Did you know that Clint Eastwood and Elvis Presley used to hang out together? They are two American icons. It turns out that The King, who was making his 1960s rom-coms, would frequently cross paths with the Western actor while he was shooting the TV series Rawhide. The fact that The Man With No Name star was usually carrying a gun was extremely appealing to the gun-loving singer.
Speaking previously with USA Today, Eastwood shared: “I was always wearing a gun. Presley loved to do fast draws and stuff, so we always did fast dr aws together. I liked him. He seemed like a good guy. Had a lot of guys hanging around, big entourage.
“I get a kick out of my wife, who is quite a few years younger. She’ll say, ‘Did you know Elvis Presley?’ I’ll say, ‘Sure’. ‘James Dean?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Bobby Darin?’ ‘Yeah’ She’ll look at some old picture of me and say, ‘What a babe!’ (Laughs) We were all hanging around at the same time, in the 1950s. We were all here in town, and all struggling in various things. I was doing Rawhide. There was a camaraderie among the younger group.” Elvis loved watching Eastwood’s movies and it turns out the Western legend ended up co-writing a song with The King’s ex inspired by their heartbreaking split.
Elvis dated Miss Tennessee model Linda Thompson from 1972-6, breaking up just eight months before he died of a heart attack at 42. Her love for The King is clearly displayed in the lyrics for a song she co-wrote with Eastwood and Carole Bayer Sager for Diana Krall.
The song in question is 1999’s Why Should I Care? Its lyrics speak of longing for the life Linda thought she’d share with Elvis as “the one” and wondering if another woman would “get more of you” amid “holding my broken heart”.