This crazy interview between the “King” and the president – ​​L’Express

In a polarized country like the United States, the music popular – pop, rock, folk, jazz, country, rap – remains the last common language of Republicans and Democrats. The White House has therefore always been interested in its stars: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and others. Before the election of November 5thL’Express tells you, in eight episodes, the story of the unlikely couples formed by the beasts of the music scene and the presidential political animals. Very pop’n’pol duos!

EPISODE 1 : Kennedy and Sinatra: an epic bromance, a shattering breakup

At the end of 1970, Richard Nixon, in power for almost two years, was a president in full glory, highly popular with Americans (except young people), who were counting on him to end the Vietnam War. Two years later, the Republican was even triumphantly re-elected, winning 49 out of 50 states! Two more years and the Watergate scandal would force him to resign, but that’s another story… Elvis Presley, on the other hand, was a star in decline. Having become a film actor (The Sheriff of these ladies, The Idol of Acapulco, Micmac in Montana…) during the 1960s, the singer was gradually eclipsed by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, the Rolling Stones and others.

“Suddenly Elvis became has been, overtaken by hippie culture, summarizes Daniel Ichbiah, author ofElvis Presley. History and Legends (Danicart Publ.). A rebel when he started out in 1954, the singer, born in the rural South, is now a Nixonian conservative, alarmed by youth revolt, counterculture and the decline of traditional values.” Such is the situation at the time of the only and incongruous meeting ever organized in the United States between a president (Nixon) and a king (Elvis, the “King”).

It all begins in Memphis (Tennessee). Seized by a whim in the solitude of his Graceland home, the King decides to meet the President of the United States as soon as possible. His fixed idea: to ask him to join the Bureau of Narcotics (the anti-drug police). Equipped with a federal agent badge, he intends to become a secret agent to unmask the traffickers who swarm in show business. Thus, he imagines, he will participate in the recovery of the United States.

“I would very much like to meet you, Mr. President.”

A few hours later, he was flying business class on an American Airlines flight to Washington. During the journey, he wrote a six-page letter on small sheets of airline letterhead. “Mr. President, first of all, let me introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley, and I admire you and have great respect for your office,” he began. “I spoke to Vice President Agnew in Palm Springs three weeks ago and expressed my concern for our country,” he added, listing his concerns: “The drug culture, the hippies, the students, the Black Panthers.” Of course, Elvis neglected to mention that he himself was doped up on prescription drugs, addicted to a cocktail of tranquilizers and stimulants.

Without doubting anything, the singer of Love Me Tender And Heartbreak Hotel continues: “I can and I want to render all possible services to help our country. I therefore wish to be appointed federal traveling agent [NDLR : c’est-à-dire sans affectation précise ni bureau, mais avec tous les droits attachés au titre]. Sir, I am staying at the Washington Hotel, room 505-506-507. I am registered under the name Jon Burrows. I will remain in the capital as long as it takes to obtain the credentials of a federal agent. I have studied the dangers of drugs and the brainwashing techniques employed by the communists closely and would be happy to help you, provided it remains confidential.” A bit naive, but armed with a nerve of steel, Elvis concluded: “I would very much like to meet you and say hello, if you are not too busy.”

Rock ‘n’ roll is not Nixon’s cup of tea

At dawn on December 21, Elvis, who had just landed, presented himself at the White House gate, his missive in hand. It was 6:30 a.m. Flabbergasted, the soldier on duty passed the envelope to the administration, which, from office to office, ended up at the home of the president’s close advisor, Egil Krogh. Himself an admirer of the rocker, he recommended that his request be followed up. Reading Krogh’s memo, HR Haldeman, the White House chief of staff who was the real guardian of the Oval Office, wrote in the margin: “You must be kidding.” However, he changed his mind, considering that a photo of Elvis with the president would not harm the latter and could even improve his image among young people.

All that remained was to convince the person concerned. Initially incredulous, the president considered the request extravagant. Besides, rock’n’roll was not his cup of tea. A lover of classical music, a skilled musician (he played five instruments: piano, clarinet, violin, accordion, saxophone), Nixon was also the author of a piano concerto! But, ultimately, for him, politics always won out. So, let’s go for an interview with “The King of Rock’n’Roll”…

There is a good connection between the president and the “king”

That afternoon, the flamboyant Elvis, wrapped in his black cape, a gold belt and a pie server collar, was led to the summit of power. In the meantime, the King had wasted no time. He had invited himself to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, where he met with Deputy Director John Finlator. A collector of police badges, he asked the No. 2 of the anti-drug department if he could receive the one of the Bureau of Narcotics. “Absolutely impossible,” replied Finlator. Presley: “I have an appointment with the President; do you mind if I make the request to him?” Finlator: “That will be the only way to get it, Elvis,” smiled the Deputy Director mockingly as he escorted Elvis to the door.

At the White House, the singer and Nixon share M&Ms and Coca-Cola. Elvis talks about the hippie concert at Woodstock in 1969, castigates the Beatles for “simply coming to the United States to make money,” blasts John Lennon, accuses him of anti-Americanism. The king and the president get along really well. “The meeting took place in a very cordial atmosphere,” writes Antoine Coppolani in Richard Nixon (Tempus/Perrin). Their affinities are probably due to their modest social origins. The first is the son of a sharecropper, the second, of a grocer. Both served in the army: Nixon in the Navy during the Pacific War, Presley in Germany in 1958.

A gun enthusiast, the singer with the velvet voice did not come empty-handed. As a gift, he brought a box containing a Colt 45 and a set of silver bullets. However, Secret Service agents confiscated the gift at the entrance to the White House. There was no question of approaching the president with a weapon. Quickly, the obsessive star broached the subject close to his heart: could the president get him a drug enforcement badge? “See if we can get him that,” Nixon said, turning to Krogh. Elvis would then receive a badge… purely honorary. Overwhelmed by emotion, Presley, probably under the influence of stimulants, abruptly hugged the president.

A photo for history

“The president was generally considered to have welcomed Elvis and his two bodyguards with kindness, thanking him for drawing attention to the drug problem in the country,” said Jim Byron, president of the Richard Nixon Foundation, in Los Angeles. After a half-hour and a photo opportunity, the interview ended.

Kept secret for more than a year, the episode will be revealed by an article in the Washington Post in January 1972, five years before the King’s death in 1977. Available for purchase since 1988, the photo of the handshake between the two celebrities is the most requested at the American National Archives. Released on screens in 2016, the tasty Elvis & Nixon retraces the famous impromptu, with Kevin Spacey in the role of the president and Michael Shannon in that of the King. A film was needed to tell these thirty minutes where reality surpassed fiction.

Our next episode: Jimmy Carter and Bob Dylan