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Introduction
In a legendary encounter that sounds more like a wild movie script than real life, rock icon Alice Cooper once found himself flat on the floor with Elvis Presley’s boot pressed against his throat. The surreal moment, recounted with humor and disbelief by Cooper himself, remains one of rock’s most unforgettable backstage stories—and it all unfolded during a 1974 night at the Hilton in Las Vegas.
The story begins with a phone call from Elvis’s agent, inviting Alice Cooper to meet the King of Rock and Roll in his suite. When Cooper arrived, he discovered that Elvis and his infamous “Memphis Mafia” entourage occupied multiple floors of the hotel, turning it into a fortress of celebrity and eccentricity. Sharing an elevator ride with Cooper were his friend Liza Minnelli, rock pioneer Chubby Checker, and none other than Linda Lovelace—star of the notorious adult film Deep Throat.
“I remember thinking, ‘Three of us are going to be coming back downstairs tonight, and one person’s going to stay up there,’” Cooper reflected in an interview with Classic Rock’s Geoff Barton. “I wonder who it’s going to be?”
After security checks and being frisked for guns—somewhat ironic given the abundance of firearms inside—the encounter with Elvis escalated quickly. Elvis greeted Cooper with the unmistakable charm of his younger, leaner days, saying, “Hey man, you’re the cat with the snake, ain’t ya?” Cooper confirmed, and Elvis responded, “That’s cool man, I wish I’d have thought of that.”
Then things took a darker, more intense turn. Elvis led Cooper to the kitchen, opened a drawer, and pulled out a loaded snub-nosed .38 revolver. “I’m gonna show you how to kick this gun out of somebody’s hand,” Elvis said, handing it to Cooper.
In Cooper’s own words: “The little devil here on my shoulder says, Shoot him! The little angel over here says, Don’t kill him, just wound him. But before I could decide what to do, I was on the floor, and he had his boot on my throat. I was like, [choking voice] That’s great Elvis, that’s great.”
Only three people returned on that elevator—Cooper joked he never found out what happened to Chubby Checker that night. Despite the intensity, Cooper summed up Elvis as “an amazing character” and “a very funny guy,” underscoring that beneath the rough edges was a legendary personality with a larger-than-life presence.
This iconic night perfectly captures the raw energy and unpredictability of rock ’n’ roll history—where legends collide, and anything can happen. Elvis Presley’s wild side met Alice Cooper’s fearless spirit, creating a story that will echo through music folklore forever.
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