Places In Blues History

The Tupelo Hardware Company store at 114 W. Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, is where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar in 1946.

Tupelo Hardware Company, W. Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar. (photo by Mississippi Blues Travellers)
Tupelo Hardware Company, W. Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
Tupelo Hardware Company, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar. (photo by Mississippi Blues Travellers)
Tupelo Hardware Company, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.

There is a plaque outside the Tupelo Hardware Company’s W. Main Street entrance commemorating Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley plaque outside Tupelo Hardware Company, W. Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
Elvis Presley plaque outside Tupelo Hardware Company, W. Main Street, Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.

The plaque reads:

“TUPELO HARDWARE – In 1946 Elvis’ mother Gladys brought him here to buy a bicycle.  Once they arrived, a 22-caliber rifle caught Elvis’ eye, and he asked his mother to buy it instead.  She wasn’t happy about purchasing a gun so they compromised on a guitar. Forest L. Bobo, a long-time employee of Tupelo Hardware, sold the guitar to young Elvis for $7.90.”

The sales counter where Elvis and  Gladys Presley bought Elvis Presley’s first guitar is still in place and an “X” has been placed on the floor where Elvis Presley stood in front of the sales counter.

The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.
The Tupelo Hardware Company sales counter where Elvis Presley bought his first guitar.

The interior of the Tupelo Hardware Company store is still much the same as it was in 1946.

Here is a map showing the location of the Tupelo Hardware Company at 114 W. Main Street in downtown Tupelo:

Here are some websites with more information about Elvis Presley and the Tupelo Hardware Company:

Here are some more Elvis Presley sites you may want to visit:

The house Elvis Presley was born in, Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum, Tupelo, Mississippi
The house Elvis Presley was born in, Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum, Tupelo, Mississippi

Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum, Tupelo, Mississippi

The Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum is commemorated by the Mississippi Blues Trail, the Mississippi Country Music Trail and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

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Elvis Presley's home at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee
Elvis Presley’s home at Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Graceland was Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, Tennessee. He is buried on the Graceland grounds.

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The Memphis Recording Service, Sun Records and Sun Studio, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee
The Memphis Recording Service, Sun Records and Sun Studio, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee

Sun Records, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee

Elvis Presley made his first recordings at Sun Records, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee.

The site is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

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