The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn appeared on Louder Sound to share his moments with several rockers, such as John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison. While telling his story of the Beatles frontman, McGuinn recalled the moment of the band meeting Elvis Presley and how Lennon cornered him.
The Moment The Band Was Invited to Elvis’ House
Although the Byrds frontman was hanging out at the band’s house the day they were invited to meet Elvis, he was excluded from the meeting. The rocker learned the story after the band came back. Recalling the story in the new interview, McGuinn said:
“One time I was hanging out at The Beatles’ house in Bel Air when they were invited to go and meet Elvis. I asked George if I could tag along, but he said he just didn’t think it would be right. So I waited at the house until they got back.”
When the band was back to their home, McGuinn asked the band how it went, which was later made clear that Lennon cornered the rocker over rock and roll. He recalled:
“When I asked them later how it was, they told me he was sitting on the armrest of a couch and had a bass guitar plugged into his stereo. John had said: ‘Hey, Elvis, you used to make some really great rock’n’roll records. What happened to you?’ Elvis just sort of mumbled: ‘Well, I’m making movies now.’ And that was the extent of the meeting.”
The Other Side of the Meeting
The two parties had met on August 27, 1965. Although the meeting looks like nothing went wrong from the outside, it was revealed in the ‘Beatles Anthology’ book that Elvis felt threatened and even attempted to exile the band from America. Furthermore, the rocker thought that ‘the Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit.’
The rocker even shared his thoughts on the band during his meeting with President Nixon. Apparently, Elvis said that the band came to America to make money, where they achieved their plan, and then returned to England, ‘promoting an anti-American theme.’
Despite the rocker’s words and claims, McCartney recalls Elvis as one of the coolest people he has ever met.
