Tom Jones recalls meeting Elvis Presley in Las Vegas

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sir Tom Jones has been on the music scene since his 1965 single It’s Not Unusual shot to the top of the charts. By this time Elvis Presley was one of the most famous men on earth, having had Number One albums and hits movies to his name. Express.co.uk delves into the memorable moment these two music behemoths met for the first time.

When did Sir Tom Jones meet Elvis Presley?

According to Sir Tom Jones, their meeting was a moment which he held dear for many years later.

It happened at Paramount Studios in 1965, where Elvis had been making movies for some time.

This was also the time Sir Tom was making his mark on the music business, with his first hit coming that same year with It’s Not Unusual.

READ MORE:  Green Lantern timeline: Does Green Lantern fit into Snyder Cut?

Speaking to Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show back in 2010, Sir Tom revealed: “I went on set and he [Elvis] was there filming and then he stops for a minute and is walking towards me, and I had a ballad out at the time called With These Hands.

“And there comes Elvis Presley singing With These Hands walking towards me, it was like a dream, and I thought ‘My God, this is unbelievable’.

“When he got to me he said ‘how the hell do you sing like that?’ and I said ‘Well you’re partly to blame.’”

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, with Elvis later inviting Sir Tom on stage with him in Las Vegas when they were both engaged there.

Speaking to the BBC Radio Wales, Jerry Schilling explained how Elvis had few friends in the showbiz world – but Sir Tom fit the bill.

He said: “Elvis didn’t really hang out with other entertainers that much, but if there was one artist that Elvis truly called a friend and hung out with the most, it was Sir Tom Jones.

“Elvis was always cautious about letting people get close and what their intentions were.

“The people he had working for him were not there for the job, it was because he knew they could travel with him and he trusted them.

“But he was inspired by Tom and they became very good friends.”

Sir Tom has told some bizarre stories about his friendship with Elvis, including a time when his friend stripped off in Sir Tom’s dressing room while the Welsh crooner was in the shower, and tried to pitch him a song.

Sir Tom told US host Conan O’Brien: “He was wearing a North Beach leather outfit – a lot of us used to – and they weren’t lined, they were just natural leather.

“So he was standing there, cleaning up and looking in the mirror. So I’m naked and he’s half-naked.

“His pants are down round his ankles. So he’s standing there, singing this song to me.

“I’m trying to towel down and I said, ‘You know, Elvis, your pants.’ And he went, ‘Red!’ because he had a bodyguard called Red.

“So Red busts through the door thinking there’s something wrong… but Elvis says, ‘My pants, man.’”

However, Sir Tom explained he had to pull up Elvis’ trousers due to the tight leather, not just because he was “too celebrity” to pull up his own.

Source: Read Full Article