What Elvis Presley told The Beatles before historic Ed Sullivan show performance

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll had some wise words for The Beatles before they took to the stage of one of their most notable performances.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison would perform on US airwaves for the first time with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The four-piece appeared on the show back in February 1964, with their first-ever performance there taking place on the 9th. Presley sent a telegram to the band before they took to the stage, wishing them well. Presley had been a huge influence on The Beatles, with both Lennon and McCartney sharing just how big an impact The King had on their careers. In his book The Lyrics, McCartney would say that Presley threw him into the deep end of music and that he lost interest in his schoolwork because of the veteran rocker.

McCartney, writing in his book, The Lyrics, confirmed what Presley had told The Beatles before their appearance. McCartney wrote: “We’d heard that some of our heroes, like Buddy Holly and The Crickets, had performed on the show, and there was that story about how they’d let Elvis Presley back on after performing Hound Dog, but he had to be shown from the waist up.

“Our first appearance has now become sort of mythical in the story of The Beatles. Just before it aired, we received a telegram from Elvis Presley, wishing us well. I’d nearly done well at school; then Elvis came along, and school was all but forgotten, and here he was saying good luck to us. Then there was the sound of the audience, which is still ringing in my ears.”

The Beatles would meet with Presley too, and McCartney says the gathering saw them all have a “bit of a do”. 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.

He would go on to share Presley was a “good looking” musician, though it was not the music he first noticed. 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.’”