Elvis Turned A One-Time-Only Meeting With This Iconic Band Into A Massive Feast

On the evening of August 27, 1965, two giants of rock and roll met for the first time. Elvis Presley was at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air when The Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — came to visit. The band was on a tour of the U.S. and were huge fans of the King. The momentous occasion included an impromptu jam session with Presley and The Beatles, along with a feast laid out by one of Elvis' cooks, Alvena Roy. While she is not as well known as Mary Jenkins Langston, Elvis' other longtime cook, that night she outdid herself.

Initially, they planned to feed The Beatles takeout pizza; but when Roy, one of Presley's three around-the-clock cooks, heard this, she wouldn't stand for it. She was headed out the door when she learned the Beatles were coming and rushed back into the kitchen, believing such big stars deserved something better than pizza. Among the dishes she put out for the party, there were chicken livers wrapped in bacon, sweet and sour meatballs, fresh crab, bacon-wrapped olives, and deviled eggs (one of Elvis' favorite Southern comfort foods). And while Lennon and Presley didn't hit it off, at least the food was well-received.

Elvis Presley's party that the Beatles attended started out awkwardly. The band sat next to their idol, stared at him, but no one spoke. Finally, Presley couldn't take it any longer and broke the spell by threatening to go to bed. The foursome then happily agreed to play music with the King. Paul McCartney even gave Elvis some pointers on the electric bass he was learning to play. McCartney also went into the kitchen that night to help Alvena Roy prepare her deviled eggs. She made a special version that included canned deviled ham mixed in with the egg yolks and mayonnaise.

The Beatles devoured these eggs; perhaps their novelty, along with the other Southern snacks, made them enthusiastic. After all, George Harrison's favorite sandwich was very British — consisting of cheese, marmite, and lettuce. Unfortunately, the rest of the meeting between these two music giants didn't go quite as smashingly. John Lennon made a crack about Presley's films, as this was the period when he was cranking them out, that didn't sit well with the King. The party broke up and Presley never saw The Beatles again.