Elton John Said Elvis Looked Like a ‘Corpse’ When They Met: ‘He’s Not Long for This World’
In 1976, Elton John had the opportunity to meet one of his childhood idols, Elvis Presley. John was a longtime fan of Elvis and had long looked forward to meeting him. Unfortunately, the meeting was not what he expected. John found Elvis to be a tragic figure. He walked away from the meeting knowing he did not want to end up like Elvis.
Elton John said Elvis looked terrible when they met
In 1976, John and his writing partner Bernie Taupin attended an Elvis concert. Though initially thrilled to be there, they found the show disheartening.
“We went to see him do a show but it was absolutely pitiful,” Taupin said in the book Sir Elton by Philip Norman. “He was so drugged, he could hardly sing — he just stood there, handing out scarves.”
After the show, Taupin and John went backstage to meet Elvis. This was even more upsetting than the performance.
“Then we were taken backstage to see him. There was this dressing room, full of Memphis Mafia, with Elvis in the middle of them on a stool, wrapped in towels. He looked awful, he was sweating, with the dye from his hair running down his face,” Taupin recalled. “And all these guys in suits around him in a kind of huddle. I don’t think he even knew who we were. As we walked away afterwards, Elton said, ‘He’s not long for this world.'”
John was stunned that nobody in Elvis’ entourage appeared to be doing anything to help him.
“He had dozens of people around him, supposedly looking after him, but he already seemed like a corpse,” he said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick.
Elton John realized he did not want a life like Elvis
John walked away from this meeting, concerned that he might end up like Elvis.
“I used to like walking round New York, but I can’t do it anymore,” he said, adding, “I can’t go out of the hotel without someone causing a fuss, and, no matter how hard I try, I can’t disguise myself. I can’t live my life in a shell, like Elvis Presley or whoever.”
He knew he needed something to help him deal with the unending pressure of fame.
“I have to do something positive, and getting associated with a soccer club is my way of doing it,” he said. “I’m still dealing with people, but in a much more human situation. It won’t be quite so insane as the music business
The American singer was originally one of his idols
The meeting with Elvis was especially disappointing for John because he had long idolized him. When he first heard “Heartbreak Hotel,” he knew his life had changed.
“My mum always used to buy a record every Friday. She came home, and she had the 78 of Elvis Presley, and she said, ‘I heard this in the record shop, and I’ve never heard anything like it!’ She played it to me, and I’d never heard anything like it either,” he told The Guardian. “It was weird because, about 10 days before, I’d had my hair cut in the local barbers, where I went as a little boy, and I’d noticed a Life magazine. I was reading this article on a man who looked like an alien but was so handsome – I’d never seen anything like him, and I put two and two together and said, ‘That was the man I saw in the magazine!’ So that was the record that really changed everything.”
