Based on the novel of the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Prime Video’s Daisy Jones and the Six chronicles the rise and fall of a folk rock band in the 1970s music scene. To recreate the universe in which the story of its titular band takes place, the show’s crew dedicated a great amount of effort to researching and replicating places and outfits of the time. They even managed to shoot some of the show's scenes in actual locations of great importance to rock 'n' roll history, such as the classic Whisky a Go Go nightclub and the infamous Riot House. However, many of those nods to the 70s rock scene may go unnoticed to the untrained eye. And, unless you were actively looking for it, it’s quite likely that you missed out on a pretty important Easter egg that pays homage to none other than the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself.
By now, anyone paying attention to the news is already well aware that the actress responsible for portraying Daisy Jones and the Six’s titular Daisy Jones is actually Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough. However, the show’s connection to Mr. Presley doesn't stop at Keough’s bloodline. The series features more than one nod to the King in its wardrobe department, all courtesy of costume designer Denise Wingate. One of these nods, however, stands out among the others. To catch a glimpse of it, all you have to do is keep your eyes focused on Daisy Jones’ guitar…
What Is 'Daisy Jones and the Six' About?
Loosely inspired by the story of Fleetwood Mac, Daisy Jones and the Six focuses on a group of Pittsburgh musicians and a lonesome singer-songwriter that get together to create rock 'n' roll history in 1970s Los Angeles. But despite the explosive success of their hit single “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” and multi-platinum album "Aurora," things aren’t exactly easy for Daisy and the Six. Behind the scenes, repeated instances of drug abuse, forbidden romance, and just general bad blood ensure a level of drama that eventually leads the band to destruction. Just as they are at the peak of stardom, Daisy Jones and the Six decide to split up. The full story of their rise and fall has never been told — until now.
The main storyline of Daisy Jones and the Six develops as a flashback, framed by a series of interviews given by the band members decades into the future, in our present day. Now a lot older, they open up about things such as Billy’s (Sam Claflin) substance abuse, his love-and-hate relationship with Daisy, and, of course, Daisy’s tumultuous entrance in the band at the request of music producer Teddy Price (Tom Wright). The actual lead characters of the show, Daisy and Billy also reminisce about their troubled childhoods and their first experiences with music.
‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ Episode 2 Brings In a Very Important Piece of Elvis’ History
It is in this “first experiences” part of the plot that the aforementioned Elvis Presley Easter egg makes its appearance. BuzzFeed journalist Nora Dominick was the one who picked up on it, first on Twitter and then on an article for the website. In Episode 2, "I’ll Take You There," Daisy performs live for the first time with the help of her only true friend, disco pioneer Simone Jackson (Nabiyah Be). Guitar in hand, she takes to the stage of the iconic Troubadour nightclub to play one of her many songs, "Two Against Three." It’s an important scene for the story, as it is after the show that Daisy is introduced to Teddy, who would later invite her to join The Six. However, apart from that, there doesn’t seem to be anything big about it —at least, not initially.
As Dominick points out, if you look closely, you can see that Daisy’s guitar is hanging from her shoulders by a patterned strap. It’s a lovely piece of fabric, to be sure, but one that doesn’t draw that much attention to itself. However, this patterned guitar strap is identical to the one Elvis Presley wore in his 68 Comeback Special. The show, which aired on NBC, is remembered for being Presley’s first concert after seven years dedicated almost exclusively to the movies. Those who watched Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis may remember this moment as being one of the most pivotal scenes in the film.
It isn’t clear, however, whether this Easter egg was placed there intentionally or is merely an accident. After all, the Woodstock or New Yorker guitar strap was also famously worn by Jimi Hendrix at the legendary Woodstock festival of 1969. However, Riley Keough has confirmed to BuzzFeed that the guitar Daisy uses throughout the series is actually hers. So, you have Elvis’ granddaughter playing her own personal guitar with a guitar strap that was once used by Elvis himself. Now, that is just too iconic to ignore.
The Guitar Strap Isn’t the Only Wardrobe Item in ‘Daisy Jones and the Six’ Connected to Elvis
Furthermore, the wardrobe department’s references to Elvis Presley aren’t restricted to a single guitar strap. In an interview with People Magazine, costume designer Denise Wingate revealed that there are two long coats worn in the show that pay tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Wingate told the magazine that she did her best to make the outfits from the series as faithful to the time period as possible. “The producers didn't want it to look like people were dressing up for a '70s dress-up, like it's '70s night at the club. They wanted it to look very authentic and real, and I think we did that,” she explained. In her search for authenticity, Wingate came upon a fashion designer with a long history with 70s rock 'n' roll.
"I did find this woman named Love Melody who made rock and roll clothes in the '70s. She actually made two jumpsuits for Elvis Presley, so I had her make two beautiful, long coats for the show. One is a denim leather patchwork long coat and the other a beautiful rust leather. She made those. I thought it was nice to bring that back in the fold and have a little bit of that history," Wingate told People. Both pieces are also worn by Keough.
Daisy Jones and the Six is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.