The first impression veteran songwriter Paul McCartney had of Elvis Presley is that he was “good looking”.
McCartney, along with the rest of The Beatles, would eventually meet with The King of Rock and Roll, but the first encounter was through a page in a “musical newspaper”. The Wings frontman would find himself face to face with Presley years after joining The Beatles, but his first glimpse of The King came from a magazine advert for Heartbreak Hotel. The song would be released in January 1956, and it seems McCartney was hooked on Presley’s work and rock and roll music from then on. Speaking during his appearance in the Anthology documentary, McCartney said his first impression of Presley was his good looks, and that the influence he had on his music came second.
McCartney said: “I remember being in school when I was a kid and somebody had a picture in one of the musical papers of Elvis Presley. I think it was an advert for Heartbreak Hotel. I just looked at it and thought, ‘he’s so good looking, he looks perfect.'”
McCartney says he, the rest of The Beatles, and Presley had “a bit of a do” when they met for the first time, with the Let It Be songwriter suggesting there was an atmosphere of old friends present at the meet. It seems to have lived up to expectations too, as McCartney suggested his meeting with the music legend was exactly what he had hoped for.
He said: “I think he was exactly like I imagined, yeah. I didn’t quite know what to expect when we went there, you know. I mean, I thought that he’d be the same, but I didn’t know how the atmosphere or anything would be in the place.
“But it was good, ‘cuz it was all old mates around. Old mates of his, you know, and we brought quite a few of ours. And so we just had a bit of a ‘do.” It’s a feeling that Lennon backed up too, suggesting Presley was “just how I expected him.”
Lennon said: “He just seemed normal to us, you know. And we were asking him about just making movies and not doing any personal appearances or TV. And he seems to enjoy it, you know. I think he enjoys making movies so much.
“We couldn’t stand not doing personal appearances. We’d get bored. We get bored quickly. He says he misses it a bit, you know. He’s just… he was great. He was just how I expected him.” The pair would also praise Presley for his influence on their careers.
In the Anthology documentary series, McCartney says Presley was one of the first musical artists he ever took note of. McCartney would say Presley was “what we had been waiting for.” The songwriter would also dub The King a “guru” of music, whose influence was clear.
