The Interesting Connection Between Elvis Presley and David Bowie

For a long time, fans couldn't overlook the striking similarities in aesthetics that the duo continually used to represent their brand.

Elvis Presley, who wanted to be an actor as a young child, imbibed most of all he saw. His loud choice of fashion stemmed from the movie stars whom he admired.

Owing to that knowledge, he began to style himself peculiarly by applying eyeshadow and making his hair look a particular way.

On the other hand, David Bowie stepped into the music scene when wearing make-up and other tight-fitting costumes were the norm. However, Bowie took it to a higher level by a comprehensive estimation of glam suits, flashy and slicked-back hair, and mimetic facial make-up. 

He also alternated varying stage personas; one minute, he was Ziggy Stardust, appearing in netted bodysuits with symmetrical pants. Another time he was the Thin White Duke, wearing a crisp white shirt with high-waisted tailored trousers and a matching vest. However, his flaming, slick-back scarf provided the only splashes of color.

According to reports, it was a star-fan relationship where Bowie worshiped Presley. In 1972, they met for the first time when Bowie traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to witness Presley's performance in New York despite his fear of flying.

"Elvis was a major hero of mine," Bowie once admitted. "And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him meant something. I came over for a long weekend. I remember coming straight from the airport and walking into Madison Square Garden very late. I wore all my clobber from the Ziggy period and had great seats near the front. The whole place just turned to look at me, and I felt like a right idiot. I had brilliant red hair, some huge padded space suits, and those red boots with big black soles. I wished I'd gone for something quiet because I must have registered with him. He was well into his set."

In Bowie's later years, he had an opportunity to collaborate with his role model. Country music star Dwight Yoakam admitted that Presley requested Bowie produce his album six weeks before he died.

He also added that Bowie refused to take it because he couldn't imagine sounding like Presley. However, he later called the missed opportunity "a great tragedy."

"That was based on Elvis having heard Bowie's Golden Years, and I thought, 'Oh my God, it's a tragedy that he was never able to make that.' I couldn't even imagine 1977 David Bowie producing Elvis. It would have been fantastic. It has to be one of the greatest tragedies in pop music history that it didn't happen, one of the biggest missed opportunities," Yoakam explained to Orange County.

After Bowie died in 2016, a link with Presley was found in his last album, titled "Blackstar." In the search for the song's meaning, it was discovered that the album was inspired by Presley's music of the same name. 

Presley recorded a country version of the song in 1960 for a film. However, it was ditched at the last moment and waited to be released till the '90s. The lyrics of Bowie's song were readily comprehensible: "Every man has a black star / A black star over his shoulder / And when a man sees his black star / He knows his time, his time has come."

In his interview with Rolling Stone, Bowie opened up about how he felt for The United States. According to him, he didn't mind being the country's first English president. He also talked about American pop culture and called it inferior to the American pop culture of the 1950s.

"Just look at the cultural leaders of today," Bowie began. "Once, they were Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, and Elvis Presley. Now it's Robert Redford and John Denver, and these are supposed to be the degenerate Seventies. It doesn't look good for America. They let people like me trample all over their country."

While Presley was born on January 8, 1935, Bowie was born on January 8, 1947. As reported in the book "On Bowie: Interviews and Encounters with David Bowie," Bowie shared learning he had the same birthday as Presley and how he felt about it. "I was mesmerized by it," he proceeded, grinning. "I couldn't believe it."

Bowie was always a starstruck fan of Presley and always had a pleasant opinion. "He was a major hero of mine," the "Under The Pressure" star disclosed. "And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him meant something."