The reason Paul McCartney felt betrayed by Elvis Presley
Posted: October 22nd, 2025, 11:39 am
https://www.goldradio.com/artists/the-b ... mccartney/
The Beatles and Elvis Presley met just one time.
"Before Elvis, there was nothing," John Lennon once said, and even after the Fab Four became international megastars, they were desperate to meet their idol.
With both artists incredibly busy and Elvis never touring outside North America, they only actually met one time, at The King's Beverly Hills mansion on August 27, 1965.
The meeting was initially awkward but things soon thawed once some guitars and a piano were introduced, and The Beatles later spoke fondly about their one-time interaction with their rock 'n' roll hero.
But years later, Paul McCartney admitted that he felt somewhat betrayed by Elvis Presley.
That's because after that catch-up, on December 21, 1970, Elvis had another meeting with a big name: then-President Richard Nixon.
The King was there to lend his support to the government's anti-drug campaign, and after he gifted the President a Colt .45 pistol he in turn received a badge designating him as a federal agent-at-large in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
And official meeting notes taken by lawyer Egil "Bud" Krogh show that Elvis took the time to stick the boot into The Beatles while he had the president's ear.
"The Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit," Elvis was reported to have told Nixon.
"The Beatles came to this country, made their money, and then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme."
It wasn't a one-off, either, and early the next year Elvis toured the offices of the FBI, where he again stuck the boot into his pop rivals.
"The Beatles laid the groundwork for many of the problems we are having with young people by their filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music," Elvis is said to have remarked.
Paul McCartney later confirmed that he had read the transcripts and was understandably saddened by the whole thing.
"I've seen those famous Nixon transcripts where Elvis actually starts to try to shop us – The Beatles!" McCartney is quoted as saying in Anthology.
"He's in the transcript saying - to Richard Nixon, of all people, 'Well, sir, these Beatles, they're very un-American and they take drugs'.
"I felt a bit betrayed by that, I must say. The great joke was that we were taking drugs, and look what happened to him. He was caught on the toilet full of them! It was sad, but I still love him, particularly in his early period. He was very influential on me."
Ringo Starr felt similarly, adding: "The saddest part is that years and years later, we found out that he tried to have us banished from America, because he was very big with the FBI.
"That's very sad to me, that he felt so threatened that he thought, like a lot of people, that we were bad for American youth. This is Mr. Hips, the man, and he felt we were a danger. I think that the danger was mainly to him and his career."
It's not clear if Elvis's remarks were a result of his deeply held political beliefs, his own drug-inspired paranoia or – as Ringo speculated – related to his own fear of the rise and rise of The Beatles.
For his part, Lennon hailed the "beautiful music" Presley made in his earlier years, but suggested that everything changed when he was drafted into the US army in 1958.
"Elvis really died the day he joined the army," Lennon said. "That's when they killed him, and the rest was living death."
The Beatles and Elvis Presley met just one time.
"Before Elvis, there was nothing," John Lennon once said, and even after the Fab Four became international megastars, they were desperate to meet their idol.
With both artists incredibly busy and Elvis never touring outside North America, they only actually met one time, at The King's Beverly Hills mansion on August 27, 1965.
The meeting was initially awkward but things soon thawed once some guitars and a piano were introduced, and The Beatles later spoke fondly about their one-time interaction with their rock 'n' roll hero.
But years later, Paul McCartney admitted that he felt somewhat betrayed by Elvis Presley.
That's because after that catch-up, on December 21, 1970, Elvis had another meeting with a big name: then-President Richard Nixon.
The King was there to lend his support to the government's anti-drug campaign, and after he gifted the President a Colt .45 pistol he in turn received a badge designating him as a federal agent-at-large in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
And official meeting notes taken by lawyer Egil "Bud" Krogh show that Elvis took the time to stick the boot into The Beatles while he had the president's ear.
"The Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit," Elvis was reported to have told Nixon.
"The Beatles came to this country, made their money, and then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme."
It wasn't a one-off, either, and early the next year Elvis toured the offices of the FBI, where he again stuck the boot into his pop rivals.
"The Beatles laid the groundwork for many of the problems we are having with young people by their filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music," Elvis is said to have remarked.
Paul McCartney later confirmed that he had read the transcripts and was understandably saddened by the whole thing.
"I've seen those famous Nixon transcripts where Elvis actually starts to try to shop us – The Beatles!" McCartney is quoted as saying in Anthology.
"He's in the transcript saying - to Richard Nixon, of all people, 'Well, sir, these Beatles, they're very un-American and they take drugs'.
"I felt a bit betrayed by that, I must say. The great joke was that we were taking drugs, and look what happened to him. He was caught on the toilet full of them! It was sad, but I still love him, particularly in his early period. He was very influential on me."
Ringo Starr felt similarly, adding: "The saddest part is that years and years later, we found out that he tried to have us banished from America, because he was very big with the FBI.
"That's very sad to me, that he felt so threatened that he thought, like a lot of people, that we were bad for American youth. This is Mr. Hips, the man, and he felt we were a danger. I think that the danger was mainly to him and his career."
It's not clear if Elvis's remarks were a result of his deeply held political beliefs, his own drug-inspired paranoia or – as Ringo speculated – related to his own fear of the rise and rise of The Beatles.
For his part, Lennon hailed the "beautiful music" Presley made in his earlier years, but suggested that everything changed when he was drafted into the US army in 1958.
"Elvis really died the day he joined the army," Lennon said. "That's when they killed him, and the rest was living death."