Elvis Presley’s rhythm guitar player, John Wilkinson, dies at age 67 in southwest Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rhythm guitar player John Wilkinson, who performed with Elvis Presley hundreds of times, has died in Missouri. He was 67.

The Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home says Wilkinson passed away Friday at his home in Springfield. A family spokesman says Wilkinson had been fighting cancer.

Wilkinson first met Presley when he was 10, by sneaking into his dressing room before a show.

Wilkinson was 23 when Presley asked him to join the TCB Band in 1968. He played 1,200 shows with Presley before the legendary singer died in 1977.

His family says Wilkinson played less music after that, and made a living in retail and airline services management. A stroke in 1989 left him unable to play the guitar, but he continued singing with the old TCB Band and others.