If ever there was an inspiring portrayal of how Elvis Presley influenced The Beatles, it was depicted with such raw emotion in the recent film, Nowhere Boy. (watch trailer)
"Why can't God make me Elvis?" John says to his mother, Julia, in the film.
"'Cause he was saving you for John Lennon," Julia replies.
An exploration of how the two largest acts in rock and roll history were connected and influenced each other will be celebrated in the new exhibit "Elvis and Us." The "Elvis and Us" exhibit opens at The Beatles Story in Liverpool on September 28.
One highlight of the exhibit centers around the historic meeting between Elvis Presley and The Beatles in Los Angeles in 1965. The Beatles were in town for a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and Elvis was filming "Paradise Hawaiian Style." The meeting took place at Elvis' home on Perugia Way in Bel Air.
When Elvis became a worldwide phenomenon in 1956, John Lennon was 16 years old. Inspired by Presley, Lennon started greasing his hair back and growing sideburns.
Lennon's love of rock and roll music performed by Elvis and other American artists motivated him to form The Quarrymen in 1956, which would morph into The Beatles. And as they say, the rest is history. John Lennon summed it up in his famous quote: "Before Elvis, there was nothing."
But the inspiration between the two musical acts wasn't one-sided. In the late 60s, Elvis recorded cover versions of several Beatles songs including "Hey Jude" and "Yesterday."
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