AmericanTravels

Elvis performed two shows that day, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Admission to the fair was typically 25 cents for children and 50 cents for adults, and the day of Elvis’s show, they charged 75 cents for everyone. Admission to Elvis’ show was $1.50. Elvis and his parents, his girlfriend Barbara Hearn and his friend Nick Adams all drove down from Memphis for the show. Elvis wore a beautiful blue velvet shirt made for him by Natalie Wood’s dressmaker. Elvis, backed by his band and the Jordanaires, performed thrilling shows, and thousands of fans were in attendance – anywhere from 5,000 to 12,000 to 50,000, depending on what news report you believe. Teenage fans rushed the stage, somehow defying the massive security team, and Elvis encouraged them to be safe – and they did. In the audience that day – in fact, in the front row – was a young Tammy Wynette. Tammy – born Virginia Wynette Pugh – was from the neighboring town of Tremont, so she didn’t have far to drive for the show.

As the story is recorded in Forrest L. Bobo’s letter dated October 2, 1979, Gladys Presley brought her son, Elvis, to Tupelo Hardware in January 1946 to buy him a birthday present. According to Mr. Bobo, Elvis would have preferred a rifle, but his mother succeeded in buying a guitar instead. The boy strummed the new guitar for a while, before his mother paid $7.75 and a 2% sales tax. The rest is history! All Elvis fans are welcome to visit during our normal business hours.