boy'
Elvis was born in East Tupelo, a tiny settlement not a
mile from the fair where he received a hero’s welcome yesterday. A
classmate at Lawhon High School remembers him as "just a quiet boy."
Elvis moved to Memphis with his parents when he was 13.
"I love it here," Elvis told reporters before his afternoon
show. "I’ll come back as often as I can." He later added "I like
California, too. I'd like to live there."
He arrived in Memphis from Hollywood Saturday for the Tupelo appearances
and several days' rest in Memphis. He has been working on his first
movie, "Love Me Tender," which Elvis said will probably premier in
Memphis in November.
"I don't ever want to see the picture when it's released," he said. "Oh,
maybe in a year when all the talk is down."
Elvis, Bitsy Mott and Tom Diskin before showtime in Tupelo - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo source FECC/bluejeans1944
Elvis on Marriage
Tho Elvis has refused to confirm any matrimonial intentions, he
indicated to reporters that marriage is not entirely out of the
question, "Even after I get married, I'll have to keep working. You
can’t starve to death
just because you're married," he said, His "Memphis girl," pretty
Barbara Hearn, went with him to Tupelo.
Included in the flock of newsmen and photographers around Elvis was
Peter Dacre of the London Sunday Express, who came to America to
interview
Presley. He got his interview, and Elvis told him, "I’d like to go to
England—if I could go on a ship. If something were to go wrong on a
plane, there’s no land under you. That's a long swim."
Memphis Press-Scimitar - September 27,
1956 courtesy Brian Petersen
Tupelo Mayor James Ballard onstage with Elvis being
photographed by Nick Adams
Photo courtesy
Allyson Adams
Elvis and Scotty onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS
- Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Tupelo Rocks As Presley Gyrates In His Home Town
(pictures on Page 37)
By JAMES KINGSLEY
From The Commercial Appeal, Tupelo. Miss., Bureau
Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 26,-- Tupelo rocked and rolled and strained at the seams Wednesday as Elvis Presley, a Tupelo boy who made good, came back home.
For 35 hysterical minutes, Elvis treated. a paying audience of about 7,500 to fancy singing and
gyrations as a crowd of almost equal proportions peeped through fences surrounding the
grandstand area.
The 12,000-capacity Fairgrounds grandstand was sold out for the night performance.
Scotty and Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS
- Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo courtesy
Goldmine
Torn From Her Idol
Despite efforts of 50 National Guardsmen and about 25 highway patrolmen Elvis' fans put on a show which equaled their hero’s performance.
One blond teenager broke through- a ring of patrolmen guarding the platform where Presley was performing.
As he sang, "Don't Be Cruel," she screamed: "I love him, I need him."
Removed from the platform by a patrolman, she continued to cry and plead to be allowed to return to her idol.
Reporters and photographers had to scramble to safety on the stage when one wave of teenagers pushed through the patrolmen and started scaling the
platform.
Elvis managed to escape with only a few lost buttons. One teenage girl, when he snake-hipped too close to the edge of the stage, snatched the buttons
off his blue velvet shirt.
After he wound up the show in a storm of applause and cheers with his "Hound Dog" hit, Elvis was whisked off to a local motel by highway patrolmen who hoped to keep him out
of sight, "
He picked up $5,000 plus a 60 per cent guarantee of the gate for the two performances.
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo by Eldred Reaney, The Tennessean
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo courtesy Elvis Presley Unseen Archives
Solid-White Lincoln
He arrived in a solid-white Lincoln with parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Presley, from their home in Memphis. They moved to Memphis from their
unpretentious frame house in East Tupelo when Elvis finished the eighth grade.
James M. Savery, president and manager of the sponsoring Mississippi—Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, estimated 60,000 persons were in town Wednesday afternoon. The crowd increased Wednesday night.
Presley came here from Hollywood-where he is making a picture. He received a goldplated key to the city, shaped in the form of a guitar from Mayor
James Ballard. He also got a scroll from the state presented by Gov. J. P. Coleman.
By James Kingsley - The Commercial
Appeal courtesy Roy Turner
News staff photo by Bob Moulder
ELVIS ROCKS HOME TOWN ROLLING 20,000 FANS INTO FAIRGROUNDS AT TUPELO
... Snakehipping too close to platform edge, he lost a few buttons
5000 greet hometown boy--
Tupelo teen-agers scream, cry as Elvis slurs and swivels
BY BOB MOULDER, News East Mississippi bureau
TUPELO, Miss., Sept. 27 - The return of rock and roll prophet, Elvis Presley, to his home town caused more hysteria than the devastating 1936 tornado that completely leveled the town.
Standing before approximately 5000 screaming and crying loyal subjects yesterday afternoon at the Miss - Ala Fair and Dairy Show, Elvis slurred and swiveled his way through many of his more current rock and roll tunes.
BUT WHILE Presley sang, hundreds of teen-age girls pushed and shoved their way to the stage in hopes of being able to touch "our Elvis."
Presley's appearance to Tupelo was made possible by the officials of the Miss-Ala Fair Assn. who have been working for months to prepare the City of Tupelo for its "most famous" famous hometown boy.
The streets of the city were resplendent in their multi-colored flags and signs that all depicted a welcome home for Elvis.
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo courtesy Elvis Presley Unseen Archives
. . .
Tupelo opened its Elvis Presley Day" with a gigantic parade down the main street of town. Bands and floats from each of the neighboring towns did their part to welcome Elvis home.
It was estimated by James M. Savery, president and manager of the fair association, that over 25,000 people jammed into the city for the day and nights
activities.
GOV. J. P. Coleman and Lt.-Gov. Carrol Gartin drove to the city from Jackson to personally welcome Presley back to his "native state."
Presley arrived at the fairgrounds around 2:30 p.m. yesterday with a four car
Highway Patrol escort.
As Gov. Coleman's
Cadillac was escorted through the entrance the mob surged to the rope separating them from the stage.
Gov. Coleman said "it is the biggest ovation I have ever had. I'm surprised they didn't boo when they found out I was not Elvis."
Upon arrival at the stage, Elvis was pounced on by the approximately 30 newspaper, magazine and newsreel photographers . . . each popping flashbulb after flashbulb at the polite and appreciative Presley.
ACCOMPANIED BY HIS mother and father, Elvis answered questions, posed for photographers and was officially greeted by Gov. Coleman.
excerpts from Birmingham News review By Bob Moulder, courtesy
Ger Rijff
Eager Hands Reach For Elvis
Screaming teenage girls beg Elvis just for a touch oh his white buckskin shoes as the rock and roll king rolls them in the sawdust aisles with his famous body English.
quote by Edith Haynie for the Tupelo Journal, Press Scimitar Photo by George Pierce
courtesy Ger Rijff
20,000 Persons, Mostly Screaming Teenagers, Welcome Presley Home
National Guards Join 40 highway Patrolmen And Local Officers In Holding Bock Hysterical Girls; Many Faint In Throng
By EDITH HAYNIE
Journal Roving Reporter
For twenty thousand screaming fans it was Heartbreak Hotel all over again Wednesday, as Elvis Presley came home to the fair. And this time be didn't have to
climb a fence to get in.
National Guardsmen called out for the night performance had their hands full of hysterical teenage girls who fought the cordon of men thrown
around the stage.
Dozens scratched, pulled hair and shoved for a desperate chance . . .
Elvis and Bill onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS -
Sep. 26, 1956
Photo by Eldred Reaney, The Tennessean
. . .
"It's all great," said Elvis. "These people are really great, and all that."
After clearing welcome formalities for the local boy who made good, gyrating Elvis and his guitar launched into his matinee performance before a roaring mob of some 5,000. More than 40 highway patrolmen and city police circled the five-foot stage, built to keep eager fans at a safe distance.
Bill, Elvis, DJ and Scotty onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS -
Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo courtesy FECC/riley
. . .
"Elvis," the girls shrieked, teasing their hair and sobbing hysterically. "Please, Elvis."
Footlights were torn from their sockets as girls tried desperately to touch their idol. Several fans fainted and were nearly trampled in the melee.
Presley picked UP $5,000 plus a 60 percent gate guarantee for his two performances. A long parade in his honor went on without him Wednesday morning. The risk was
too great, his manager said.
excerpts By Edith Haynie - The Tupelo Journal - September 27, 1956
courtesy Roy Turner
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo source unknown
IDOL
MOBBED
Elvis Pulls 50,000 In Home Town
Tupelo, Miss.—(INS)— Elvis Presley rock-‘n’-rolled his hometown of
Tupelo. Miss. into a frenzy—the likes of which has not been seen in the
lazy Southern village since
Civil War days.
Elvis whirled into the city Wednesday in a new white limousine, and
threw 50,000 people attending the big Mississippi-Alabama Fair into
panic.
He missed the big parade which featured floats made up along a
"rock-’n‘-roll" theme in his honor. But he did not disappoint the 12,000
screaming, squirming fans who turned out for his two performances -- for
which he picked up a tidy $5000 plus 60 per cent of the gate.
About 30 policemen were needed to hold off a mob of teen-agers who tried
to get near their singing idol as he swivel-hipped his way around the
five foot stage bellowing his "Hound Dog" hit.
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo source unknown
Even with this protection, though, Elvis lost the buttons of his blue
velvet shirt when he ventured too near the edge of the stage.
At one point, a wave of youngsters broke through the police cordon and
tried to scale the platform, forcing newsmen and photographers to
scramble onto the stage for
safety.
Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26,
1956
Photo courtesy Commercial Appeal
The 21-year-old sensation was presented citations from Mississippi Gov.
James P. Coleman and Tupelo Mayor James Ballard.
Elvis lived in Tupelo until he finished the eighth grade and began his
rise to fame there plucking the guitar and singing on school programs.
His family then moved to Memphis, Tenn., where they still reside.
Ron Brandon watching Elvis onstage at the fairgrounds in
Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
Ron Brandon spent his high school years in Memphis and remembers seeing Elvis, Scotty and Bill when they appeared at the
opening of the Lamar Airways Shopping Center in 1954, though he didn't attach any particular importance to it at the time. In the spring of 1956 he graduated from Central High School and was hired
that summer to work at Tupelo's WTUP station as their engineer. He said,
Billy Boren was playing rock n roll in the afternoon. I had told Jim Reese, WTUP's manager, that if Billy ever quit I could do the on-air slot. I was totally unqualified, having a high, squeaky voice and having grown up a North Mississippi redneck kid. With Billy's successes on the Ted Mack show, he did quit to pursue his career. Jim quickly did the math, and realized that he would only have to pay one employee instead of two and the gig was
mine.
Elvis, the Jordanaires and Scotty onstage at the
fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Steve Bonner
The Jordanaires, Elvis, Scotty, DJ and Bill onstage at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Steve Bonner
Several months later Jim Reese was the MC at Elvis' Tupelo "homecoming" concert, and Ron, 17 years old at the time, was in control of a one-track
Magnecorder tape machine. He recorded the interviews with Elvis and his parents backstage. He then asked to record the shows but was told "Hell No!" Regardless, he set up the recorder under the stage, snaked a
microphone out in front of a loud speaker, and recorded it. He and the microphone
are visible in several pictures. The one with me across the stage shows the old WTUP
mic up on its boom right in front of the public address horn, and that's the way it was
recorded, he said. You can see the extension a/c cord flopped right across the stage running to where I had the table set up with our Magnecord
recorder.
Ron Brandon (lower left corner) with power cord to his
Magnecorder under the stage - Sep, 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Steve Bonner
The boom and RCA mic in front of the loudspeaker at the
fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Steve Bonner
When Elvis' mom died, I sent him a copy of the tape of the concert and the interviews to him at
Graceland, Ron said. He saved it all those years, and after his death the tape was discovered in his bedroom at Graceland and released by RCA on "A Golden Celebration" in 1984. Many years later portions to the audio were synced by the European company
Memphis Recording Service, to the film shot by Movietone News that day and released with their
debut package, Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley,
along with its accompanying book
by Roy Turner.
Judy Hopper in front reaches out to Elvis onstage in
Tupelo - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Elvis Presley Unseen Archives
Judy Hopper climbing/pushed onstage, and after escorted
off - Sep.
26, 1956
Photos from 50's fan magazine courtesy Ger Rijff
Judy Hopper was with a group of girls from Alamo, Tennessee that included Gloria Wedgeworth Reasons. Gloria's mother had driven them to the shows in Tupelo.
To this day, I don’t know how we conned my mother into it, Reasons said with a laugh.
She hauled seven girls in a 1956 pink and white Impala, girls that were crazy about
Elvis.5
PLEASE, ELVIS -
Fourteen-year-old Judy Hopper of Alamo, Tenn., was dragged sobbing
from the stage during Presley's afternoon performance at the
fairgrounds. She fought her war to the stage for a touch of Elvis.
That night she was granted a few words with him. - Photo courtesy
web
Judy Hopper under guard after being escorted of stage and
Ron Brandon on right
Photos from 50's fan magazine courtesy Ger Rijff
Dressed in Elvis' favorite colors of pink and black, the Alamo girls were somehow transported from their 10th row seats to the stage's edge. There, the girls stood transfixed until Judy Hopper decided she was going up on the stage to meet her singing idol. And she did.
Somehow we pushed Judy up on that stage … I had burns on my arms from the lights on the edge of the stage. It was a surreal
moment, Gloria said.5
Judy Hopper watched by police and Ron Brandon watching Elvis on the side
of the stage - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Heritage Auction
Watching the action almost in slow motion, Reasons said she saw Hopper being escorted from the stage by policemen.
They took her to the side of the stage and told her that if she would behave, she could stay
there. From her prime spot, Hopper got to meet Elvis and his parents and return that evening for Presley’s second show.
We were green with envy, Reasons said. Although she was close enough to use her small camera to get good photos of Elvis performing on stage, Reasons says she always regretted that she didn’t get to touch him.5
Elvis and Scotty onstage at the Mississippi-Alabam Fair
and Dairy Show in Tupelo - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy Jimmy Velvet
Elvis onstage at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy
Show in Tupelo - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
According to Peter Guralnick, Fifty National
Guardsmen were added for the evening show, which was anticipated to draw
half again as many spectators. There must have been close to fifty
thousand visitors to town, including sightseers and lookers-on, the
biggest crowd that anyone could remember since Roosevelt had visited at
the height of the Depression. Elvis was relaxed and chewing gum but
disappointed that he wasn't feeling better for the occasion. "I've
looked forward to this day for a long time,“ he said. "and the heck. of
it is, I'm sick today." He asked for the girl who had crashed the stage
that afternoon and was introduced to Judy Hopper, who had her picture
taken with him and said, “It was even more thrilling than I dreamed it
would be."6
Elvis and Nick Adams driven from the the first
performance or to the second - Sep. 26, 1956
courtesy
Rolling Stones Fan club
Judy Hopper with Elvis before the evening
performance, and interviewed by Charlie Watts later - Sep. 26, 1956
Photos courtesy Cristi Dragomir and Ger Rijff,
WTUP:Charlie Watts interview
courtesy Youtube**
The evening performance was, if anything, less inhibited on the part
of the audience than the earlier one. At one point Elvis stopped the
show to admonish the crowd in a good-natured way that little kids were
getting hurt and that he wouldn't go on if they didn't sit back down.
They were back up again for “Don't Be Cruel," though, and by the end
they were almost out of control. "As howling sirens carried Elvis away,
the fairgrounds were wild with crying teenagers,” declared the Journal,
“who fought for a chance for a last look at the boy who put burlesque
back in business in a big way."6
Elvis, Scotty and DJ onstage during the evening
performance at the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy David English
Troops Quell Rioters In Elvis' Hometown
TUPELO, MISS Sept. 27, 1956 -(IP)-
Screaming teenagers overran 100 police and National Guardsmen last night in a frenzy touched off by a homecoming appearance of rock ’n' roll singer Elvis Presley.
Pandemonium swept over teenagers forming about half a crowd of 12,500 that overflowed, specially built bleachers to see Tupelo's most famous former
resident.
The youngsters stampeded from the bleachers, forced a cordon of officers back against the bandstand and literally literally crawled over the uniformed men to reach their idol.
DJ and Elvis onstage during the evening performance at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo by Terry Wood courtesy
Erik Lorentzen
Elvis Bags Fans
"I can’t sing with this going on," Presley wailed into his microphone while the stage teemed with intruders making lunges for his clothing and with officers pulling them away as fast as they arrived.
Presley halted his singing to beg his young fans to return to their seats and they obeyed. Soon the audience was relatively quiet and Presley finished his show unscathed.
But during a matinee a few hours earlier a teenaged girl grabbed several buttons off his blue velvet shirt when Presley snake-hipped too close to the edge of the stage.
Elvis onstage during the evening performance at the
fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy
Jimmy Velvet and David English
Nothing Like It
"I’ve never seen anything like this and I've been with the patrol since it was organized," Highway Patrol Inspector W. L Ellard said. That was nearly 20 years ago.
Officials had prepared for a lively demonstration, bringing in National Guardsmen, highway patrolmen and other officers from throughout the state before Presley arrived from nearby Memphis. Tenn., in a gleaming white limousine.
Elvis, Bill and DJ and onstage during the evening performance at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy
Erik Lorentzen
Kids Climb on Stage
The stage had been built five feet high but during the afternoon show teenagers made their first charge, and retreating newsmen and photographers climbed, up to get out of their way. The youngsters followed.
For the night performance the stage guard was more than doubled with a cordon consisting of 57 state highway patrolmen, 35 National Guardsmen and about 30 local police and deputies from nearby towns.
"It's all great—these people are great," Presley, who left Tupelo at 13, said of the townspeople and visitors.
Elvis onstage during the evening performance at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo courtesy
Erik Lorentzen
Governor on Hand
Gov. J. P. Coleman was on hand to present the 21-year-old star with a scroll. Coleman told Presley that Mississippi is "proud" of him."
Coleman arrived from Jackson before Presley rode into town. When Coleman’s black Cadillac reached the fairgrounds where the show was held, thousands of teenagers cheered and then groaned when they realized it was "only the governor."
Elvis onstage during the evening performance at the
fairgrounds in Tupelo, MS - Sep. 26, 1956
Photo source unknown
The six-day fair closed on Saturday, the 29th, set a record attendance of
180,000 surpassing the former record by 24,000. Elvis received $11,800 for his appearance, with his end based on 60
per cent of grandstand receipts.3 The
following year they were booked again to appear for a benefit show, on
September 27, 1957 to raise money to build a Youth Center and park in
Tupelo. However, Scotty and Bill had
resigned at the beginning of the month for economic reasons and
replacements were required.
"If the weather's right, we'll set a record," J. M. Savery, president of
the Mississippi-Alabama Fair, told the Press-Scimitar by telephone
today.
Savery was talking in particular about the benefit show Elvis Presley is
putting on tomorrow night at the fair.
Savery said 5000 advance sales of tickets have been mailed out, and "we
won't have any trouble filling up the rest of the Fairgrounds." Some
12,000 can be seated and many will probably buy standing room only space
at $2 - the regular price.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer notified Savery they intend to send a crew to Tupelo
to film the show. Col. Tom Parker, Elvis' manager, plans to set up a
press conference with Presley for newsmen, he said.
Many Elvis Presley fan clubs are ordering whole blocks of tickets,
Savery said. "I just mailed out today tickets for a busload coming from
Waco, Texas," he said.
Savery said "quite a number of Memphians have already booked
reservations. Proceeds from the show will go to build an Elvis Presley
Youth Center on a 12-acre plot of land , which includes the old Presley
homesite.
The Memphis Press-Scimitar - September 26, 1957 -
courtesy ebay
Col. Parker, Vernon, Gladys and Elvis Presley and J. M.
Savery at the Fairgrounds - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo courtesy Tupelo (Images of America)
According to Peter Guralnick, Elvis arrived in Tupelo with Anita (Wood)
and his parents, along with Cliff (Wood), George (Klein),
Lamar (Fike), Alan (Fortas), and another friend, named Louis Harris. There was as much excitement in town about his upcoming appearance as there had been the previous year, but it was of a different sort, and mindful of his generous donation toward a youth center, the lead editorial in the paper offered an admonitory note to the community to "Let Our Welcome for Elvis Be Truly Warm." Elvis had been “the best ambassador any town could have," declared the Tupelo Daily
Journal, and “he needs to feel appreciated in at least one community in America for just being himself."6
Elvis backstage at the Fairgrounds - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo source unknown
Elvis posing with Mississippi State Troopers backstage at
the Fairgrounds in Tupelo - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo Shelaine Pennington Wise courtesy David English
At this time Elvis was seeing Anita Wood and the Memphis Press was more
absorbed with that than with the present dissolution of the band. Even
when the news broke weeks earlier it seemed to be overshadowed by her
recent return from Hollywood. Peter wrote, Mr. Savery, the fair manager, had them all over to dinner, and Jack Cristil from WELO spent as much time interviewing Anita as he did
Elvis. Did they have marriage plans? the reporters all shouted at him at the press conference in the tent before the performance. “I haven't found the girl yet,“ he said, staring straight at Anita with a look meant just for her.6
George Klein, Elvis and Anita Wood backstage at the
Fairgrounds in Tupelo - Sep. 27, 1957
Photos courtesy Ger Rijff, and Rolling Stones Fan Club
Elvis backstage at the Fairgrounds - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo source unknown
The paper was full of stories about the riots in Little Rock over school integration, and there was even a story with a Memphis dateline about
white students from still segregated Humes High School jeering at Negro students on their way to nearby Manassas, but in Tupelo, the paper noted on the front page, while the annual 4-H Club style show would be held in front of the grandstand, "the negro junior Jersey show will start at 10 a.m. in the Negro section of the fairgrounds."6
Lamar, Anita, Elvis Cliff, Louis and George backstage at
the fairgrounds in Tupelo - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo source ger rijff
Mayor Ballard, Anita Wood, Tommy Young, Elvis and George Klein
backstage at the Fairgrounds - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo source unknown
After a slow advance sale, the grandstand was filled to capacity; the band—with Nashville’s Hank
"Sugarfoot" Garland on guitar and Chuck Wiginton, a friend of D.J.’s from Dallas, on bass-sounded tight; Colonel made sure that they put up a big banner announcing that Jailhouse Rock was coming soon; and he worked the crowd, and himself, up into the usual frenzy.
But somehow it wasn't the same. It didn't feel right, he told D.J. afterward. Garland was a helluva guitarist, but you could tell the difference on "Don't Be Cruel"; Garland could really play, but he didn't hit that intro the way that Scotty did.6
Elvis, again with Sara Ann Patterson on right and Billy
Boren in back - Sep. 27, 1957
Photo courtesy Sara Ann Patterson, Roy Turner and Anthony
Stuchbury
Elvis with Guardsmen and fans backstage at the
fairgrounds in Tupelo - Sep. 27, 1957
Photos courtesy EPE and Claude Francisci
This was
Hank Garland's first affiliation with Elvis.
Bob Moore, a good friend of Hank's and fellow Nashville A-Teamer
remembers accompanying Hank to Tupelo.
Chuck Wiginton
played bass.
He was actually close friends with both D.J. and Scotty and in the late '40s at least, had played and recorded
with
Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys and then became a staff
musician at the Louisiana Hayride. In
November of 2001 Trevor Cajiao got the opportunity to interview Chuck
and he had this to say about his experience:
When did you first meet Elvis? I first met Elvis in Shreveport, Louisiana when he came in as a guest
on ‘The Louisiana Hayride‘. I was on the staff band there, along with
D.J. Fontana, Floyd Cramer. Jimmy Day and Van Howard - that was the
band we had that traveled with Lefty Frizzell for a good while. So I
met Elvis at ‘The Louisiana Hayride’ when he came in with Scotty and
Bill.
What were your first impressions of him? He was real different. The musicians there, we knew that something
different was happening but we didn't know just what it was. But he
was a likeable guy and the audience just loved him.
Who did you play with on the Hayride? Did you work with guys like
Johnny Horton? Yes I did, and I even recorded some with Johnny back in his early
days. Jim Reeves was another one, Jim Ed & Maxine Brown, The
Browns...a lot of different stars came to ‘The Louisiana Hayride‘.
Johnny Cash was there but I never played with him because he had his
own band, but he was on the same show with us a lot of
times.
Had you followed Elvis‘ career after he left the Hayride? Oh yeah, we always kept up with him because, y‘know, being in the same
business we kinda knew what everybody was doin'. And of course when
D.J. joined him, we really kept up with him then.
The Jordanaires, Hank Garland, DJ, Elvis and Chuck Wiginton in Tupelo with the Bitsy Mott and the Colonel down
front - Sep. 27, 1957
Photos source unknown
Was it Tom Diskin or Colonel Parker who contacted you to play the gig
with Elvis in Tupelo in September 1957? No, it was D.J. Fontana who called me. D.J. and I had worked together
and we'd been friends for years. So when Scotty and Bill quit, then
D.J. called me.
There was no contract through Elvis’ management? No, I didn't sign a contract. it was just a verbal agreement. I was
working at a club in Dallas at the time called the Aragon Ballroom. I
was doing that and I was also working in a bank in Dallas during the
day. I took a leave of absence from the bank in order to do the show
with Elvis.
Tupelo Mayor James Ballard onstage with Elvis
Photos source FECC, and ebay
So you were brought in to replace Bill Black and Hank Garland was
brought in for Scotty Moore. Had you worked with Hank Garland before? I had done a little session work with him in Nashville, so I knew he
was an excellent guitar player.
Was there much chance to rehearse before the show? Yes. We went into Memphis early, probably three or four days early,
and we stayed-at his home, Graceland. We rehearsed with The
Jordanaires and we worked out the routine he was going to do on the
show.
Can you remember any of the numbers you performed? ‘Hound Dog‘. ‘Heartbreak Hotel'...just the regular stuff he had doing
at that time.
What did you think of him as a stage performer? He was just a super entertainer. Lots of charisma and he knew exactly
what he was doing. The crowd was unbelievable. I'd never seen anything
like the crowd that night. There were young girls standing there
holding hands and cryin’ in front of the stage...just screamin‘ and
cryin'. When Elvis did his last number well of course he ran off to
the back of the stage and I thought, ‘Gosh, these people are gonna
break through those lines and tear up our instruments and everything’.
They had the National Guard standing in front of the stage and linked
together, so luckily that never happened.
Were you aware at the time that someone was filming the show? No I was not. Do you have the full show on tape?
Elvis onstage in Tupelo with fill in bass player Chuck
Wiginton - Sep. 27, 1957
Photos source unknown, and ebay
Not the full show. It wasn't all filmed - just parts of it. But it
keeps turning up in lots of documentaries. I've just seen one segment from it. I don't have any still
pictures at all, except I had some taken off a video tape and they
turned out fairly well. I'd love to have some proper still pictures
from the show.
When would have been the first time you saw the footage? I don't remember exactly the first time I saw it. A friend of mine
taped a show on TV which had a lot of rock n roll people on it and
that came up on it. I went to Tupelo, Mississippi again in later years
and tried to find some still pictures but was unable to find any.
Nobody there seemed to have any.
MGM film footage from the Tupelo appearance - Sep 27, 1957
Once Bill Black rejoined the band, did you ever see Elvis again? I don't think so. He went into the Service not long after that. I
asked him at the time when we got through if this was gonna be a
lasting job or if he was offering me a job, but he said ‘I'm going
into the Service so I won't be around for a while‘. I figured I best
just go on back to the bank and go back to work. That's what I did and
I eventually retired from that bank.
What sort of age were you when you did the gig? I was in my late 20s, I guess.
You obviously liked Elvis; were you a rock n roll fan in general? Not really. I was more of a western swing musician and I loved
western swing music. But I enjoyed working with Elvis and it was great
to work with D.J. again. I still talk to D.J. once in a while and I go
to Nashville to see him once in a while.
Do you talk about the show much these days? Does it come up in
conversation much that you played one gig with Elvis In 1957? Oh, it comes up all the time, but I don't go around telling people
because they just think, ‘Oh yeah, that's right!‘ (laughs). It's like
all the fiddle players who say they played with Bob Wills! I just kinda
let it lie, but if it comes up I'll tell people about it.
Elvis exiting the stage at the fairgrounds with Tom
Diskin, the State Police and fans in pursuit - Sep 27, 1957
Photos source FECC
Well you've got the evidence - you're on the film... Yeah, that's right. It was a great experience and I wouldn't take
anything for it. I didn't realize at the time what a big deal it was;
it was just another gig at the time - well, a little more than just
another gig ‘cause he was so hot at that time.
Your name has turned up in a few places recently but it's spelled
as ‘Wiggington'... No, it's just the one ‘g’ - Wiginton.
And you're still playing gigs these days... Yes I am. I work two or three times a month and just kinda try to
keep in practice. I still enjoy playing.
Well thanks for your time, it's been great talking to you. Nice talking to you too.
I'm glad I was able to track you down after all these years... You betcha! Thanks a lot.
The week after the Tupelo homecoming, he decided to take them back. Scotty and Bill played a miserable two—week engagement at the Dallas State Fair and then formalized the arrangement, with everyone swallowing his pride a little and the Blue Moon Boys returning on a per diem basis. There were no hard feelings, Scotty said. It was a matter of money all along. For Elvis, though, it would have been hard to say what it was exactly. One day he heard "Jailhouse Rock" on the radio and declared, “Elvis Presley and his one-man band," with a rueful shake of his head. It seemed like everything was plunging headlong forward, and he didn't know how to hold it back.6
J. M. "Ikey" Savery, Mayor James Ballard and Alderman
Raymond Merchant break ground for the planned Youth Center - ca. 1957
Photo courtesy Tupelo (Images of America)
Elvis had donated $20,000 toward the construction of a Youth Recreation center to be located near his birthplace. The property, including
the
birthplace, originally belonging to Orville Bean, was sold to the city by his daughter for that purpose, who happened to be Oleta Grimes, Elvis' fifth grade teacher. Initially, the land was cleared of all buildings and homes except for the birthplace and eventually the city built an indoor recreation hall, baseball diamond, swimming pool and a playground. It wasn't until 1971 though that Oleta and the East Tupelo Garden Club decided to restore the house along with Elvis' father's guidance and open it for tourism.7 In the 1990s the pool was filled in for expansion of the area.
Tupelo Fairgrounds portal across Main Street from
Commerce - ca. 1987
Photo by Mike McCarthy courtesy
Ronnie Harris
satellite view of the former fairgrounds and grandstands
in Tupelo - 1997
courtesy Google earth
The last fairs were held there in the early 1980s and by the 1990s
the stage was torn down. By 2000 the grandstands were also
torn down. The new City Hall was built roughly in the same place
in 2003 and the former fairgrounds are now part of what is called the Fairpark District. That same year, Scotty Moore and DJ
again returned to
the Fairgrounds with Ronnie McDowall and Sonny Burgess and the Pacers as part of the
6th Annual Elvis Presley Festival in Tupelo. They had been doing
that show for several years, originally held in August but now in June
because of the heat.
satellite view of the former fairgrounds / Fairpark
District in Tupelo - 2013
courtesy Google earth
The Fairpark Portal on East Main St. at the intersection
of Commerce - ca. 2012
Photo courtesy Patricia
Neely-Dorsey
Recently, the concerts and Elvis' history
in Tupelo have been covered in detail in the 2006 documentary by Roy
Turner, Homecoming: Tupelo Welcomes Elvis, which inspired the 2008 documentary, Elvis: Return
To Tupelo, by Michael Rose. In August of 2012 a statue of Elvis by Taylor,
Mississippi sculptor Bill Beck was unveiled in Fairpark. It was the
result of a joint effort of the Tupelo Convention and Visitors
Bureau and the Tupelo Elvis
Presley Fan Club. It is a depiction of the iconic
photo taken on September 26, 1956 by Roger Marshutz, erected at just
about original stage height.
A statue of Elvis Presley is unveiled at Fairpark in Tupelo Miss., on August 9, 2012
AP Photo Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, C. Todd
Sherman, courtesy The
Republic
**
The audio of the interviews from 1956 presented here was by Charlie
Watts, the then announcer at Station WTUP and recorded by Ron Brandon an
the same recorder used for the show. The audio for the interview
conducted by Jack Cristil of WELO as pictured is not believed to have
survived, however one from the following year by him is said to exist.
*The interview with Chuck Wiginton conducted by Trevor
Cajiao was originally published in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary
of the 1957 Tupelo show by our friends in
the March 2002 issue of
Elvis The Man and
His Music, one of the finest publications on Elvis, available at
www.nowdigthis.co.uk, and reprinted here with permission. Visit them also on
Facebook.
All photos on this page are credited as
to ownership and/or source where known and no further use or reproduction
can be authorized by us.
'Presley
Homecoming' Theme Of Parade On Children's Day
Gates Open for Fair's 49th Show
Tupelo Pays Noisy Tribute to Him:
.jpg)
Tupelo Rocks As Presley Gyrates In His Home Town
20,000 Persons, Mostly Screaming Teenagers, Welcome Presley Home
IDOL
MOBBED
Troops Quell Rioters In Elvis' Hometown
Elvis' Show at Tupelo May Set a Record
*The interview with Chuck Wiginton conducted by Trevor
Cajiao was originally published in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary
of the 1957 Tupelo show by our friends in
the March 2002 issue of
