Elvis Was A Beatles' Favorite

Who cares??

Harrison was cool, I think he was a great musician and a smart guy, not a showbussiness famed fat head. He reached closer to Elvis than the other Beatles and all his coments about Elvis have been very positive. Shakingruud, who cares about people making coments like yours.

Yeah, i agree with William.Very mature statement.George was a master musican and loved Elvis.Im sure Elvis did rehearse 'My Sweet Lord'.That would have been awesome if that was recorded.

Growing up in the fifties, who could fail to have been inspired by Elvis Presleys music and style? All the great artists around at that time owed a debt to the king. The late and much lamented Buddy Holly and Rick Nelson. Together with"late commers" John Lennon and George Harrison. Were inspired by the songs and the " energy" which captivated teens world wide. At last they had their own music! And Elvis was their role model.

Of course Elvis hated The Beatles deep inside while making those crap movies in Hollywood and The Beatles playing America.

i dont think elvis totally hated the beatles. i think he was upset with the fact everyone said elvis was washed up thanks to the movies he was making. deep inside he wanted to be there rival and tour like he used to. itrs no coinincedence that in 1969 elvis returned and the beatles separated. they knew the king was back and they broke up b4 they looked silly. if elvis was performing on stage in the 60's the beatle mania may have never happened. heck back in the late 70's these punk rockers and dico singers were being held back in concert venues cuz elvis was still selling out. when he died many of these singers were sad that he died but happy cuz they could be heard by the fans who were flocking to elvis's concerts. and many have done homages to him and george harrison is one of them.

"Who cares" we care.Elvis appreciated good music as did the Beatles.I only wish they could have done "something" together (pun intended) Trying To Get To You,is one of my fav's too,well done George.

Trying To Get To You was Vernon Presley [Elvis' dad] favorite song. ELVIS sang this in his later Concerts specially for his him who's in the audience.

elvis couldnt stand lennon that working class dead head . all working class blokes are great but he gave the working class a bad image . better where he is . you notice that elvis recorded pauls and georges . he seemed to make sure that it wasnt lennons . everytime i think of lennon, yuk. i dont think that george was really a elvis fan . but the song tryn to get you is great . with old shep one of my favourites .

George Harrison also said the first rock and roll record he ever remembered hearing was "Heartbreak Hotel". Also, I think the first "recording" The beatles made in 1958, a song called "In Spite of All the Danger" written by McCartney and Harrison was based on Elvis' "Trying to Get to You". All this Elvis versus Beatles animosity is totally bogus and phony to me. Elvis wanted to meet them in 1965 ...and he did. The beatles were the only musicians he ever wanted to meet. And Elvis was the only musician The Beatles ever wamted to meet. So obviously if Elvis wanted to meet them, he was impressed by The Beatles as musicians. When The Beatles single "Get Back" came out in 1969, Elvis loved it right away and began performing it in concert paired with "Little Sister". Obviously Elvis heard the similarity to "Little Sister". And it was there. Lennon and McCartney never hid the fact that Elvis was a major influence on them. Elvis recorded "Heu Jude", "Yesterday", "Get Back", "Lady Madonna", and "Something" (by George Harrison. Elvis also played "I Feel Fine" when he met The Beatles in 1965 and he rehearsed The Beatles' version of "Matchbox" by Carl Perkins and I believe "Slowdown" as well. So I think Elvis and The Beatles were great mutual fans of each other. Duh! Is this really a big surprise to anyone? If it is, you must be brain dead! Duuuuuh!

I also don't buy the Elvis hated Lennon crap either. "I Feel Fine" was by Lennon and "Matchbox" and "Slowdown" were John Lennon favorites. John Lennon turned everybody else on to Carl Perkins. Elvis loved the Beatles double-sided single/45 from 1964 Matchbox/Slowdown. And these two songs were really John Lennon favorites that he got The Beatles to record. I don't think Lennon's style suited Elvis. McCartney and Harrison were very wimpy and MOR and very tame. Lennon was a wildman and revolutionary. Lennon songs were cutting edge and pushed all the boundaries. Yeah, Elvis stayed away from those. Elvis liked the safe ballads or mushy love songs a la Barry Manilow and Englebert Humperdinck. Lennon tended to hate those kinds of songs. So Elvis and lennon did not see eye to eye. And Elvis would never understand or dig a record like "Cold Turkey" or "Revolution 9". But I think Elvis dug those early Lennon records with The Beatles. I am sure Elvis would have dug a song like Lennon's "In My Life" and would probably have recorded it if he had lived. Lieber and Stoller said it was the greatest song ever written! I am sure Elvis would have appreciated Lennon if he had lived. Elvis was too caught up in that 1970s mellow ballad crap to really appreciate the timeless music. B. J. Thomas, Neil Diamond, Englebert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, Don MacLean, Olivia Newton-John. Elvis was scraping the barrel. Elvis was really going for the fluff back then. But I think with the passage of time, Elvis would be able to put it all in perspective.

If you read the books about Elvis' life and/or watch any of the interviews with "The Memphis Mafia" you understand Elvis considered The Beatles as his major rivals (just as Sinatra did with Elvis before) there are elements of admiration,after all he recorded several of their songs, and jealousy in as much as he held them up as subversives to President Nixon and his buddies.All in all it worked both ways with Lennon in particular, he said meeting Elvis was like "meeting Englebert Humperdink" but at one of his concerts in New York in 1972 he sang "Hound Dog" and can clearly be heard to shout "I love you Elvis" during the song.You get the feeling that both artists are mutually vying for the title of "The Greatest" but defer in some ways to each other.Elvis knew he couldn't write the songs that The Beatles could and The Beatles didn't have Elvis' charisma or presence. Both Elvis and The Beatles are up there and distinguished in their own fields now because with time we have learned to identify various elements that amount to greatness and put them into perspective.The rivalry of the individuals of the 60s is no more,all that's left are bodies of work that continue to inspire future generations and the legacy is far greater than either could have imagined at the time. All in all, they are both "The Greatest" now and that is the difference with "then" and "now".

eagleone, 'All working class blokes are great'?? Are you sure?! And he's 'better where he is' is he? Two things; firstly, it's debatable whether Lennon was working class.....he lived with his aunt in a prosperous part of Liverpool, got a Grammar School education and went to Art College. Secondly, 'where he is' is in the most successful, and critically acclaimed, band of all time......bar none. Not a bad place to be. And Mofoca22, at a rough guess I'd say that The Beatles didn't split up because Elvis was playing Las Vegas in '69. Elvis fan though I am, did Elvis really have more charisma than The Beatles circa '64?....I don't think so.

No one really knows what Elvis thought or said about The Beatles. John Lennon was a manipulative individual and pretty mixed up in general. He made some of the most ridiculous statements since Neanderthal times. Bizzarely, millions of people many of them educated individuals believed him. Elvis was the opposite. "From The Beatles songbook Ladies and Gentleman"! What greater tribute could an artist give? Surely though there can be no doubt that George Harrison was one of the most gentle, modest greats of music. If "Trying To Get To You" was his favorite, it must be a brilliant record!

ranger, carl, don`t get me started about that 60s boyband. they would not have made it as big as they did if they only toured their own backyard,never would have been as big if The King wasn`t releasing Movie Songs, and disappeared not long after The Comeback. As for singing `ballad crap` in the 70s, u ain`t nothing but a part-time fan if that`s what you think of The King! I don`t give a you-know-what about so-called message songs, if i want to listen to socially minded subjects i`ll turn on the news or read to a poem. I listen to The King because of his voice, i`m not particularly bothered about meaningfulness, And no-one, and i mean no-one, had more charisma or magnetism than Elvis-at any stage of his career. Please people,stop putting the boyband in the same conversation as Elvis!!!

This reminds me of when I was a teenager and my sister and I used to argue over who was best Wham or Duran Duran!! Anyone who can write a song as beautiful as "Something" gets my respect, especially the way Elvis sang it.

I asked Joe strummer of the Clash what his favourite Elvis song was (via a Readers questions feature in a magazine). It was Crawfish. As with George Harrison's I think it's an interesting choice.

re-volvo, as regards to Something...that is pretty much my point,T he writing is never going to be the most important part of a song to make it `come to life`-it`s the voice. I can write some pretty good songs on paper, but can`t sing. If people base artists `greatness` on writing, then try reading poetry. Elvis Presley brings songs to life, just another reason he is the unparallelled King.

it´s been said (Elvis His Live From A to Z Wings Books page 84) that Harrison visited Elvis in Las Vegas several times during the 70´s. Its been said in another book (don´t remember which one) that in one of those visits Harrison introduced Eric Clapton to Elvis. Clapton is reported to have said: It would be an honour to play with James Burton and Elvis Presley. So bad that never happened.

ranger i said what i said because its not as bogus as u think it is. in 1968 elvis had his comeback special and the whole rock n roll world knew the king was back on top and no one could stop him once he got touring again. the beatles knew this too and they knew they would cease to sell as an attraction when the king returned. u talk about elvis' music being all mushy in the end but so werent the beatles music. they sang songs like something, let it be, and the long winding road. they matured as well for there final songs 2gether. everyone blames yoko on the breakup but in reality the beatles knew there time was up when elvis returned. and elvis as a tribute to them did there songs like yesterday, hey jude, something and get back cuz they respected him enough to step down. he was kind of miffed though cuz throughout the 70's he had no one to challange him. he was the lonesome at number 1 and that led to the destruction of himself.

What a load of twaddle regarding the Beatles ' quaking in their boots' at the thought of Elvis returning to live shows. You don't have a clue. John Lennon falling out with McCartney and the arrival of Yoko on the scene was the cause of their split - not the thought of Elvis. Yes the 68 comeback was a revelation, but it was all so short lived. Despite being my hero, apart from the 50's and the occasionally glimpse of brilliance, Elvis is largely a musical irrelvance for the majority of his career. Whereas the Beatles were always pushing the boundaries of contempory music.

John142, you comment that "Elvis was largely a musical irrelevance for the majority of his career". It reminds me of Lennons famous one-liner "Elvis died when he left the Army". You also say that Elvis is your hero, like he was to Lennon. Do you not see the same contradiction? Also, you have the same name thing going on. Its a bit spooky!! "Pushing the boundaries of contemporary music"! Now that is original.

While most evreything is matter of choice. I have to agree with Stu -pointing out what John4126 writes about the Beatles "always pushing the boundaries of contemporary music" - with empahsis on the word "always"- ofcourse with most, Elvis had only occasional moments of brilliance. with songs like " Yellow Submarine" or "Octopuss' Garden" in their bag it is wonder that most critics never thought the boundaries were lowered. Imagine. Strawberry fields forever.

Thanks for the information on Joe Strummer Matt. I wasn’t aware of that. Unfortunately whenever The Beatles are mentioned on an Elvis board there are always negative comments. You would think that the fact that George Harrison’s favourite record was “Trying To Get To You” would be seen as a positive thing as it clearly illustrates Elvis’ influence on the band, but unfortunately many people feel they have to criticise whenever The Beatles are mentioned. Sad really.