Elvis Presley looked "sad and pathetic" before his death, Elton John said when he recalled his last meeting with the King.
John had the chance to meet Presley before he became a rockstar himself. He and his mother held their first meeting with the King of Rock and Roll in 1976 - only months before his death.
But far from what he pictured him, John recalled how "sad and pathetic" Lisa Marie Presley's father looked at that time.
Elvis Presley's Final Days: Singer Looked Different Before Death
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1996 (via Express UK), John revealed that the "Can't Help Falling in Love" singer's face changed as he became "a big man with no eyes."
"They had sunk into the back of his head," he said, referring to the drugs and cheeseburgers Presley consumed that consumed his health. "And it was pathetic."
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The "That's What Friends Are For" hitmaker's sentiment resonated with what he shared with Tom Doyle for his book, "Fantastic." According to John, he felt sad when he spoke to Presley before he hit the stage at that time.
Meanwhile, the author noted they had an awkward discussion and saw emptiness when he looked into the King's eyes.
Because of Presley's appearance, John said it was a shame to see him become a shadow of his former greatness as the late singer's health was already in a dire state at that time.
Elvis Presley "Miserable" During His Final Years
Aside from John, Presley's private nurse also witnessed the singer become far from what he used to look like.
Closer Weekly revealed that the singer met his former private nurse, Letetia Henley Kirk, when she treated him at a Memphis medical clinic when he had saddle sores. He then hired her in 1972 and her husband for security, and the couple witnessed him slowly self-destruct in the years before his death.
"He was a very spiritual person," she said. "The world thinks he has everything, and yet the happiness isn't there. He was miserable because he'd gained so much weight."
With that, Presley reportedly realized he would never be able to perform again like he used and wanted to.
Presley soon died from a heart attack at the age of 42, and his doctors said the condition was worsened by his addiction to prescription barbiturates.
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