Here is one of the few photographs in existence which documents the day The Beatles met Elvis Presley.
This shot shows Elvis and Priscilla in the doorway at left, with John and George walking down the driveway, exiting the property:



Elvis was well aware of the fact that The Beatles were a big threat to him. Here he is posing on a movie set with a Beatles fan magazine:

PH2. A Photograph Signed The Day The Beatles Met Elvis

As far back as the late 1950s and their formative days as ‘The Quarrymen’, the members of The Beatles always idolized Elvis Presley. Paul McCartney has said, “Every time I felt low, I just put on an Elvis record and I’d feel great, beautiful.” John Lennon once claimed that “Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn’t been Elvis, there would not have been The Beatles.” In 1975, Lennon told Tom Snyder (on the “Tomorrow Show”) that when he went to the movies as a teen and saw Elvis up on the screen, he thought to himself “Now that’s a good job”. He also said that the experience of hearing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ for the first time made his hair stand on end and that Elvis was the only one person in the U.S. the band really wanted to meet. In 1962, before they had achieved any type of real fame, The Beatles decided that they were going to be bigger than Elvis – a declaration also made by manager Brian Epstein when touting The Beatles to British record companies. This was, of course, an incredibly lofty goal considering that Elvis Presley was the biggest star at the time and they were virtual unknowns.

On Friday, August 27, 1965, The Beatles finally had the opportunity to meet their idol. At the time, they were indeed bigger stars than Elvis! On the final leg of their 1965 North American tour, they swung out to California to play San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. While in L.A. for the Hollywood Bowl show, they met Elvis at his home at 565 Perugia Way in posh Bel Air. They were accompanied by Brian Epstein, Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, Tony Barrow and journalist Chris Hutchins of The New Musical Express. The meeting had been arranged by Elvis’ famous manager “Colonel” Tom Parker.

While a bit awkward at first, Elvis broke the ice by telling the boys: “Look guys, if you’re going to just sit there and stare at me, I’m going to bed.” Everyone laughed and for the next three hours, they had a great time – chatting about songwriting, films, tours, records and cars and also playing roulette and jamming. During the hour-long jam session, Elvis played the bass, John played rhythm guitar, Paul played piano and George played third guitar. Elvis told Ringo, “Too bad we left the drums in Memphis.”

As the gathering was coming to an end, a few members of Elvis’ inner circle obtained The Beatles’ autographs on signed photos. Here is one such photo signed on that historic night – autographed for Elvis’ first cousin Billy Smith, who was quite happy to meet The Beatles. All four have signed beautifully in blue ballpoint pen, with Ringo inscribing “To Billy Best Wishes from the Beatles”. The photo, which features The Beatles holding teacups, was taken by photographer Robert Whittaker and is an outtake shot from the session that produced the “Beatles ‘65” album cover. The photograph measures 6 ½” x 8 ½” and is in near perfect condition, having been very well kept over the years. This item comes with a signed statement from Billy Smith stating that he personally obtained the autographs on that day.

Unfortunately, no recordings from that night exist and the only known photos were taken outside as The Beatles left Elvis’ home. This spectacular signed piece places you inside Elvis’ Bel Air mansion, serving as one of the very few tangible pieces of a truly momentous occasion – the legendary meeting of the greatest icons in rock ‘n roll history. It is undeniably the ultimate prize for any Beatles and Elvis fan!.....$25,000
 

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