When The Beatles Met Elvis

[colonel snow]

Deleted due to doubts about the information


colonel snow

[reg]

We seem to get different versions of this meeting every time. But I wonder if John had the balls to say Elvis he had been crap since 1958.

John wouldnt have said that because he didnt believe that. I think he thought his hero really lost his way with the movies in the 60s and he was right. I seem to remember that both he and Paul asked him what everyone wanted to ask, when are you gonna release some rock and roll on a single again. I think Elvis did his usual "maybe after I finish this movie Im doing" answer and John said something like cool, thats something I will buy. I sure wish we had a tape of even a little bit of their jam together or even them talking. The greatest ever musicians together.

[DarylR]

We seem to get different versions of this meeting every time. But I wonder if John had the balls to say Elvis he had been crap since 1958.

I know we discussed this here before, but it appears that John borrowed the intro of Elvis' 1961 recording of "Little Sister" for The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko." So clearly Lennon must have at least liked one of Elvis' post-Army recordings. I'm sure there are others. What I find interesting is that when Elvis performed "Little Sister" in Las Vegas in August 1970, he merged it with a different Beatles track, "Get Back" into a medley for his concert act (August 12, 1970 Midnight Show). And what's also interesting is that Elvis initially introduced "Little Sister" as a song that came out before he went into the Army but then corrected himself by saying that it came out after he was out of the Army. Which ironically correlates with the iconic Elvis quote from John Lennon regarding Elvis' death when Lennon said that "Elvis died when he went into the Army." Yet "Little Sister" was definitely a post-Army recording. What's also interesting is if you watch the documentary about songwriter Doc Pomus ("AKA Doc Pomus") they interview Pomus' daughter and she talks about Lennon wanting to sit beside her father at an awards ceremony for songwriters and how she once ran into Lennon at a grocery store and introduced herself to him as Doc Pomus' daughter and Lennon freaked out.

You could make the argument that Elvis going into the Army was equivalent to John divorcing from Cynthia and marrying Yoko. I know Yoko commonly gets blamed for the breakup of the Beatles. I think for Lennon to simply expect Elvis to put out the same type of records he made in the 1950s is absurd. The other thing I wanted to mention is that there's a book that essentially goes through all of the song excerpts that the Beatles did during the "Get Back" sessions and there were a few songs such as "It's Now Or Never" and "Wild In The Country" that were done. I think "I Got Stung" was another that comes to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWZSu4e5cI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZnm_s3wZeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8slFV8s3yI

[Mojo Filter]

We seem to get different versions of this meeting every time. But I wonder if John had the balls to say Elvis he had been crap since 1958.

I know we discussed this here before, but it appears that John borrowed the intro of Elvis' 1961 recording of "Little Sister" for The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko." So clearly Lennon must have at least liked one of Elvis' post-Army recordings. I'm sure there are others. What I find interesting is that when Elvis performed "Little Sister" in Las Vegas in August 1970, he merged it with a different Beatles track, "Get Back" into a medley for his concert act (August 12, 1970 Midnight Show). And what's also interesting is that Elvis initially introduced "Little Sister" as a song that came out before he went into the Army but then corrected himself by saying that it came out after he was out of the Army. Which ironically correlates with the iconic Elvis quote from John Lennon regarding Elvis' death when Lennon said that "Elvis died when he went into the Army." Yet "Little Sister" was definitely a post-Army recording. What's also interesting is if you watch the documentary about songwriter Doc Pomus ("AKA Doc Pomus") they interview Pomus' daughter and she talks about Lennon wanting to sit beside her father at an awards ceremony for songwriters and how she once ran into Lennon at a grocery store and introduced herself to him as Doc Pomus' daughter and Lennon freaked out.

You could make the argument that Elvis going into the Army was equivalent to John divorcing from Cynthia and marrying Yoko. I know Yoko commonly gets blamed for the breakup of the Beatles. I think for Lennon to simply expect Elvis to put out the same type of records he made in the 1950s is absurd. The other thing I wanted to mention is that there's a book that essentially goes through all of the song excerpts that the Beatles did during the "Get Back" sessions and there were a few songs such as "It's Now Or Never" and "Wild In The Country" that were done. I think "I Got Stung" was another that comes to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWZSu4e5cI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZnm_s3wZeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8slFV8s3yI

John certainly did like some post army Elvis recordings and has said so in at least one interview I know of. But he preferred the 50s Elvis, like most Elvis fans, and felt he just wasn't the same when he left the army. Realistically, there are also a lot of Elvis fans that feel the same way as John. I know some Elvis fans that don't dig Elvis' at all after 1958.

At the time Elvis died John was in Japan and he was pressurised into making a comment about Elvis' death from the media/press, and just to quickly gave an answer for them he just quipped "Elvis died in the army".

For me, I also prefer the 50s Elvis, he was at his best. While I like some stuff post army and he certainly put every effort into recording "Elvis Is Back" as much as the effort he made to recording stuff in the 50s, I still feel he wasn't the same man. Something destroyed him.

As for a "jam session" when they met in 65, I couldn't careless if there was one or not. They met and that's all that matters.

[John]

But he preferred the 50s Elvis, like most Elvis fans

Really? Like most Elvis fans? Do you have the proof for this? Was there an international survey of Elvis fans done that I missed?

[Mojo Filter]

But he preferred the 50s Elvis, like most Elvis fans

Really? Like most Elvis fans? Do you have the proof for this? Was there an international survey of Elvis fans done that I missed?

No I don't have proof but i would say yes. But thousands of them don't visit messageboards or even buy books, magazines they just like the music but 50s only and don't dig post army Elvis. I've met a fair few myself.

[John]

But he preferred the 50s Elvis, like most Elvis fans

Really? Like most Elvis fans? Do you have the proof for this? Was there an international survey of Elvis fans done that I missed?

No I don't have proof but i would say yes. But thousands of them don't visit messageboards or even buy books, magazines they just like the music but 50s only and don't dig post army Elvis. I've met a fair few myself.

Well that's good enough for me!

[reg]

We seem to get different versions of this meeting every time. But I wonder if John had the balls to say Elvis he had been crap since 1958.

I know we discussed this here before, but it appears that John borrowed the intro of Elvis' 1961 recording of "Little Sister" for The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko." So clearly Lennon must have at least liked one of Elvis' post-Army recordings. I'm sure there are others. What I find interesting is that when Elvis performed "Little Sister" in Las Vegas in August 1970, he merged it with a different Beatles track, "Get Back" into a medley for his concert act (August 12, 1970 Midnight Show). And what's also interesting is that Elvis initially introduced "Little Sister" as a song that came out before he went into the Army but then corrected himself by saying that it came out after he was out of the Army. Which ironically correlates with the iconic Elvis quote from John Lennon regarding Elvis' death when Lennon said that "Elvis died when he went into the Army." Yet "Little Sister" was definitely a post-Army recording. What's also interesting is if you watch the documentary about songwriter Doc Pomus ("AKA Doc Pomus") they interview Pomus' daughter and she talks about Lennon wanting to sit beside her father at an awards ceremony for songwriters and how she once ran into Lennon at a grocery store and introduced herself to him as Doc Pomus' daughter and Lennon freaked out.

You could make the argument that Elvis going into the Army was equivalent to John divorcing from Cynthia and marrying Yoko. I know Yoko commonly gets blamed for the breakup of the Beatles. I think for Lennon to simply expect Elvis to put out the same type of records he made in the 1950s is absurd. The other thing I wanted to mention is that there's a book that essentially goes through all of the song excerpts that the Beatles did during the "Get Back" sessions and there were a few songs such as "It's Now Or Never" and "Wild In The Country" that were done. I think "I Got Stung" was another that comes to mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWZSu4e5cI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZnm_s3wZeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8slFV8s3yI

Cool post but you have the wrong song for the Beatles song, its the Burnette Trio recording that was borrowed. And theres a book that lists a lot of Elvis songs the Beatles did at their early shows before they got big and it includes plenty of songs after he came out in the army. One I remember is Wooden Heart, another is Its Now Of Never.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXOeAh2nqU

[Mister Moon]

I know we discussed this here before, but it appears that John borrowed the intro of Elvis' 1961 recording of "Little Sister" for The Beatles "The Ballad of John and Yoko." So clearly Lennon must have at least liked one of Elvis' post-Army recordings.

Come on, let's not go there again. This is just a supposition, nothing else :

Similarities between Little Sister and a Beatles song
https://www.theelvisforum-phoenix.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11230&p=136110&hilit=jackson#p136110

Lennon said that "Elvis died when he went into the Army." Yet "Little Sister" was definitely a post-Army recording.

Of course, Lennon's quote was not meant to be taken literally. John meant that Elvis post-Army career was in many ways a disappointment for many who had followed his career since the beginning. No more, no less, than that.

I'm sure John liked many songs Elvis cut post-1960.

You could make the argument that Elvis going into the Army was equivalent to John divorcing from Cynthia and marrying Yoko.

Yoko was an inspiration for John. I don't know if the same could be said about Cynthia.

[Hard Rocker]

Yup. Where would we be without Two Virgins.

For me, by '67 most of Lennon's best work was already behind him.

[Bill B]

Yup. Where would we be without Two Virgins.

For me, by '67 most of Lennon's best work was already behind him.

I know I am in the minority but I don't Yoko was a good for John Lennon at all, She drove him away from his band [Just read Beatles anthology George goes into a little detail about this] She didn't like or want his son visiting him even on those rare occasions John made the effort, forced her garbage music on him and his band and their record label and let's not forget she didn't allow Sean's bodyguard to beef up security around them within weeks of his death because she said they had an album to promote and the cosmos said there was no danger. Yeah smart woman one could argue she was his Tom Parker.

[Hard Rocker]

Lennon had the pick of the hottest, most charismatic and intelligent women of the 60's, yet he fell hard for this rather plain looking woman with a load of conceptual art pretensions though not much discernible talent. It's a strange world.

[Colin B]

Lennon had the pick of the hottest, most charismatic and intelligent women of the 60's, yet he fell hard for this rather plain looking woman with a load of conceptual art pretensions though not much discernible talent. It's a strange world.

His explanation at the time was "She's like me in drag !"

[Hard Rocker]

Yeah, that's why she liked him he says.... but I was chatting more about what he saw in her!

[Hard Rocker]

Dunno about The Ballad of John & Yoko being similar to Little Sister but the bass line is a direct lift of Don't Be Cruel and the vocal melody is reminiscent of That's Alright Mama.