Surprisingly, inflation did not play a role in the fee The Beatles were paid for performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. When compared to the amount Elvis Presley was paid, $50,000 for three performances in late 1956/early 1957, The Beatles worked for peanuts, a measly $10,000 for three shows.
The fact is The Beatles were paid five times less than The King of Rock and Roll for the same number of appearances eight years later. Was it simply due to the superior management skills of Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, compared to The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, or were additional circumstances at play?
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It’s no secret that John Lennon was a huge fan of Elvis Presley when he was a teenager. Lennon formed his first band, The Quarrymen, which would later become The Beatles, as a result of his love for Elvis Presley and rock and roll.
In February 1967, The Beatles were asked to contribute a drawing to the upcoming Monterey International Pop Festival that was being organized by John Phillips from The Mamas and The Papas, promoter Lou Adler and The Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor. Paul McCartney was on the Board of Governors for the Festival and he insisted that the relatively unknown Jimi Hendrix appear at the show.
