Every member of The Beatles grew up listening to classic rock and roll music from the 1950s. John Lennon once famously said that “if there was no Elvis Presley, there would be no Beatles”. This quote was taken quite literally when Paul McCartney recalled a story of how he got over an illness as a teenager.
While in a conversation with Taylor Swift, McCartney recalled going to a public attraction in Liverpool when he was still a teenager. He said: “We went to the fair, and I just remember – this is what happens with songs – there was this girl at the fair. This is just a little Liverpool fair – it was in a place called Sefton Park – and there was this girl, who was so beautiful.”
McCartney explained how she “wasn’t a star”, but everyone was “following her around”. He continued: “She was so beautiful … and it’s like, ‘Wow!’ It’s like a magical scene, you know?” (Via Rolling Stone)
But things quickly went awry for him.
McCartney remembers being hit with a brutal pain in his head. He said: “But all this gave me a headache, so I ended up going back to his house – I didn’t normally get headaches. And we thought: ‘What can we do?'”
With nowhere left to run, McCartney resolved to listen to some music. He noted how what happened next was “powerful”.
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McCartney told Swift: “I love that, when people stop me in the street and say: ‘Oh, I was going through an illness and I listened to a lot of your stuff, and I’m better now and it got me through.’ Or kids will say: ‘It got me through exams.’ You know, they’re studying, they’re going crazy, but they put your music on. I’m sure it happens with a lot of your fans. It inspires them, you know?”
Although McCartney put a long of faith and love into Elvis’ music, their meeting didn’t go exactly to plan.
When The Beatles finally met Elvis after years of asking they entered the living room of Graceland and froze. The Fab Four were left speechless in the face of their idol, and Elvis lost his patience.
Eventually, the King stood up and declared: “If you’re going to sit here all night staring at me I’m going to bed.” This was enough to break the ice. They all laughed, stood up, and jammed together.
