Long before Elvis Presley’s hips scandalized America, his tongue found its way into lusty legend. Now, 55 years after the infamous photograph of the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll swapping spit with a mysterious blonde, a photographic mystery has finally been solved.
Barbara Gray of Charleston, South Carolina, has been identified as the young blonde woman kissing the music icon in the popular picture taken by photographer Alfred Wertheimer.
Vanity Fair has revealed that Gray, now 75 years old, is the woman at the center of Presley’s attention in the photo, which was taken backstage just before a concert at the Mosque Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, in June 1956. “The Kiss,” as it’s now known, ended up being the crown jewel in Wertheimer’s coverage of Presley.
Yet for all these years, Gray’s identity has remained a mystery. “I never bothered to ask her name,” Wertheimer said. “And she never bothered to tell me.”
Then, last year, Gray at last grew tired of constantly being referred to as “the unknown young woman in the wings.” So she messaged Wertheimer on Facebook, gave him her maiden name and told him she had a “good story.” The rest is history.
As for her memories of the photo, Gray said in an interview on the Today show on Monday that, despite the apparent connection in the photo, she didn’t feel any real chemistry for the rock star.
“Maybe he had sparks, but I didn’t even know who he was,” Gray told host Matt Lauer.
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