Everybody’s welcome down in Tupelo.

“Tupelo” by Mr. Raw

The Lyric Theatre - Tupelo

What became the Lyric Theatre was built in 1912. Mr. R. F. Goodlett canvased the area seeking financial backers and within a week had secured enough funds to begin construction. The Comos, as the building was originally named, was designed as a vaudeville theater and included space for several commercial offices. Because its sturdy brick walls made the Lyric one of the few buildings to escape the fury of the 1936 tornado unscathed, the building was pressed into melancholy duty as a make-shift temporary mortuary in the aftermath of that tragedy.

Over 40,000,000 people watched Elvis’ second appearance on the Milton Berle show on June 5, 1956 where he performed a provocative version of Hound Dog.  The following day, the press dubbed him “Elvis the Pelvis,” comparing his act to a striptease.  Jack Gould of The New York Times declared, “Mr. Presley has no discernable singing ability,” while John Crosby of the New York Herald Tribune called Elvis, “unspeakably untalented and vulgar.”

Hound Dog went on to sell over 4 million copies in the United States on its first release.  It was his best selling single and starting in July 1956, it spent a record eleven weeks at #1, staying there until replaced by “Love Me Tender,” also recorded by Elvis.

The latest Nolan Brothers commercial masterpiece.

Tropical Gangstas - Tha Government

TUPELO, Miss. — A Mississippi judge ordered an attorney to spend several hours in jail Wednesday after the attorney chose not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in court. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported that Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohn told a court audience to rise and say the pledge. People in the courtroom said Danny Lampley of Oxford stood but did not say the words.

Records show Lampley was booked into the Lee County jail at 9:40 a.m. and released about 2:30 p.m. on the judge’s orders.

Lampley did not immediately return a call to The Associated Press. Littlejohn was not immediately available through his office in New Albany or the court administrator’s office in Tupelo.

Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://nems360.com/

Best shakes in town

GUM TREE 10K

Mississippi’s Largest Race

May 14, 1994

This Elvis guitar is a 22 foot tall hollow body, complete with stereo and speakers that plays Elvis music 24/7 at the corner of S. Green and Crossover in Tupelo.

North Mississippi Medical Center, a 650-bed regional referral center in Tupelo, holds the distinction of being the largest hospital in Mississippi and the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the United States.  The medical center serves more than 700,000 people in 24 counties in north Mississippi, northwest Alabama and portions of Tennessee.

Monkey on the Lam

Oliver, a Capuchin monkey Houdini, made national headlines when he escaped from his securely locked cage twice within a month.  

Diplo was born in Tupelo, Mississippi 

Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known by his stage name Diplo, is a Philadelphia-based DJ, producer and songwriter. Together with DJ Low Budget, he runs Hollertronix, a club and music collective. He also founded and manages record company Mad Decent. Among other jobs, Pentz worked as a school teacher in Philadelphia. He is best known for dating M.I.A., credited with helping expose him in his early career, and later working with Robyn. Pentz’s alias, short for Diplodocus, derives from his childhood fascination with dinosaurs.

The American Family Association (AFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values such as traditional marriage, anti-pornography, and pro-life activism,as well as other public policy goals such as deregulation of the oil industry and lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act.  It was founded in 1977 by Rev. Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The AFA defines itself as “a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media”^. It pursues its views and other issues through a number of activism efforts, including boycotts, buycotts, Action alert e-mails, publications on the AFA’s web sites or in the AFA Journal, broadcasts on American Family Radio, and lobbying. The organization has an annual budget of roughly US$14 million and owns 180 American Family Radio stations in 28 states.

The AFA has boycotted multiple U.S. companies for various reasons, most often relating to Christmas controversies, pornography, support of pro-choice activism, support of violence in entertainment, and support of LGBT activism, including same-sex partner employee benefits. These organizations include: 7-Eleven, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Airlines, American Girl, Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Calvin Klein, Carl’s Jr., Clorox, Comcast, Crest, Ford, Hallmark Cards, Kmart, Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Son, Movie Gallery, Microsoft, MTV, Mary Kay, NutriSystem, Old Navy, IKEA, Sears, Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Target, Tide, Walt Disney Company, and PepsiCo. The AFA has criticized the People’s Republic of China for its persecution of Christians.

Individuals in the media industry have criticized Donald Wildmon, the founder of AFA. Gene Mater, Senior Vice President of CBS Television, has stated, “We look upon Wildmon’s efforts as the greatest frontal assault on intellectual freedom this country has ever faced” and Brandon Tartikoff, former NBC Entertainment President, stated that Wildmon’s boycott campaign was “the first step toward a police state.”