R.I.P.: John Wilkinson

Rhythm guitar player John Wilkinson, who performed hundreds of times with Elvis Presley, has died at his home in southwest Missouri. He was 67.

Mr. Wilkinson passed away Friday January 11, 2013 at his home in Springfield.

Mr. Wilkinson first met Presley when he was 10 years old after sneaking into his dressing room before a show at the Shrine Mosque in Springfield. He amused Presley when he told him, “You can’t play guitar worth a damn.”

After the chance meeting, Mr. Wilkinson developed a name for himself as a singer and guitarist, performing with such groups as The New Christy Minstrels.

He was 23 when Presley saw him perform on a television show in Los Angeles in 1968, and asked him to join the TCB Band — not knowing he was the youngster who insulted his playing a decade earlier. MORE HERE