That's alright Mama: Tupelo Hardware, where Elvis' Mama bought him his first guitar

The exterior of Tupelo Hardware looks much the way it did when Elvis and his Mama walked in one day in 1945...

...as does the interior.

The truly wonderful Howard points to the very spot where Elvis and Gladys stood...

...where a duct taped "X" marks the spot.

Howard stands behind the same counter where Forrest Bobo showed Elvis his first guitar...

...and apparently they'll let any joker wearing a Sun Records T-shirt stand behind there, too.

The King keeps watch over Tupelo Hardware's guitars...

...but they don't use the name Elvis on the souvenirs.

No visit to Tupelo, Mississippi is complete without a stop at Tupelo Hardware, a time-warp of hardware store that's been in business since 1926. With its wood floors and shelves crammed with all kinds of bric-a-brac, it has the look and feel of an old, cool, unchanged place, but an event from its past puts it in the stratosphere of must-see eccentric roadside attractions. In 1945, a 10 year-old and his mother came into the store to pick out a birthday present for the boy. That boy was Elvis Presley, who lived with his family in Tupelo. Elvis had saved up some money and had his heart set on a .22 bolt action rifle in the store. The clerk, a Mr. Forrest Bobo, let him hold and play with the unloaded rifle, but both he and his mother said he was too young to own such a dangerous firearm. This disappointed Elvis terribly and he cried. To make him feel better, Mr. Bobo suggested a guitar, which the store had in stock. Initially unenthused, he accepted it because he knew it was the guitar or no gift at all. He didn't have enough money for the guitar, though. His mother, Gladys, told him if he would agree to the guitar instead of the rifle, she would make up the difference in price, which came to $7.75 plus 2% sales tax. Elvis accepted the deal and you know the rest.

The store is proud of its Elvis heritage and happily greets tourists, who come from all over the world, especially Japan. Howard Hite, a true southern gentleman, is the store's Elvis historian, and enthusiastically regales all interested parties in the King's Tupelo Hardware tale. There's a duct taped "X" on the floor in the very spot Elvis and Gladys stood, and the original case and counter still stand, now filled with Elvis souvenirs and memorabilia. Howard will even snap your picture where Mr. Bobo stood behind the counter on that momentous day. And its not just tourists who flock to the store. A framed newspaper article behind the counter attests to the fact that Aerosmith's Joe Perry came to the store when the band was playing in the area and purchased one of the store's acoustic guitars which it still keeps in stock.

One thing about the store's souvenirs that's interesting: nowhere do they use the name Elvis, apparently because the Presley estate charges a lot of money for that privilege. They skirt this legal issue by emblazing "Where Gladys bought her son's first guitar" on the nicknacks.

Here's a nice video done by tobykeithlvrdeanzlvr's channel on youtube:

Elvis has left the building: Tupelo, Mississippi's birthplace of Elvis Presley

Elvis' birth home

The magnificent Nina, a docent who actually knew Elvis, fills in eager tourists on all the facts.

The Presleys' living/bedroom...

...and their kitchen.

Vernon's hat.

Elvis' childhood church...

...complete with outhouse.

Elvis was 13 when his family moved from Tupelo...

...in a car like this.

What the place looked like back in the day.

Gladys, Elvis and Vernon Presley, circa 1937-8

"Thanka. Thanka verra much."

You can't think of the great city of Memphis, Tennessee without thinking of Elvis Presley, but Memphis was actually the King of Rock and Roll's adopted hometown. He was born in the northeastern Mississippi town of Tupelo in 1935 and lived there until his family moved to Memphis when he was 13. Elvis' father Vernon built the family house in 1934, one of several two-room dwellings built very close together in a row. Work was difficult to find for Elvis' parents and the family had to move out of the house and in with Elvis' grandparents next door when he was two. After he became a star in the '50s, Elvis went back to Tupelo, bought his old house and left it with preservationists. The house sits today on the very spot it did when the family lived there, but, unfortunately, the neighboring houses have since been torn down. Inside are unoriginal but accurate time-period furnishings, placed in correct locations according to the family. The folks in Tupelo have done a great of job of turning the place into a very nicely landscaped tourist attraction. They've even moved the Assembly of God church (complete with outhouse!) that Elvis attended as a child to the property. Other features are a "Walk of Life" with granite blocks depicting important moments in Elvis' life, a fountain honoring his years in Tupelo, a statue of Elvis at age 13, a "Story Wall" featuring narratives of Tupelo residents' reflections on their encounters with Elvis, and a 1939 Plymouth similar to the model the Presleys had when they moved from Tupelo to seek better job opportunities in Memphis in 1948. There is also a newly built chapel, in accordance with Elvis' wishes for a place of meditation at his birthplace site.

There's a lot to get all shook up about at the Elvis Presley birthplace, so don't be cruel to yourself and go, cat, go!