However, in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 13, when Brian was informed that Elvis was just down the hall, he immediately headed off to meet him, bursting into the Presley session. Work on “Pieces of My Life” stopped, and Brian amazingly got Elvis to walk back to his studio and listen to some of those demos. When he asked Elvis if he thought any of the songs were good, Presley replied “Nah.”
Jerry Shilling claimed Elvis had no idea he was speaking to the “famous Beach Boy Brian Wilson.” Brian was overweight, and sporting a full beard. He had depression issues and they impacted his career and health, just like Elvis, but in his case he came out on the other side thanks to therapy and support. He’s still alive, still making records, and still performing today.
Was this song an inspiration for The Beach Boys, to call themselves like this?
There’s a funny story in your book about the night Elvis met Brian Wilson back in 1975.
Jerry Schilling: We were at a rehearsal session at RCA Studios in Hollywood, and Elvis always prided himself on our security. There was security at the studio as well. This big, overweight, bearded guy came into the studio and went right up to Elvis and went, ‘Hi Elvis, I’m Brian’. And Elvis was very upset with us thinking, ‘How did this guy get in here and who is he?’ So Brian said, ‘I’m recording next door. Would you come over and listen?’ And Elvis looked at us; it’s almost in spite of us since this guy had gotten through. He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over’.
So we went over, and Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s son, was producing. Terry played a track for Elvis, and Brian said, ‘Do you think we have anything?’ And Elvis said, ‘No’. And we went back to our studio. Later, the security guys told us it was Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
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Great story about the time that Elvis meet Brian Wilson. Thanks for posting it. 5 Stars. By Gregg L. Friedman MD