On December 21, 1970, a man dressed in black and wearing
sunglasses entered the Oval Office of the White House. He desperately wanted to
bring a Colt .45 pistol with him, but even without it, his purpose was clear.
In front of him stood a craggy, slightly crumpled figure. The man in black
advanced, but his intent was not assassination. He had come seeking a badge. A
badge that he thought would give him power. The man he met had worked all of
his life to gain power, and now that he had it, he would do everything he could
to hold on to it. This was one of the most bizarre meetings ever to take place
in the White House, for the man in black was the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis
Presley and the craggy, crumpled man was President Richard M. Nixon. The
photographs of that meeting are some of the most requested images from the US
National Archives, but by the end of the 1970s, Elvis would be dead and Nixon
would have resigned in disgrace. Yet, the event has gained the status of a
modern myth and helps to illustrate the interconnectedness of power, politics,
and popular culture. So, on Episode 19 of American History Too, we explore the
fascinating, bizarre, and sometimes sad story of the meeting between the
President and the King.
Reading/Viewing List
Irwin
F. Gellman, The President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and
Nixon, 1952-1961 (Yale University Press, 2015)
Iwan
Morgan, Nixon (Arnold: 2002)
This
is Elvis (documentary, 1981)
National
Security Archive:
http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/elvis/elnix.html
Douglas
Brode, Elvis: Cinema and popular culture (London:
McFarland, 2006)
Peter
Carlson, 'When Elvis Met Nixon', The Smithsonian Magazine,
December 2010,
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/history/when-elvis-met-nixon-69892425/
Peter
Guralnik, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley (London,
Boston: Little, Brown, 1994)
Glen
Jeansonne, David Luhrssen, and Dan Sokolovie, Elvis Presley,
Reluctant Rebel: His Life and Our Times (Santa Barbara: Praeger,
2011)
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