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Elvis, 21, and his mystery blonde caught in “The Kiss” — in a stairwell at the Mosque Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, minutes before a concert, June 1956.

It was the smooch seen around the world. Sixty years ago this summer, Elvis Presley and a young woman were captured on film kissing in a Richmond hallway.

For decades, Barbara Gray, the woman in the picture, went unidentified, but now she is reflecting on kissing The King.

Barbara's brush with Elvis Presley began with a dare.

In June of 1956, Barbara's friends convince her to call Elvis in his hotel room at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston.

Elvis had just performed in South Carolina before 4,000 screaming fans.

"The operator answered and I said 'Elvis Presley's room please.'"

Barbara said the 21-year-old singer chatted with her for at least an hour. A curious Elvis invited Barbara to his next concert in Virginia.

Elvis brings his “date for the day” along for the taxi ride (with Junior Smith—the brother of Elvis’s road manager Gene—pictured far right) to the theater.

Elvis and his new acquaintance at the Jefferson Hotel diner, Richmond, Virginia, June 1956.

Elvis and Bobbi—who had never heard his name until the previous day—get cozy in vinyl chairs at the hotel.

"He just reached out and hugged me," said Barbara. "I didn't know what to say. It was like I was numb."

From her home in South Carolina, the 80-year-old remembers seeing the sultry singer for the first time at The Hotel Jefferson in Richmond.

"Elvis turned around and I almost fainted. He was absolutely gorgeous," said Barbara. "I just melted."

Bobbi loosens up as the rising “King of Rock ’n’ Roll” shows her his script from an upcoming performance on The Steve Allen Show.

The 20-year-old dancer and model musters a smile at the coffee-shop counter.

Elvis flirtatiously whispers and Laughs in Bobbi’s ear at the hotel.

Elvis and his manager Gene take care of hotel business as Bobbi stands by.

Barbara and Elvis flirted over lunch hours before his two concerts at The Mosque.

In a cab ride to the auditorium Barbara says, "He played with me the whole way and it is only three blocks!" At the Mosque Theatre Barbara said Elvis took her out to the hallway just a few feet from the stage where thousands of his fans were waiting. Barbara said the King moved in to canoodle.

"I said no I'm not. He said, 'Yes you are,'" said Barbara. "And he was just quick enough to just lean forward and stick his tongue out and that is how quick it happened."

Elvis jokingly chokes Bobbi alongside Junior Smith on the ride to the theater for his performance later that night.

Bobbi smoothes her hair after Elvis playfully tousles her feathers on the way to the show.

The couple steal away from the concert’s crowd for a private moment backstage, Mosque Theatre, Richmond, Virginia.

The seminal moment was captured in a dimly lit hallway at Richmond's Mosque Theatre where not much has changed in the hallway. A series of legendary images show young lovers locked in an embrace.

"Oh yeah. I just laughed at it. I thought it was silly," said Barbara.

In the photo called "The Kiss" Elvis touches tongues with the shapely 20 year-old known then as Bobbi Owens. Critics call it one of the most iconic and erotic photographs in American history.

"Right off the bat he started to embrace me and hug me and said kiss me and I said 'no'," said Barbara. "At least he got a kiss of some kind."

Elvis closes in on Bobbi in the theater’s stairwell.

The seminal moment was captured in a dimly lit hallway at Richmond's Mosque Theatre where not much has changed in the hallway. A series of legendary images show young lovers locked in an embrace.

"Oh yeah. I just laughed at it. I thought it was silly," said Barbara.

In the photo called "The Kiss" Elvis touches tongues with the shapely 20 year-old known then as Bobbi Owens. Critics call it one of the most iconic and erotic photographs in American history.

"Right off the bat he started to embrace me and hug me and said kiss me and I said 'no'," said Barbara. "At least he got a kiss of some kind."

Elvis pins Bobbi in the stairwell, minutes before the show.

Days after the photos were taken on June 30th, 1956 Elvis would rocket to fame after appearing on national television. Barbara would fade into obscurity.

"We were both drawn to each other because he wasn't going to let me go," said Barbara.

The storied snapshots were the work of free-lance photographer Al Wertheimer hired by RCA to capture Elvis' every move.

"I didn't even notice him and neither did Elvis," said Barbara.

In a 2011 interview, the late-photographer described how he nearly missed The Kiss.

"I come down this staircase and find these two people down this narrow hallway and its Elvis and the girl. And I say to myself, 'Hmmm. I have got to get closer,'" he said.

The couple slowly warm up to one another backstage.

The couple slowly warm up to one another backstage.

Following the concert Elvis wanted Barbara to stay with him. Presley would invite Barbara to join him in New York City.

"He was taking me to the train station with him," said Barbara. "I told him that I had a boyfriend that I was going to see."

Barbara turned down the offer and walked out on Elvis.

"I never saw him again," she said.

Elvis pulls his date in with clasped hands and a smoldering glare.

Bobbi today.