Lyric

In Elvis’ day it was called the Strand.  He won his first singing contest at the Lyric when he was 8 years old.  He and James Ausborn would collect soda bottles and trade them in for pennies to buy tickets to a Saturday afternoon double feature – usually a western.  It was at the Lyric where Elvis would enter the main entrance and his friend, Sam Bell, would enter on the south side “colored” entrance.  Upon the two arriving at the balcony, Elvis would hop over the barrier and sit with Sam through the movie.  During a visit back to Tupelo as a 16 year old, he entered yet another talent show, but alas, he didn’t place.   Legend also has it that he received his first kiss in the historic Lyric.