top of page

Celebrate Elvis' birthday with these rare photos of his 1956 Tupelo homecoming


By Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

Birmingham, AL

An envelope contains Birmingham News photo negatives from 1956 showing Elvis Presley returning home to Tupelo, Miss.Scott Walker | swalker@al.com

1956 was a big year for Elvis Presley.

The King released his self-titled debut early in February, and it shot up to the top of the Billboard Top Pop Charts (and decades later was listed on Rolling Stones' 500 greatest albums of all times list). He was in demand for TV and radio and made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

But despite his busy schedule, he still found time to come back to his hometown of Tupelo, Miss., to perform at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on Sept. 26 of that year.

In celebration of Elvis' birthday (he would have turned 81 if he were alive today), we pulled some rare photos from the Tupelo performance from our archives. (Some of the pictures have never been published.) It was a big-time day: There was a huge parade downtown in his honor, and he received a guitar-shaped key to the city. Also notable:

A young Tammy Wynette made it to the show, and about 100 National Guardsmen guarded the stage.

Did you make it to the show? Let us know in the comments.

About the photos

  • Found: 21 4x5" black-and-white photo negatives

  • Subject: "Elvis Presley Tupelo"

  • Source: The Birmingham News

  • Photos by: Unknown

  • Year: 1956

Click the link below to see more photos:


Comentarios

bottom of page