10 Elvis Presley Songs Which Will Change How You Think About The King

10. Yesterday / Hey Jude

Elvis hated The Beatles? Well, no – in fact he admired their music, and stated his admiration publicly. The roots of the “Elvis hated The Beatles” myth stems from Presley's bizarre meeting with then-president Richard Nixon, in 1970. This was a strange time in the singer's life. He was experiencing conflicted feelings about his music and legacy, was concerned about the way the world was turning and seemed desperate to offer some sort of help to society; help which in his eyes it sorely needed.

These obsessions climaxed in a breakdown of sorts, culminating with Presley disappearing from Graceland and flying secretly to Washington. The fact is, Presley did make negative comments about The Beatles to Nixon, although he did not criticise their music. Nuanced study shows that the singer was probably telling Nixon what he thought the president wanted to hear, not what he himself truly believed.

This assumption can be backed up with the fact that, to the last days of his career, Presley regularly included Beatles' songs in his stage act. Something, Get Back and Lady Madonna were all covered by Presley, but his favourites seemed to be Yesterday and Hey Jude, which he performed as a medley, and did so to striking effect.