From Elvis Presley to Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter to James Burton, north Louisiana’s musical roots are deep and soulful. All three men are among artists featured in the Stage of Stars and Legends Museum at Municipal Auditorium, 705 Elvis Presley Ave., in Shreveport.

The museum uncovers stories of the area’s legendary people and places that have influenced the American music scene, with displays featuring memorabilia from the heyday of the Louisiana Hayride – a radio show broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium from the late 1940s to the early 1970s.

On Oct. 16, 1954, Presley made his first of 50 appearances under the contracted pay rate of $18 per show for the first year. In addition, the catch-phrase “Elvis has left the building” was coined in Shreveport as it was first uttered at Hirsch Coliseum by Louisiana Hayride producer Horace Logan to quiet screaming teens.

In 2004, on the 50th anniversary of Presley’s first broadcast, a larger-than-life bronze statue, was placed on the steps of the Municipal Auditorium. To his left is an equally impressive bronze statue of his guitar band mate and Shreveport native James Burton. Burton started as a house guitar player for the Hayride and later became a member of Elvis’ TCB Band. He also was voted one of the top 100 guitarists of the century.

Each summer Burton presents the James Burton International Guitar Festival in Shreveport. He and many musical stars entertain during the festival, whose purpose is to raise money for the James Burton Foundation, which provides music training and guitars for children around the country.

In 2009, Lead Belly and his legacy were celebrated with the first-ever Lead Belly Blues Festival at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport. The event featured musicians Buddy Flett, Ruthie Foster, Bobby Rush and more. Lead Belly, whose best-known compositions were “Goodnight Irene” and “House of the Rising Sun,” was born on a plantation in 1889 in nearby Mooringsport. A life-sized statue honors him at Texas and Marshall Streets in downtown Shreveport. The statue shows him pointing toward Ledbetter Heights, an area named in his honor. He died in 1949 and was buried near Shiloh Baptist Church in Mooringsport.