Elvis Presley could be warm, generous and deeply respectful toward other performers.
But he also had strong opinions.
Over the years, several famous names became connected to stories of arguments, criticism and supposed grudges involving the King.
Some were real.
Others became exaggerated with time.
One of the biggest involved John Lennon.
Elvis finally met The Beatles at his Los Angeles home in August 1965. Although the meeting eventually turned into an informal jam session, later accounts described tension between Elvis and Lennon.
Whatever Elvis thought that night, his political feelings about The Beatles became much clearer five years later.
During Elvis’s famous meeting with President Richard Nixon on December 21, 1970, official White House notes record Elvis saying The Beatles had become a force for “anti-American spirit.”
That is stronger evidence than the often repeated claim that Elvis personally asked Nixon to deport Lennon.
The Nixon administration did later pursue Lennon’s deportation, but surviving official records do not show Elvis directly requesting it.
Then there was Robert Goulet.
One of the wildest stories in Elvis history says he disliked Goulet so much that he pulled out a gun and shot his television while the singer was appearing on screen.
The shooting happened.
The supposed hatred is much less certain.
A Graceland spokesman later said Elvis and Goulet were actually friendly and that Elvis sometimes shot objects simply for amusement. Elvis associate Joe Esposito gave a similar account, saying Goulet just happened to be on television when Elvis decided to fire at the screen.
So one of Elvis’s most famous “feuds” may have been largely a myth.
Elvis Presley Sings George Harrison’s “Something”
Frank Sinatra was another complicated case.
In 1957, Sinatra harshly attacked rock and roll, describing much of the genre as ugly and destructive.
Elvis was asked about those comments and pushed back.
But instead of attacking Sinatra personally, Elvis said Sinatra had a right to his opinion and added that he still admired him as a performer and actor.
Elvis simply believed Sinatra was wrong about rock and roll.
The supposed feud did not last.
When Elvis returned from military service in 1960, Sinatra welcomed him back on his television special and the two performed together.
That makes their relationship very different from the simple story of two rival singers who hated each other.
Elvis’s relationship with The Beatles was complicated too.
Despite his later criticism of the group, he continued performing their music.
During Aloha from Hawaii on January 14, 1973, Elvis sang George Harrison’s “Something.” The official Elvis catalog confirms the performance was recorded live in Honolulu that night.
That performance says a lot about Elvis.
He could disagree with another artist personally or politically while still respecting the music.
And some of the famous stories about the celebrities Elvis supposedly hated turn out to be far more complicated than the headlines suggest.
Elvis certainly held grudges and strong opinions, but not every famous “enemy” was really an enemy at all.