Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley discuss proposal in 1995
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Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie married Michael Jackson in 1994, in a short union which took the world by storm. Fans were hugely in favour of their relationship, however odd it was to unite two such important showbiz families. While it did end after a short time, many have wondered if Elvis walked his daughter down the aisle to meet MJ.
Did Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson ever meet?
Elvis and Michael did in fact meet, though not in the way many would expect as they were far younger than fans might think.
The first time Michael met Lisa Marie, his soon-to-be wife, was the same time he met The King, but it had nothing to do with their wedding.
In fact, Lisa Marie was a huge fan of The Jackson Five, Michael’s band with his brothers, and one day Michael turned up at one of her dad’s concerts to see him.
READ MORE: Elvis Presley divorce: Why did Elvis and Priscilla split?
This was where they met, meaning Lisa Marie was only seven-years-old and Michael was around 17-years-old, while The King was nearing the end of his life.
Elvis died on August 16, 1977, when Lisa Marie was only nine-years-old, meaning Elvis had nothing to do with Lisa Marie and Michael’s wedding, which came sometime later in 1994.
Lisa Marie has recalled the first time she really remembers meeting him was when she was 18-years-old, saying she did not want to meet him as she thought he was “a freak.”
While she may have met him as a child, it may have been Michael did not make much of an impression at that time, and based on an unearthed letter of Michael’s, it is unclear if he was a fan of Lisa Marie’s father either.
In fact, Michael wrote a letter speaking of the racial inequality he felt in the music world, stating Elvis was ‘NOT the King’ in an attack on him, The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen.
He wrote: “People have always been trying to stamp out rock ‘n’ roll since it started, I always thought that it’s because it came from black music and the words had a lot of double entendre in the early days.
“It was all this ‘our nice white kids are gonna go crazy moving their bodies’, y’now the music got to your body and The Beatles just carried it a bit further, made it a bit more white, even more than Elvis did because we were English…
“Throughout history, white men have always branded the pages of history with Great White Hopes putting whites over Blacks like nobles like Elvis being the King of Rock and Roll, Springsteen being The Boss and The Beatles being the best.”
He went to admit they were good performers but said it was time for “the first black king now,” and stated he would “show Springsteen who’s boss.”
Michael added: “I will change this NOW with the power of my songs and dance and looks and total reclusiveness and mystery world. I will rule as the King.”
It is clear from Michael’s words, while his intention was to shine a light on the way white performers are lauded above their black counterparts, he very much wanted to take Elvis’ crown.
He has since been crowned the King of Pop by many, though he has never been named The King in the same way as Elvis.
As well as this, his letter suggests there were many black performers doing similar and good work at the time of stars like The Beatles and Elvis but gained much less recognition for their work.
Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s brother, has disputed the idea Elvis was an influence of Michael’s, even claiming in his autobiography that Elvis ‘copied’ moves from soul singer Jackie Wilson.
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