Bob Dylan avoided visiting Elvis Presley because he wanted to maintain the mystical image of The King.
After Presley died in 1977, Dylan is said to have not spoken to anyone for a week. Dylan has praised Presley several times in interviews and suggested he did not go to visit him at Graceland or during his Las Vegas residency as he wanted to keep his image of Presley as a trendsetter and innovator alive. But the “mystic” image Dylan had of him did not match up with the Presley of the times, with the legendary performer’s frequent Hollywood features alienating Dylan. Speaking of The King and his decision not to meet him, Dylan suggested it would have been “sorry thing to do” at the time.
He said: “I never met Elvis, because I didn’t want to meet Elvis. Elvis was in his Sixties movie period, and he was just crankin’ ’em out and knockin’ ’em off, one after another. And Elvis had kind of fallen out of favor in the Sixties. He didn’t really come back until, whatever was it, ’68? I know the Beatles went to see him, and he just played with their heads. George [Harrison] told me about the scene. And Derek [Taylor], one of the guys who used to work for him.
“Elvis was truly some sort of American king. His face is even on the Statue of Liberty. And, well, like I said, I wouldn’t quite say he was ridiculed, but close. You see, the music scene had gone past him, and nobody bought his records. Nobody young wanted to listen to him or be like him. Nobody went to see his movies, as far as I know. He just wasn’t in anybody’s mind. Two or three times we were up in Hollywood, and he had sent some of the Memphis Mafia down to where we were to bring us up to see Elvis. But none of us went.
“Because it seemed like a sorry thing to do. I don’t know if I would have wanted to see Elvis like that. I wanted to see the powerful, mystical Elvis that had crash-landed from a burning star onto American soil. The Elvis that was bursting with life. That’s the Elvis that inspired us to all the possibilities of life. And that Elvis was gone, had left the building.”
Though Dylan chose not to meet with Presley, his death still affected him. Dylan confirmed he did not speak for a week after The King’s death. He later said: “I went over my whole life. I went over my whole childhood. I didn’t talk to anyone for a week after Elvis died. If it wasn’t for Elvis and Hank Williams, I couldn’t be doing what I do today.”
Dylan would cover the Presley song, Can’t Help Falling in Love, on his self-titled, 1973 album. The New Morning track, Went to See the Gypsy, is believed to have been a song written after an encounter between Dylan and Presley, though the two never met. Dylan confirmed the encounter sung of is a fabrication, though he also mentions his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, towards the end of the track, suggesting an autobiographical edge.
It appears Dylan made the right call in not meeting with The King, as fellow music legend Elton John confirmed his meeting with Presley was a disappointing encounter. John said of his meeting with Presley: “It was so sad because he turned into this big man with no eyes. They had sunk into the back of his head, and it was pathetic.”
