Elvis meets Eric Clapton July 1974 (updated 2023)

[monkboughtlunch]

A photo of Clapton and Boyd, circa 1975 (from NY Times).

[drjohncarpenter]

Doc, this thread cites the Jorgensen book for a June 17 hospital check out.

If Billy Smith says he stayed at the hospital, I would accept that testimony. He was with Elvis almost all the time in this period. It would be instructive to ask Billy if he has a memory of a June 1975 Clapton meeting.

Right now, all available testimony points to the meeting date as June 1975, not July 1974.

[monkboughtlunch]

Indeed. Early a.m. June 18, 1975 looks more probable than July 1974. Just found this Schilling quote where in addition to Godfather II, he also remembers Jaws and Monty Python's Holy Grail were popular that summer. Jaws was released June 20th 1975. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released May 10, 1975.

http://elvis-tkc.com/forum2/lofiversion/index.php/t17476.html

The idea had been for the two stars just to have a moment to meet, but they got along well enough that Elvis asked if Eric and Pattie would like to stay and watch that night’s movie. The couple gladly accepted the invitation (there’s no record of what got screened that particular night, but Schilling remembers that Jaws, Godfather II, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were particular favorites of Presley’s that summer). As everybody took their seats, Elvis asked Schilling to come with him to the bathroom.

[monkboughtlunch]

If Elvis added a cowboy hat to this ensemble, could this be the "upscale version of Western wear" Presley wore to the Clapton meeting?

Schilling:
The three came back straight to the theater without a stop at Graceland, and Elvis, at the wheel of his favorite pickup truck, was in leather boots, cowboy hat, and his somewhat upscale version of Western wear.

Below: More photos of Elvis in early June 1975 give us a rough indication of his concept of "casual wear" that month.

http://www.elvis-collectors.com/candid-central/cigargirl75.html

[monkboughtlunch]

Schilling is wearing Zeppelin T-shirt in this June 75 photo.

Does the t-shirt say 1974 or 1975? Image is blurry.

[midnightx]

As the Doc pointed out, Zeppelin did not tour the U.S. in '74 so nothing on the t-shirt would reference '74.

[drjohncarpenter]

As the Doc pointed out, Zeppelin did not tour the U.S. in '74 so nothing on the t-shirt would reference '74.

Correct. For what it's worth, the bottom of the oval on the T-shirt reads: 1975 U.S. Tour.

[drjohncarpenter]

Here is the T-shirt:

LedZeppelin1975USTourT-shirt.jpg

[thefunkyangel]

God, I love this forum!

[Joe Car]

Here is the T-shirt:

Well done Doc!

[drjohncarpenter]

Here is the T-shirt:

God, I love this forum!

Well done Doc!

Hey, I'm just another fun-lovin' fan.

[epf]

Before the procedure in 1975 might be the last time that Elvis looked healthy and fun loving. His eyes are alive. His spritual, physical and mental energy all seem still present.
If baffles the mind that this kind spirit would be so lost in July of 1975, whether it was about himself (eye procedure) or others (the incidents with his band members that month). Whatever forest he was going trough, it was a dark forest and there was obviously no guidance, whether by choice or by incidence.
To me, this is where the tumbling down in the deep pit really begins.

[Joe Car]

Before the procedure in 1975 might be the last time that Elvis looked healthy and fun loving. His eyes are alive. His spritual, physical and mental energy all seem still present.
If baffles the mind that this kind spirit would be so lost in July of 1975, whether it was about himself (eye procedure) or others (the incidents with his band members that month). Whatever forest he was going trough, it was a dark forest and there was obviously no guidance, whether by choice or by incidence.
To me, this is where the tumbling down in the deep pit really begins.

The man was subject to depression from time to time, especially as he got older. That being said, it was great that the top musicians of this time frame, Led Zeppelin, Clapton, Springsteen and such, wanted to meet their idol, despite no longer being at the top of his game. That says a lot in my opinion!

[epf]

Before the procedure in 1975 might be the last time that Elvis looked healthy and fun loving. His eyes are alive. His spritual, physical and mental energy all seem still present.
If baffles the mind that this kind spirit would be so lost in July of 1975, whether it was about himself (eye procedure) or others (the incidents with his band members that month). Whatever forest he was going trough, it was a dark forest and there was obviously no guidance, whether by choice or by incidence.
To me, this is where the tumbling down in the deep pit really begins.

The man was subject to depression from time to time, especially as he got older. That being said, it was great that the top musicians of this time frame, Led Zeppelin, Clapton, Springsteen and such, wanted to meet their idol, despite no longer being at the top of his game. That says a lot in my opinion!

Agreed.

[midnightx]

And according to you, some of his best work came after 1975. How remarkable.

[monkboughtlunch]

Clapton's former wife Pattie Boyd (of Layla fame) comments on the June 1975 meetup with Elvis in Memphis in the below article.

The meeting most likely occurred after Clapton's concert in Memphis on June 18. Technically, the actual Presley / Clapton meeting could have started in the wee (after midnight) hours of June 19, depending on the start time of the late night movie screening. As you can see from the article, Clapton and Boyd left Elvis after watching one film (described as a "boring" 1950s movie).

Clapton had to travel to Knoxville to perform the evening of June 19. Clapton performed in Mobile on June 17. In the below article Boyd notes that their first night in Memphis they had drinks with Stevie Wonder and the following night they met Elvis. I take this to mean Clapton flew into Memphis late in the evening of June 17 after the Mobile concert.

So just to recap and put a bow on everything -- **all of this points to the Presley / Clapton meeting starting late in the evening of June 18 or early morning hours of June 19, 1975 after Clapton's Memphis concert.**

Factoid: Elvis had a cosmetic procedure (eyelift) on June 15, and was apparently discharged from the hospital on June 17 -- one day prior to the Clapton meeting.


Below: 1975 Clapton tour dates

claptontour.jpg

===========================================================================

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/pattie-boyd-eric-clapton-left-early-awkward-meet-elvis.html/

Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton Escaped an Awkward Meet Up With Elvis

by EMMA MCKEE
Published on August 3, 2022

Pattie Boyd met Elvis for the first time with George Harrison, but she had an awkward encounter with him with her second husband, Eric Clapton. Elvis invited the couple to the movies with him, but it wasn’t what Boyd expected. She explained that she was excited to see Elvis again but found the meeting off-putting. Not only were they not allowed to sit near him, but they worried that the night would go on forever if they didn’t leave early.

When Boyd was married to George Harrison, there was infidelity on both sides. Clapton pursued Boyd even though he was close friends with Harrison. He wrote the song “Layla” about her and tried to speak to her one-on-one as much as possible. Once, at a party, Harrison caught them talking privately in the garden.

They had an uncomfortable movie date with Elvis

While they were together, Boyd accompanied Clapton on tour, something she hadn’t done with Harrison. On a stop in Memphis, both Stevie Wonder and Elvis reached out to them.

“Wow, I thought. What’s happening?” she wrote in the book Wonderful Tonight. “First Stevie and now the King!”

They had drinks with Wonder and, the following night they went to the movies with Elvis. The experience wasn’t exactly what Boyd had expected.

“I had met Elvis once before, with George, and he had looked a lot better than he did at this time,” she wrote. “He was now well on the way to being bloated and was surrounded by henchmen, who stopped us as we made for the row Elvis was sitting in and told us to sit five rows back. Not so good.”

Surprised, Boyd and Clapton did as they were instructed and settled in to watch the film.

“We found ourselves watching some boring old 1950s movie,” she wrote. “At the end, Elvis said, ‘Do you want to see another? We’re going to the theater next door.'”

Boyd said she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

“It was a five-screen complex,” she explained. “We had visions of going from one to the next, watching more boring fifties movies, so we made our excuses and left.”

============================================================

Contemporaneous June 1975 photos of Clapton and Presley

Below: Presley on June 10, 1975. (Note: this is how Elvis appeared eight days before the Clapton meeting)

june1075.jpg

Below: Clapton performing in Memphis on June 18, 1975

3.jpg

Below: Bootleg artwork and setlist for Clapton's June 18, 1975 performance in Memphis

eric-clapton-from-eric.jpg

eric-clapton-from-eric2.jpg

[monkboughtlunch]

A torn ticket stub from Clapton's June 18, 1975 Memphis performance showing the concert start time may have been 8:00 p.m.

s-l1600.jpg

[monkboughtlunch]

General Cinema operated two Whitehaven cinema buildings roughly across the street from each other. Unclear which of the two theaters Elvis rented out. Boyd did recall that it was a 5-plex. Supposedly, Whitehaven Cinema # 2 had only two screens. Source: https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/15066

So if Boyd's recollection is correct, Whitehaven Cinema #1 (now demolished) is the probable Presley / Clapton meeting location.

Below: Whitehaven Cinema #1 ad in 1966

whitehaven.jpg

Below: Whitehaven Cinema #1 today (demolished)

whitehaven1.jpg

Below: Whitehaven Cinema #2 opened in 1971 across the street from Whitehaven #1. Now a liquor store.

whitehaven2.jpg

Below: Whitehaven Cinema #2 only had two screens per the below website.

whitehaven2screensonly.jpg

[monkboughtlunch]

Hey @Spa Guy, if you are reading this thread and looking for content for your YouTube channel, head out to the location of the empty field in my above post.

Tell your followers, "So it all happened right here friends, 48 years ago. The King met Slowhand. And when Elvis drove his pickup truck into the Whitehaven Plaza parking lot, he said: 'Who the Hell's Limousine is that? Who in the f**k is Eric Clapton? Goddamn limousines! Why does he have to bring a ****' limousine to a movie theater?'

Tell your followers ole' monk sent ya!

[monkboughtlunch]

In reviewing Schilling's recollections (posted on page 1 of this thread), he states that Clapton offered to fly in early the night before to meet Elvis. However, this appears to contradict Boyd's recollection that she and Clapton met Stevie Wonder their first night in Memphis and met Elvis on their second night in Memphis.

So who is correct, Schilling or Boyd? Did The King meet Slowhand in the wee hours of June 18 or the wee hours of June 19?

Unclear, but I tend to think Boyd is probably correct.

Clapton performed in Mobile, Alabama the evening of June 17, 1975 with an 8 p.m. start time. According to the Where's Eric web site, the support act in Mobile was Santana.

To believe Schilling's account, you have to accept that Santana would perform at 8 p.m. in Mobile, AL. Clapton would follow Santana with his set and then fly from Mobile to Memphis, and then make it to the Whitehaven Cinema before Elvis arrives.

I'm not saying that's impossible. But depending on flight times from Mobile to Memphis, it may become improbable.

My bet is Boyd is correct. She and Clapton flew into Memphis and didn't land until the wee hours of June 18th. They met up with Stevie Wonder for drinks. Then, the following evening, after Clapton's show in Memphis on June 18, they headed over in a limousine to the Whitehaven Theatre and arrived before Elvis pulled up in his pickup truck.

[YDKM]

Very interesting thread!

[Wayfarer]

Thanks for the detailed search, monkboughtlunch.

[monkboughtlunch]

I was curious if the author of the 2022 Cheatsheet article above which references the Pattie Boyd biography, Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me, as the source, may have incorrectly represented any part of Ms. Boyd's recollection of the Elvis meeting.

For research purposes, below are Ms. Boyd's exact words regarding the Elvis/Clapton meeting per her book.

Below: from Boyd's biography, page 186-187

"When Eric was playing in Memphis and staying for a couple of days, Roger Forester, who was looking after him, came into our hotel room and said, "Stevie Wonder wants to meet you." Next we had a phone call. "Elvis wants you to go to the cinema with him." Wow, I thought. What's happening? First Stevie and now the King! Then there was a knock at the door. "Oh, hi, Stevie, come in." We chatted to him, had a few drinks, and the next night we had a few drinks with Elvis, then went to see a film.

I had met Elvis once before, with George, and he had looked a lot better then than he did this time. He was now well on the way to being bloated and was surrounded by henchmen, who stopped us as we made for the row Elvis was sitting in and told us to sit five rows back. Not so good. We found ourselves watching some boring old 1950s movie. At the end Elvis said, "Do you want to see another? We're going to the theater next door." It was a five screen complex.We had visions of going from one to the next watching more boring fifties movies, so we made our excuses and left."

Boyd says Clapton stayed in Memphis for "a couple of days." This might mean they checked into a hotel for two nights in Memphis.

Her account suggests Clapton flew into Memphis after his June 17, Mobile, Alabama gig concluded and met Stevie Wonder at their hotel room the first night in Memphis. And her account also suggests that the following night, after Clapton's concert in Memphis, they went to the cinema to meet Elvis. Given Clapton had just performed, this meeting probably occurred around midnight.

They chatted with Elvis and stayed for one movie. I'm guessing they probably went back to their hotel to rest before traveling to Knoxville for Clapton's concert the evening of June 19.

Interestingly, Boyd says "the next night we had a few drinks with Elvis, then went to see a film."

Schilling makes no mention of alcohol during the meeting but recalls (per the article on page 1 of this thread):

“Eric got up and came over to us and I made the introductions,” recalls Schilling. “And right away he was just such the perfect British gentleman, making it really clear how much respect he had for Elvis. Hearing that, Elvis became a relaxed and charming host, and the two fell into a really nice, friendly conversation. We’d all gotten used to thinking of Elvis as a great talent, but I remember being struck that day again at how much he meant to other great musicians.”

The idea had been for the two stars just to have a moment to meet, but they got along well enough that Elvis asked if Eric and Pattie would like to stay and watch that night’s movie. The couple gladly accepted the invitation (there’s no record of what got screened that particular night, but Schilling remembers that Godfather II was a particular favorite of Presley’s that summer). As everybody took their seats, Elvis asked Schilling to come with him to the bathroom."

“When we were alone in there,” says Schilling, “He turned to me and said, ‘You know Jerry, that Eric is all right.”

Below: Boyd's book (pages 186-187)

186.jpg

187.jpg

[monkboughtlunch]

Perhaps someone here can find some photos of the now demolished Whitehaven Cinema #1.

I could only find this artist's sketch of how it appeared in 1966.

whitehavencinema1.jpg

[monkboughtlunch]

Does anyone have photos of Elvis' favorite pickup truck that he drove to the 1975 Clapton meeting?

"On that particular night, Elvis looked more like a rancher than a rock star. After a spring of heavy touring, Elvis was back in Memphis for a while, and was taking the time to enjoy some down home pleasures. That day, he had driven south to some Mississippi horse farms with Schilling and Myrna Smith, a member of Elvis’s vocal backing group the Sweet Inspirations and Schilling’s longtime girlfriend. The three came back straight to the theater without a stop at Graceland, and Elvis, at the wheel of his favorite pickup truck, was in leather boots, cowboy hat, and his somewhat upscale version of Western wear."