Elvis Was ‘Catty’ Toward Other Performers Because He Hated Not Being the Center of Attention

Elvis Presley was a legend amongst performers, and many other artists looked forward to meeting him. Even during Beatlemania, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr were nervously giddy about spending time with him. In the later years of his life, though, Elvis was reportedly unpleasant to other performers when he met them. He liked being the center of attention too much.

Elvis Presley became unfriendly toward other performers

As the 1970s wore on, Elvis’ entourage noticed a distinct change in him. He was no longer the easygoing person they’d met years before. Instead, he was all consumed with fame, wealth, and material possessions.

“He would only talk about his jewelry, cars, and wardrobe,” his bodyguard Sonny West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “He didn’t seem to have any other conversation. Other stars would come backstage and all he could talk about was his possessions.”

Elvis didn’t seem to like it when he met other performers. He tried to establish dominance whenever he met another artist.

“He wasn’t interested in other performers. In fact, he didn’t like other performers,” Sonny West said. “He would always have something catty to say about them. If they came to his dressing room to see him, he would keep them waiting for an hour on end before he would make his entrance.”

Elvis’ entourage believed Elvis saw these other performers as a threat. They took attention away from him.

“Unless he is the center of attention, he just isn’t interested,” Sonny said. “His ego is just out of control . . . and it’s a pity because he wasn’t like that way back … It hurts to see someone you love change so very much.”

Elvis Presley expected to be treated with reverence by other performers

Elvis’ ego sometimes manifested itself in outright rudeness toward other artists. He insulted them and kept them waiting. Another bodyguard, Red West, recalled a time when Elvis was particularly vicious to singer Jimmy Dean.

“I remember Jimmy Dean, a nice guy, was waiting for him one night,” Red said. “Elvis came out of his bedroom after keeping Jimmy out there for an hour, Jimmy greeted Elvis with a big hullo and said jokingly, ‘I’m out to rip a yard from your a**, keeping me waiting.’ And Elvis whipped out his .22 revolver and stuck it under Jimmy’s chin and said, ‘And I ought to blow your head off for talking to me like that.’”

His bodyguard said he changed over the years

Elvis had not always behaved this way. According to his bodyguards, he became progressively more egotistical as the years went by.

“Now, I don’t mean he was selfish and big-headed all the time,” Red West said. “But he took to fits of anger that none of us had ever seen before. He wanted to be treated as something special. Of course, he was something special, but he had never demanded that special attention. He was always one of the boys. He would often share the driving on long gigs. We had shared everything, even our women.”

By the 1970s, everyone in Elvis’ life had to tread carefully around him lest they invoke his ire for something as minor as not filling his water glass.