Elton John can still vividly remember the last time he saw Elvis Presley before his death.
On Aug. 16, 1977, the music industry lost the King of Rock and Roll after the singer died of cardiac arrest at his Graceland mansion. One year before his sudden passing, John recalled the last time he and the singer met.
Presley, who had always been one of John's idols, was in the middle of his drug addiction battle. At the same time, he notably gained a lot of weight that it affected his visuals during his performances.
In Tom Doyle's book "Captain Fantastic," the author recalled a time when the two musicians met. At that time, John reportedly looked into Presley's eyes and felt "nothing there." The "Rocket Man" hitmaker added that the late star looked extremely unwell. When he asked him to play a song for his upcoming gig, the rocker refused.
"It was someone who was in a complete drug haze giving nylon scarves away to these fans. And yet it was still, in a way, magical," he said, according to Express UK.
In a separate interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1996, John noted how Presley turned into a man with no eyes. He called the whole thing "pathetic" as he noticed how his eyes "sunk" into the back of his head.
After seeing his idol, the singer said he realized he never wanted to end up like that. From there, John sought help and got sober.
Elvis Presley Died Before His Concert
Only a day before his Maine's Cumberland County Civic Center concert, Ginger Alden, his then-fiancee, found him dead inside Graceland's bathroom.
Before his passing, he and Alden visited his dentist due to tooth pain. He also asked his personal physician, Dr. Nichopoulos, for painkillers and received a prescription for six Dilaudid tablets.
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His stepbrother, Ricky Standly, got him the drugs from Baptist Memorial Hospital's pharmacy. Although he already took the medicines, Presley found it hard to fall asleep so he spent some time with his cousin, Billy Smith, and his wife playing racquetball.
Still unable to sleep, he took the remaining packages of pills and painkillers that caused him extreme constipation. Doctors eventually ruled that he died of a heart attack that was likely worsened by his addiction to prescription barbiturates and the medications he consumed the night before his death.
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