Brian Wilson recalls wild encounter with Elvis Presley

A chance encounter between music legends Elvis Presley and Brian Wilson led to a karate bout between the two.

While the two would have little in common stylistically, Wilson’s love for Presley was clear when he asked guitarist James Burton to introduce the two. The Beach Boys‘ frontman suggested he should be taken to see The King, and once he was there, he accidentally began karate chopping the Blue Suede Shoes sensation. The meeting took place at RCA Studios in Hollywood, where a starstruck Wilson encountered Presley for the first time. The moment left him frozen, according to Burton, who explained The King had extended his hand for Wilson, who did not quite reciprocate the gesture.

Burton shared: “He said, ‘Oh! Please, please take me to meet Elvis.’ I took him in, and he walked up to Elvis and was just looking at him. And Elvis stuck his hand out to shake hands, and [Wilson] couldn’t move.

Presley’s friend Jerry Schilling added: “Elvis was very upset with us thinking, ‘How did this guy get in here, and who is he?’ So Brian said, ‘I’m recording next door. Would you come over and listen?’ And Elvis looked at us; it’s almost in spite of us since this guy had gotten through. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over.'”

Wilson confirmed he had invited Presley to the recording booth, though The King wasn’t all that impressed. The Beach Boys frontman recalled: “I met Elvis in a recording studio in Hollywood, and I said, ‘Elvis, could you come over across the way and listen to what we’re doing?’ and he went, ‘Sure.'”

Though he surely meant well by the gesture, Wilson playfully karate chopping Presley’s arm to break the ice did not go down as intended, and left the Pet Sounds mastermind receiving a karate chop from The King.

Wilson confirmed: “I knew he knew karate, and he karate chopped my arm so hard. And he goes, ‘I’m leaving, I’m leaving,’ and he split.” It would not be the first peculiar encounter Wilson had with a music legend, as Alice Cooper told a story of Wilson “meeting” John Lennon at a Grammy Awards ceremony.

The Godfather of Shock Rock recalled the encounter with Lennon and Wilson at the Grammy’s. He said: “During the course of the conversation, I kept seeing Brian out of the corner of my eye, just kind of staring at us from different angles.

“Finally, he came up to the table, bent down and whispered in my ear, ‘Hey Alice, introduce me to John Lennon.’ I couldn’t believe that these two men had never met! They were virtually neck and neck in the ’60s as the greatest bands on the planet, and I’m sure they must have crossed paths at some point. But then I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I’m going to be the one to introduce them and become a part of rock history!’

“So I merely said, ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, this is Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was very cordial and polite, saying things like ‘Hello Brian, I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’ve always admired your work, and Paul and I considered Pet Sounds one of the best albums ever made.’ Brian thanked him and walked away, at which point Lennon went right back to his conversation like nothing had happened.

“About ten minutes later, Brian came by our table again, leaned down and whispered something to Bernie, and all of a sudden, Bernie was saying ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was just as cordial and polite as the first time, saying essentially the same thing about always wanting to meet him.

“As soon as Brian walked away, John looked at both of us and casually said in his typical Liverpudlian accent, ‘I’ve met him hundreds of times. He’s not well, you know.’”