Paul McCartney Said His Love For Elvis Presley Was ‘Religious More Than Sexual’
TL;DR:
- Paul McCartney thought Elvis Presley actually wrote “Love Me Tender” and “Hound Dog.”
- Paul said he was in love with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll but the love wasn’t sexual.
- John Lennon was also a big fan of the singer’s early work.
Paul McCartney said he was a big fan of part of Elvis Presley‘s career. Paul said his love for Elvis was “religious more than sexual.” In addition, John Lennon said he was attached to the “Can’t Help Falling in Love” singer.
Paul McCartney thought Elvis Presley actually wrote ‘Hound Dog’
In the 2015 book Conversations with McCartney, Paul discussed who educated him on rock ‘n’ roll. “It was basically the ones who had hits in Britain,” he said. “Elvis was top of the list, he was the ultimate groove. We didn’t know he was taking it off blues, we thought it was him.
“We just heard Elvis singing ‘Love Me Tender,’ didn’t know anyone else had ever done it,” he said. “Or ‘That’s All Right Mama,’ or ‘Hound Dog.’ It just added to his legend: How does he think of these things!” For context, “Love Me Tender” was based on the American folk ballad “Aura Lee” while “That’s All Right” and “Hound Dog” were covers of songs by Arthur Crudup and Big Mama Thornton, respectively.
Paul McCartney ‘fell in love with’ Elvis Presley but his love waned after Elvis went into the army
Paul also discussed his feelings about Elvis as a person. “And he was a great-looking guy with the sideburns,” he said. “We fell in love with him. Not in any sexual way, just pure … religious more than sexual.”
Paul said his view of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll evolved over time. “He was brilliant,” he said. “Until he went in the army, and then he was goosed. He used to call everyone ‘Sir’ after that — mind you, he used to call everyone ‘Sir’ before that, it was just Southern — but he came out of the army and it felt servile. He went into films and I never got off on him again.”
Paul said the early period of Elvis’ career stuck with him. In fact, he enjoyed all the songs Elvis released before joining the army.
John Lennon had some similar thoughts about the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. In it, John discussed Elvis at length. He said, from a distance, the “All Shook Up” star may have felt like a father figure to him. John said “That’s All Right” and “Hound Dog” were two of the songs from the singer’s “great period.”
Like Paul, John felt Elvis was attractive. John decided not to see the “Jailhouse Rock” singer perform live when he got the chance. This was because John felt Elvis wasn’t the same man he was during his peak years.
Paul and John were both Elvis fans — but only Paul said he had a religious attachment to the singer.
