TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) – A 1956 photograph shows a 13-year-old girl standing at the front of the crowd as Elvis Presley performed at the Tupelo Fairgrounds.
Seventy years later, that girl’s family says the image remains one of the most recognizable in American music history.
The girl in the photo was Jannette Knight. Her daughter-in-law, Deanna Knight, said the photograph captures a moment frozen in time.
“It’s just that iconic image,” Deanna Knight said. “It is one of the images in American music history that you just know instantly when you see it.”
Deanna Knight said Jannette Knight was 13 years old and positioned near Presley during the concert.
“It’s almost like time stops. You look at the picture, and you’re just like, 70 years ago. That is insane,” Deanna Knight said. “But you look at her, and she’s 13 years old. It’s just frozen in time.”
The concert marked Presley’s first homecoming performance in Tupelo. An estimated 5,000 fans attended.
“5,000 people at a concert in 1956 is probably unheard of. But she would tell us, ‘I was in the front row, and everybody was swooning,’” Deanna Knight said.
Jannette Knight has since died.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the homecoming concert, the Elvis Presley Birthplace is hosting a free homecoming concert on September 26 at 6 p.m.
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