Elvis vs. The Beatles: Who Was Paid More to Appear on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’?

In 1956 and 1964, respectively, Elvis Presley and The Beatles made appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. This was a major opportunity for both acts as it broadcast them into the living rooms of millions. The show also provided Elvis and The Beatles with sizable paychecks. Both walked away with padded wallets, but which act made more money?

Both Elvis and The Beatles received big paydays for appearing on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’

In 1964, Beatlemania hit the United States in full force when the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. That year, they made three appearances on the show, with their first being on Feb. 9. Their performance drew millions of viewers and flooded the studio with requests from people who wanted to see them live. Per NBC News, they earned $10,000 for their three performances.

This was nothing compared to what Elvis made eight years earlier. While Sullivan initially didn’t want Elvis on the show and demand to see The Beatles was significantly higher, the King walked away with a much bigger paycheck. He made a whopping $50,000 to play three shows, or five times what the four Beatles had to split amongst themselves (via Graceland). This was an unprecedented amount of money at the time, and it cemented Elvis’ position as a megastar. 

Elvis wrote The Beatles a note before they went on the show

Ahead of The Beatles’ first performance on Ed Sullivan, Elvis wrote them a kind note of encouragement. Sullivan read out the message on the program.

“Congratulations on your appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and your visit to America,” he said in the message (per Express). “We hope your engagement will be a successful one and your visit pleasant. Give our best to Mr Sullivan. Sincerely, Elvis and The Colonel.”

The Beatles had grown up idolizing Elvis, so the message likely meant a lot to them.

He wanted to show the band that he was the ‘original King’

The following year, Elvis and The Beatles met for the first time. While he sent a note of encouragement to the band ahead of The Ed Sullivan Show, their meeting was a bit of a power play for Elvis.

“When John [Lennon], Paul [McCartney], Ringo [Starr] and George [Harrison] walked in, Elvis was relaxing on the couch, looking at TV without the sound,” Priscilla Presley said in the book Elvis by the Presleys. “He barely bothered to get up.”

Priscilla said that Elvis respected The Beatles and their music, but he worried about how they would impact his career. He wanted to use the meeting to assert his dominance.

“He viewed this whole world of music coming from England — The Beatles, the Stones, and the Dave Clark Five — with tremendous interest and, I suppose, some trepidation. He acknowledged their talent and energy — he told me on many occasions — but he worried about losing popularity,” she wrote. “And in 1965, no one was more popular than The Beatles … The fact that Elvis greeted them with studied casualness didn’t mean he didn’t care. He did. He was simply affirming his role as Original King.”