60 Years Later, Woman Kissing Elvis Presley In 1956 Backstage Photo Comes Forward
on Jul 28, 2016 • Updated Nov 26, 2019
60 years ago, a photographer snapped a few photos of Elvis Presley in the hallway just before his show in Richmond, Virginia. With him was a woman, who he appeared to be very close with seeing as they were kissing!
The woman has remained a mystery for the last five decades, but at now 80-years-old, she has finally revealed herself to the world.
In 1956, Barbara Gray’s friends dared her to call Presley at his hotel after he performed in South Carolina. It was actually quite easy to get ahold of him.
“The operator answered and I said ‘Elvis Presley’s room please’,” she tells WTVR News.
After talking on the phone for an hour, The King invited her to his next show in Richmond, Virginia. They met at a diner in The Hotel Jefferson before heading to his concert at The Mosque Theatre together.
“Elvis turned around and I almost fainted. He was absolutely gorgeous,” said Gray. “I just melted.”
Presley took Gray in the hallway at The Mosque Theatre and what happened next has gone down in history.
The photo features Presley holding Gray, who went by Bobbi Owens back then, around the waist with their tongues touching.
«Would it be a sin,
if I can’t help falling in love with you?»#ElvisPresley(ph. The Kiss by Alfred Wertheimer)#January8 #8gennaio @CleliaMussari @titoperoni @LuisaM56_ @coloredduststar @rtopnb @cjvzomeren @PierreABISAAB @sergioandreola @Serge_ginsbard @aleph54 @MP27_ pic.twitter.com/CqMP7PEQD5
— AnimaLunga™ (@GiuseppeTurrisi) January 8, 2018
Critics have called it one of the “most iconic and erotic photographs in American history.”
Following the concert, Presley took her to the train station and invited her to continue the tour with him. She turned him down and they never saw each other again. To this day, she always will think about what would have happened had she gone with him.
“I thought my god why didn’t I go with him,” said Barbara. “It was wonderful and I’m sure every girl in the world wanted to be me.”
The series of photos were taken by freelance photographer Al Wertheimer, who liked that the woman in the photos was a mystery for so long.
https://twitter.com/larsvong/status/818191222720212992
Since Presley’s death in 1977, many women have stepped forward saying they are they mystery woman, but Gray always knew it was her.
https://twitter.com/HistoryToLearn/status/877498616994078722
She’s never sought out fame or fortune from the photo, she just enjoys having it as a memory.
Watch the full story below and you can read the full article here.
