A star honoring Elvis Presley was unveiled on the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (MAEE) Walk of Fame in front of the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian Tuesday.

    The king of rock ‘n’ roll, who died in 1977, was born in Tupelo in 1935. The star was first unveiled there as part of the traditional celebration of his birthday Jan. 8.

    “Elvis was given many awards while he was alive and after he passed away,” Dick Guyton, executive director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum in Tupelo, said at Tuesday’s ceremony. “But being honored by his home state is a very special occasion.”

    City of Meridian CAO Richie McAlister said the unveiling was “a great example of collaboration between two great cities.”

    “This is going to be a wonderful opportunity, not only for the city of Tupelo and the city of Meridian, but for the state as a whole,” he said.

    “We have such a tremendously rich musical and arts and entertainment heritage here in the state of Mississippi,” Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton said. “The City of Tupelo is proud to partner with the City of Meridian to continue to tell the story of the famous musicians who put Mississippi on the map.”

    “Elvis is unquestionably one of the greatest entertainers I’ve ever seen,” said MAEE Executive Director Marty Gamblin. “And he’s probably our most famous Mississippian.”

    “It’s incomprehensible when you look at what this man accomplished,” Gamblin continued, describing Presley’s long and varied career. “Today’s pop artists have a longevity of about three to six years. Elvis has been gone for 39 years, and according to Forbes, last year alone he earned $55 million dollars, second only to Michael Jackson. He was a phenomenal icon.”

    MAEE Vice President Paul Ott recalled Elvis’ generosity. He remembered the singer staging a benefit concert to help the city of McComb recover from a tornado in 1975.

    Steve Bihn, one of many devoted Elvis fans attending the unveiling, was a teenager who skipped school to see the star perform at that concert. “It was great — it was jam packed,” he recalled with a big grin.

     Lifelong Elvis fan Connie James of Butler, Ala. took a break from her hectic schedule to attend the dedication. “I’m proud to be here,” she said. “I told my mother before I left, ‘there’s no reason I can’t be there.'”

     Presley joins previous honorees Hartley Peavey, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, artist Walter Anderson, singer Moe Bandy, musician Mac McAnally, actor Morgan Freeman, musician Marty Stuart, actress Sela Ward; writers Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner, blues icon B.B. King and Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country music, who earned the first Walk of Fame star in 2009.

    The Walk of Fame is part of the MAEE, which encourages tourists and Mississippians alike to celebrate Mississippi’s artists and entertainers. The MAEE, which is scheduled to open in November 2017, will feature interactive exhibits on Mississippi artists in film, literature, music, arts, dance, theater and the visual arts. The two-story, 58,500-square foot facility is expected to draw between 125,000 to 150,000 visitors a year, officials said.