08/16/2025
B. B. King once set the record straight about his friend Elvis Presley.
“When Elvis showed up, he was already a big, big star. You have to remember, this was the fifties. For a young white boy to walk into an all-black function took guts. I believe he was honoring his roots, and he seemed proud of those roots. After the show, he made a point of posing for pictures with me, treating me like royalty. He’d tell people I was one of his influences. I don’t know if that’s really true, but I liked hearing him give Memphis credit for the music that shaped him.
In 1972, he helped me land a great gig at the Hilton Hotel while he was playing in the big theater. He put in a call for me, and I ended up working the lounge to a standing-room-only crowd. Elvis fans came in all colors, but their love for good music was the same, and they were always a great audience.
Many nights after my set, I’d head upstairs to his suite. I’d play Lucille, my guitar, and sing with him, or we’d take turns. That was his way of relaxing. I’ll tell you something — we were the original Blues Brothers, because that man knew more blues songs than most people in the business. Some nights, it felt like we sang every last one of them. But what I remember most is that even then, in the Hilton in the seventies, Elvis had never lost his respect, his ‘yes sir’, his love for every kind of music. And I liked that.”
