Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977. The King of Rock and Roll suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, Graceland, in the early hours of the morning. A year before the 42-year-old died his untimely death, he had a chance meeting with one of the newcomers to the pop industry: Elton John. However, Elton was shocked by the sight of the star.
Elton reluctantly explained how meeting Elvis—one of his idols—was affected by the state he was in. At the time, Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs and gained a lot of weight. He would go into concerts every night at residency shows in Las Vegas and carry a towel to wipe the sweat off his body.
Elton met Elvis before he went on stage one night. Author Tom Doyle recalled the event in his book Captain Fantastic. He wrote: “It was sad. Elton looked into the King’s eyes and felt there was nothing there.”
Elton even went on to describe the star as someone who looked very ill and vacant.
Elton looked at the compliment he received from Elvis when he asked him to play a certain song during an upcoming party. He asked King to play Heartbreak Hotel during the concert – but he refused. It seems there was no way to change his playlist.
“He was someone who was in a complete drug haze giving nylon scarves to these fans. And yet, it was still magical in a way,” said Elton.
In another interview—this time with Oprah Winfrey in 1996—Elton said, “It was so sad that he turned into this big guy with no eyes. They sunk in the back of his head, and it was pathetic.”
Then, the Rocket Man singer revealed that this encounter with the shaggy Elvis was actually a turning point in his struggles with addiction.
Elton later revealed: “Eventually, there are pictures of me… When I look at them I think, Oh my God: You turned into Elvis! You shut your door, you put on weight, you did this, you did that, and you didn’t care what I was. It’s so easy.” to do that “.
After seeing Elvis in the state he was in, Elton decided he “didn’t want it to end up like this”. He said, “I knew he was going to die within a year if he continued like this – and he was.”
Elton explained that he “knew” he had an addiction problem, and added that “your pride is killing you”. After that, he asked for help and became sober.
Seeing Elvis as such a critical moment is probably all the more powerful for Elton given how much he worshiped him as a child.
Elton once recalled: ‘My mom always bought a record every Friday. She came home, had Elvis Presley’s No. 78, and said, ‘I heard that in the record store, I’ve never heard anything like it!’ She played it with me, and I’ve never heard anything like it.”
He added, “It was strange because, about ten days earlier, I had had my hair cut at the local barbers, where I had gone as a little boy, and had noticed Life magazine. I was reading this article on a man who looked like an alien but was so handsome—I had never seen any Something like it, and I put two and two together and said, ‘That was the guy I saw in the magazine!’ So this was the record that really changed everything.”
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