Elvis and the Beatles were, at best, frenemies Elvis's insults in the White House are a sad coda to the relationship between the pop stars. At best, Elvis and the Beatles had a strained relationship.
Despite the evening getting back on track, Elvis seemingly wasn't won over by The Beatles. Years later, it emerged that he believed they were a force for immorality in America, a group that was destroying the cultural fabric of his once-great country.
A secretive meeting between the Fab Four and the King. On August 27, 1965, a turning point in pop culture occurred at 525 Perugia Way in Bel Air, California, one that few knew about while it was taking place: the meeting between the four Beatles and Elvis Presley, in Elvis's home.
It is worth mentioning that the Beatles themselves held immense respect and admiration for Elvis, considering him a significant influence on their own musical development. They recognized his contributions to popular music and looked up to him as a rock 'n' roll icon.
He looked too much like a rock star to me. “Elvis is the greatest because he did his own thing,” John Lennon once said of the singer. It made no difference what anyone said to him. In both his style and rebellious manner, it's clear that The Beatles owe much to Elvis.
Growing up in 1950s Liverpool, John Lennon – who would have been 82 this month – and Paul McCartney fell in love with rising star Elvis Presley's rock and roll music.
As teenagers, The Beatles, especially John Lennon, were strongly influenced by Elvis Presley. They started wearing their hair slicked back like Elvis. They admired his rebelliousness and his appeal to women, not to mention his musical talent. “Nothing affected me until I heard Elvis,” John Lennon said.
“John had annoyed Presley by making his anti-war feelings known the moment he stepped into the massive lounge and spotted the table lamps — model wagons engraved with the message: 'All the way with LBJ,'” LBJ, of course, being a Lyndon B. Johnson who succeeded John F.
Apparently, Elvis laughed it all off at the time but couldn't hide how offended he was. And he never forgot. In fact, it became a bit of an obsession for him. Hutchins revealed: "Presley allied himself with the FBI director Edgar Hoover and encouraged him to have Lennon thrown out of the US."
Lennon, according to Harris, was disappointed when he met Lennon despite his admiration for Elvis' music. It is true that he despised the King of Rock and Roll because he perceived him to be a right-wing bigot from the South. When he was a teenager, John Lennon was a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
Top-selling artists worldwide as of 2022
Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales. Second is Garth Brooks with over 157 million units sales, followed by Elvis Presley with 139 million units.
In terms of numbers, The Beatles have sold 36.5 million more albums in the U.S. than Elvis, yet Elvis sold 25.5 million more singles than The Beatles. Since albums usually contain 10-12 more songs than singles, The Beatles would clearly be the winner in terms of U.S. record sales.
Probably the most prominent Beatles' song covered by Elvis is “Something” due to the fact that Presley sang it live during his “Aloha from Hawaii” concert special in 1973. This concert was broadcast all over the world via satellite and has been captured for posterity on the concert DVD and album.
"He loved close harmony," says former Memphis Mafia member Red West, who lived at Graceland. He says Elvis's favorite groups were the Harmonizing Four and Golden Gate Quartet and his favorite gospel singers included Jimmy Jones, Jake Hess (who sang with the Statesmen and later formed the Imperials) and Mahalia Jackson.
But Starr admitted the experience has been tainted, as he claimed Presley tried to ban them from entering the USA in the years following their initial meeting.
Before he knew it, Beatlemania was in full swing, and Ol' Blue Eyes was left with egg on his face. Featured in the book George Harrison on George Harrison, a brutally honest quote from Sinatra reads: “I thought the Beatles would die in New York. I was very surprised by the reception they got. I guess I was wrong.”
Thankfully, the meeting between the two legends went well and they even exchanged a few words. But for Lennon, it was an experience that he would never forget. 'John Lennon told me last night that I didn't have the nerve to tell Elvis, but I wanted to impersonate him when I was in high school,' I remembered.
Today marks the day Elvis famously performed "Hound Dog" on "The Milton Berle Show" and stirred up quite a frenzy. On June 5, 1956, Elvis set his guitar to the side and performed what came to be known as one of the most controversial performances in television history.
He made the call and spoke to Elvis at Graceland in August 1964. With the help of their managers, Colonel Parker and Brian Epstein, The Beatles finally got to meet The King of Rock and Roll in Los Angeles in August 1965. “It was one of the great meetings of my life,” said Paul McCartney.
Dolly Parton has regrets over rejecting Elvis Presley to cover her song I Will Always Love You in the early 1970s. In an interview with W Magazine, the country singer explained that Presley's manager had approached her on behalf the King of Rock 'n' Roll to cover the song.
Of people who are at least somewhat familiar with the Beatles, 43% say they love McCartney, while somewhat fewer say they love each of the three other band members, including John Lennon (34% love him), Ringo Starr (32%), and George Harrison (31%).
“Heartbreak Hotel” seemed to change everything, not just for John Lennon, but also for rock and roll history.
Before Harrison died on November 29, 2001, he looked back on meeting Elvis for the final time. He said: "I met him in Madison Square Garden a couple of years before the end." Elvis died on August 16, 1977, of cardiac arrest.
Mick Jagger
"It was Elvis that got me interested in music. I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid. Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be.
The group were huge Elvis admirers and three members (Plant, Page and Bonham) gladly accepted along with their infamous manager, Peter Grant. Although not a big fan of hard rock, Elvis knew who Zeppelin were and was amused that his young step-brother, Ricky, was so excited to hear that they'd be in the audience.