"The Day Elvis Met Nixon," a first hand account of Elvis Presley’s historic meeting with President Nixon, has just been published by the Richard Nixon Foundation, on the eve of Elvis’s 76th (January 8) and President Nixon’s 98th (January 9) birthdays. Told through the eyes of Egil “Bud” Krogh, White House aide and liaison to the Drug Enforcement Administration, The Day Elvis Met Nixon is a trove of rare photos, original documents, and anecdotes from the December 21, 1970 encounter between the president and Elvis.
Krogh recounts the surprise of White House staffers when the King of Rock-n-Roll appeared at the front gates of the Executive Mansion to deliver a handwritten letter to the President.
For Elvis, the goal of the meeting was to receive a badge and credentials from the DEA as a “Federal Agent at Large,” contending that he could use his popularity among the youth to curb the nation’s narcotics epidemic.
Krogh tells how the Elvis meeting request moved up the White House chain of command, how it was approved, and how he arranged an agenda on such short notice.
At the meeting, Elvis presented the President with a gift, a silver-plated Colt 45 gun and bullets now on display at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif. Later the same afternoon, he received his badge from the DEA.
Today, the Oval Office photo of President Nixon and Elvis Presley continues to be the most requested photo from the National Archives.
“The meeting between Elvis and President Nixon remains in my mind the most novel and interesting,” writes Krogh. “While these two men came from totally different backgrounds, they tried to find ways to cooperate in responding to one of the most severe problems.”
Judging by the picture, this is a reissue of the book first published in 1994.
I have a photograph of Elvis shaking hands with Governor George Wallace in his wheel chair along with the photograph of Elvis and President Nixon. I don't believe i have ever seen the photograph shown of Elvis and Governor Wallace in books or tabloids.
The picture of Elvis and Wallace is very common and has been published many times. In fact that picture along with the Nixon pictures are what helped turn off many young people to Elvis in the 70's as these guys were considered politcal poison to the younger generation of the early 70's. True fact as many of my friends commented as such.
That is indeed the same book Great pictures taken at different angles by the White House Photograher . Glossy crisp pictures taken during the meeting. Very Nice ! I saw Egil Krogh on the Larry King Show 9/10/1996 and the next day I called the number posted on the screen, to my surprise, Krogh answered the phone. I told him I was an Elvis fan and wanted to order the book. He was very polite and said "he too, was an Elvis fan." He asked how I thought he did on the King Show, I told him great. We had a nice conversation about Elvis. I received the book a few day's, he wrotte a personal note stating " it was a pleasure talking to me on the phone". As all of you know, That one famous picture is the most requested photo in the US Archives. That says a lot ! So, I would respectfully disagree with dgirl, as I don't recall all this "political poison". Just the opposite, with people I know. Keep in mind, it's the most requested photo. I'm sure those people from the "early seventies" like this photo and/or the above book.
Thats ok to disagree, thats what this forum is all about, but let me tell you a little story. I was one of the people on line for tickets when Elvis was appearing at Madison Sq Garden. We were on line for hours. The discussion got around to the music of today & politics. Many of the folks on line were upset by the Elvis/Nixon meeting and the pictures of them together. Many folks told me they still loved Elvis and wanted to see him but were greatly upset by Elvis/Nixon. Still others told me their friends stopped liking Elvis because of this. I am not making this up. I dont know how old you are but if you were around in 1972, Nixon was one of the most unpopular men in America due to the Viet Nam war and Cambodia. To be associated with him was not good for your image. War protests were happening all over. That question was even asked during the MSG press conference if you remember. Today its ancient history, but back then I think it did damage Elvis somewhat with the younger generation.
The comments below about people being uphappy with Elvis' friendship with Nixon prove exactly how different experiencing things at the time are from just reading about them in history books. Today, Richard Nixon is just remembered as a President who got in to a bit of trouble through phone tapping, but at the time he was a much hated figure mainly because of the Vietnam war. Time does dilute things, something that was a big issue then is less so now. I had somebody query my experiences of being a fan in the seventies that I had shared here, but when I took a quick peek at his profile I discovered that he was not born until the mid eighties. You really had to be there to get the whole picture, which is why I will never fully understand what it was like to be an Elvis fan in the fifties or sixties.
it would explain a few things
