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Q : How about that historic night with the
Fab Four. We have the different angles from some of the other guys who were
there. Why don't we have you just take us through it.
A : The day Elvis and the Beatles met.
There's a lot of different versions of this story. We've all gotten older. All
our memories are different. And maybe when you read things or believe certain
things you read, which you know are not true but eventually they become real. My
recollection - - only mine -- is when the Beatles first came to the United
States, I think it was 64. They wanted to meet Elvis and it never worked out. So
in 65 when they came back again, Brian Epstein and
Colonel Parker got
together and talked about seeing if they could arrange a meeting. Basically what
it was, they said fine.
Elvis was making a movie at the time, I forgot
which one it was. And we were at MGM studios and their road manager Malcolm
Evans, nice man, he was the biggest Elvis fan in the world. I mean he was
amazing, bigger than the Beatles were. So Malcolm came over to the studio to
meet the Colonel and he was all dressed up nice in his suit and tie, and
everything like that. So Colonel Parker called me on the set and he said, 'Joe,
I need to talk to you'. So I went over to the Colonels office. He introduces
Malcolm. And he said, 'Take Malcolm over to the set to meet Elvis and talk about
what night were going to get together'. And I said, 'Great'. So I took Malcolm
over there. He was a nervous wreck, the poor guy. I mean, he was just shaking in
his boots, I mean. You know, when somebody meets somebody they idolize they
don't know what to say, they can't talk. And I introduced Malcolm to Elvis and
he was so nervous he shook his hand and that was it. There was nothing to say.
You know, say something Malcolm, you know. But he just said how much he admired
Elvis and the Beatles are really anxious to meet him and all of that. And
basically all that happened that night. So then I took Malcolm back to the
office and Malcolm was just thrilled. He couldn't believe his -- he says, 'I
didn't know what to say'. He says, 'All my years wanting to meet Elvis and I
didn't know what to say'.
So, OK we made arrangements for one night a
couple of days later. What happened is that Colonel Parker and myself had two
limousines picked us up at Elvis house. At the house was Elvis and Priscilla,
and my wife Joan and a bunch of the guy's girl friends and wives and stuff. And
I went to the house. The two limousines. The boys had a house rented up on
Coldwater Canyon. We went up there -- two limousines -- we went inside, met the
guys and a couple of their friends with them. Got in the limousines. Colonel was
with John and Paul in one limousine. I was with Ringo and George Harrison in the
other car and a couple of other guys, Malcolm the road manager. And we all go
back to the house. The Colonel, you know, being the promoter that he is, he
leaked it out that the Beatles are meeting Elvis tonight. So we get out there
and there's thousands of kids hanging all over the walls, climbing the trees,
and reporters. And we pull in, go into the driveway and all the boys get out and
we went to the door and Elvis was there to greet them.
 Now some people say that Elvis wasn't there, but
Elvis was standing there, from what I remember and a lot of the other guys
remember. Elvis and Priscilla were there to meet the guys, and they were
introduced and Brian Epstein and people like that all walked in to the living
room -- the family room. And the TV was on -- Elvis always had a television on
-- all the time. I don't care what it was, it was always on. It was like his
company, I guess. So we sat down and they talked for a little while. It was
really quiet. They all just sat there and looked at Elvis. They didn't know what
to say. The same thing I told you about before. I've met big stars too and I
didn't know what to say either. So they're the same way. And like John Lennon
said, 'If it wasn't for Elvis Presley, there would be no Beatles'. So they
idolized this guy. And that's where Elvis got up off the couch and he said,
'Well, if these guys are all going to sit around and look at me, I'm going to
sleep'. And they said, 'No Elvis, we're sorry we didn't know what to say. Let's
sit down and talk and relax'.
Then they went and got a couple of acoustic
guitars and sat around and started playing some old songs. You know oldies, but
goodies songs --Chuck Berry tunes and just some instrumentals. I mean, that's
what I remember. Some guys say they didn't play. Some guys say they do. I heard
them I thought. Unless I'm losing my mind, too.
But at that time, we owned this roulette table.
Actually it was a coffee table and when you picked it up, you drop the legs off,
took the top off, it became a roulette table, like in Vegas. So, the Colonel
said, 'You want to play a little roulette?' So, I was the house. I was the
banker. So we started playing and Ringo would come over and play a little bit
and George Harrison played a little and a few of the guys. I was losing for a
while there and I was really hurtin'. All of a sudden I started winning and we
won. The other guys were playing guitar and singing and everything was a real
quiet evening. Very nice. it was polite.
It lasted for about two or three hours and there
were no cameras taken -- no pictures whatsoever. People say there's pictures. No
recordings, nothing like that. The only pictures of that meeting were outside
taken by fans and photographers. Nothing on the inside. No pictures taken
together. And it was great. It was real enjoyable. They were real nice guys. I'm
a big fan of the Beatles too and that was it for the night.
Q : Did that night change Elvis perspective
on the Beatles once he got the chance to get to know them?
A : Well, Elvis loved the Beatles music.
I mean, let's face it, he recorded three of their songs. He just did -- Yellow
Submarine that period of time. He didn't care for those songs. Elvis was a very
believed in songs with a lot of good words and meaning with something behind
them like 'Michelle' and 'Yesterday' and 'Hey Jude' and those songs. He didn't
care for that period of time. That was a drug time which was ironic. So, those
songs he didn't care about. But he didn't say anything bad about the Beatles. I
mean, there's always stories about him putting the Beatles down and stuff like
that. And we all say different things about different people at different times
and really don't mean. But overall, he respected them.
 Priscilla Presley Remembers (from 'Elvis by the Presleys')
Priscilla: Some stars want to meet other stars.
Some stars have to hang out with other stars. Not Elvis. I can't remember him
once telling the Colonel to arrange a meeting with anyone famous. He saw
Hollywood as the home of phonies. He certainly felt out of place, which is why
the minute the movie wrapped he was gone.
One memorable evening, the Colonel arranged for
Elvis to meet four famous people. But I believe it was the Beatles who were
eager to meet Elvis, not the other way around. In fact, when John, Paul, Ringo
and George walked in, Elvis was relaxing on the couch, looking at TV without the
sound. He barely bothered to get up. Naturally he was curious about the Beatles.
He respected them. Mostly he respected the way they had achieved their artistic
freedom. He saw how they did whatever they liked to do. He appreciated their
songs and especially their film 'A Hard Day's Night' where their creativity and
sense of fun came through so powerfully. 'Help!' was out or just about to be
released. He also admired Bob Dylan and appreciated Dylan's serious songwriting.
But Elvis, like all iconic entertainers, was
conscious of competitors. He understood that generational idols come and go, and
that, for this new generation, the Beatles were the new idols. He viewed this
whole world of music coming from England - the Beatles and Stones and the Dave
Clark Five - with tremendous interest and I suppose some trepidation. He
acknowledged their talent and energy - he told me so on many occasions - but he
worried about losing popularity. And in 1965, no one was more popular than the
Beatles.
The night they arrived at our house on Perugia
Way in Bel Air there were nearly as many security men outside as fans. This was
definitely treated as a summit. The fact that Elvis greeted them with studied
casualness didn't mean he didn't care. He did. He was simply affirming his role
as Original King. The Beatles respected that role enormously. When they were
escorted into our living room and finally greeted Elvis, all they could do was
stare, especially John and Paul. Intimidation was written all over their faces.
They couldn't have been more humble. At first it was awkward. They looked to
Elvis for an agenda. Clearly Elvis was running the show. But Elvis was simply
content to recline on the couch and watch soundless TV. Was this going to be the
extent of the evening's activities?
Thirty minutes or so into their visit, Elvis got
up, put a song on the stereo, picked up his bass and began playing along with
the music. It might have been something by Charlie Rich, I'm not sure, but it
broke the ice. Out came the guitars and a jam session was under way. Paul was
surprised Elvis played bass. The truth is that Elvis had been teaching himself
bass for a while and, given his natural talent, was accomplished within no time.
For the rest of the evening there was more music than talk. I don't think Elvis
asked the Beatles a single question and I know the Beatles were too overwhelmed
to ask a question of Elvis.
But they got along and made sweet music
together. I regret that no one had a camera or tape recorder to record the
historic moment. When it seemed Elvis was ready to retire, the evening came to
an end, but not until we all enjoyed several hours of music and idle chatter.
John and Paul invited Elvis to their place - they had leased a house in nearby
Benedict Canyon - the next night. Clearly they wanted to maintain and extend
this relationship. Elvis smiled and said, 'We'll see'. But I knew he had no
intention of returning the visit. Elvis rarely went out in Hollywood, not even
for show business royalty. Several of Elvis's boys, though, took up the offer.
When they returned they said that John wanted Elvis to know that without him
there would be no Beatles. He was their first and best inspiration. Elvis liked
hearing that, but even such a compliment wasn't enough to invite them back.
 The Beatles Remember
John Lennon : When I first heard 'Heartbreak
Hotel', I could hardly make out what was being said. It was just the experience
of hearing it and having my hair stand on end. We'd never heard American voices
singing like that. They'd always sung like Sinatra or enunciated very well.
Suddenly, there's this hillbilly hiccupping on tape echo and all this bluesy
background going on. And we didn't know what the hell Presley was singing about,
or Little Richard or Chuck Berry. It took a long time to work out what was going
on. To us, it just sounded like a noise that was great.
It was nice meeting Elvis. He was just Elvis,
you know? He seemed normal to us, and we were asking about his making movies and
not doing any personal appearances or TV. I asked him if he was preparing new
ideas for his next film and he drawled, 'Ah sure am. Ah play a country boy with
a guitar who meets a few gals along the way, and ah sing a few songs'. We all
looked at one another. Finally Presley and Colonel Parker laughed and explained
that the only time they departed from that formula - for
Wild in the Country - they lost money.
He had his TV going all the time, which is what
I do; we always have TV on. We never watch it - it's just there with no sound
on, and we listen to records. In front of the TV, he had a massive amplifier
with a bass plugged into it, and he was up playing bass all the time with the
picture up on the TV. So we just got in there and played with him. We all
plugged in whatever was around, and we played and sang. He had a jukebox, like I
do, but I think he had all his hits on it. But if I'd made as many as him, maybe
I'd have all mine on.
Paul McCartney :We met Elvis Presley at the end
of our stay in L.A. We'd tried for years to, but we could never get to him. He
was our greatest idol, but the styles were changing in favor of us. He was a
pretty powerful image to British people. You'd look at photos of him doing
American concerts, and the audience would not even be jumping up and down. We
used to be amazed, seeing them sitting in the front row - not even dancing.
We played a bit of pool with a few of his
motorcycle mates, and at about ten o'clock, Priscilla was brought in. To
demonstrate the respect that country-and-western people have for their wives.
Sometimes it's a bit on the surface - as maybe their situation was shown to be
later. It was like, 'Here's Priscilla'. She came in, and I got this picture of
her as a sort of a Barbie doll - with a purple gingham dress and a gingham bow
in her very beehive hair, with lots of makeup. We all said hello, and then it
was, 'Right, lads, hands off - she's going'. She didn't stay long.
That was the great thing for me, that he was
into the bass, So there I was, 'Well, let me show you a thing or two, El...'
Suddenly he was a mate. It was a great conversation piece for me. I could
actually talk about the bass, and we sat around and just enjoyed ourselves. He
was great - talkative and friendly and a little bit shy. But that was his image.
We expected that, we hoped for that.
It was one of the great meetings of my life. I
think he liked us. I think at that time, he may have felt a little bit
threatened, but he didn't say anything. We certainly didn't feel any antagonism.
These were great times, so even if you didn't
enjoy all of the events that much, you could still go home to Liverpool and say,
'Well, you know who I met?' I mean, to meet Elvis, or anybody like that, or to
say you've been to Sunset Strip - it was very impressive.
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