John Wilkinson and Elvis Presley

John Wilkinson met Elvis Presley on May 17, 1956, when Elvis played at the Shrine Mosque, a Route 66 icon in Springfield, Missouri. John was ten years old (I say 11 in the video, but his 11th birthday wasn’t until July. Their backstage meeting led to a lifetime of friendship both professionally and privately. This is their story, including John Wilkinson serving as Elvis’s rhythm guitar player in the TCB band from 1969 to 1977. Thank you to the History Museum on the Square for allowing me to photograph the John Wilkinson exhibit historymuseumonthesquare.org, the Gillioz Theater for showing me the Elvis seat, and the Rail Haven Motel for showing me Elvis’s motel room.

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