The Beatles Signed Photo Autographed for George Klein....

Description

The Beatles Signed Photo Autographed for George Klein. On August 27, 1965, the famous Summit Conference of Rock and Roll occurred when the Beatles, on the eve of playing the Balboa Stadium in San Diego, paid a visit to Elvis Presley at his home in Bel-Air, California. (Elvis was in the process of shooting Paradise, Hawaiian Style in Hollywood.) That night, between 10 and 11 p.m., John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr arrived in limousines at Elvis' home, and the King personally greeted them at the door for what forever after became known as the "summit meeting" of Pop music and Rock and Roll.

"If you guys are going to stare at me all night," joked Elvis, "I'm going to bed!" In fact, Elvis was awed, too, but the ice broke and the evening found Elvis and John, Paul, and George playing guitars (while Ringo, without drums, banged the side of a chair), the group admiring Elvis' new sauna, laughing at a fan who had infiltrated the house and began screaming hysterically, and discussing the terrors of fame. In one moving (and retrospectively chilling) moment, John noted that Elvis was very brave to perform in public before the wildly screaming and actually dangerous fans -- after all, on stage, the Beatles had each other.

This b&w 6.5" x 8" autographed photo of the Fab Four was obtained the next day by "Memphis Mafia" member Jerry Schilling. At the end of their meeting the night before, the Beatles invited Schilling and several of Elvis' friends to visit them the next day. At the gathering, Schilling asked the Beatles to sign some photos for Elvis' friends, including this one, inscribed to radio and TV personality George Klein, Elvis' friend since high school.

The photo bears the signatures of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in blue ballpoint near their respective images in the photo. Though our third-party authenticator, Roger Epperson, was able to certify each signature with the exception of John's, Schilling states he witnessed John signing the picture as well. One of them added the inscription "To George/Best wishes/the Beatles" along the left edge. The autographs are bold and clear, although it appears the pen may have failed as Paul was using it, as a couple of letters in his signature are faint compared to the rest. The photo is in overall Very Fine to Excellent condition with just a little edge wear and a small amount of soiling to the lower left corner. A rare and fantastic item from an historic encounter. From the George Klein Archive. Accompanied by letters of provenance from George Klein and Jerry Schilling, and by a James Spence Authentication auction LOA.

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