Contrary to the power of Photoshop and the imagination of The Onion, this picture is real. Nowadays the infamous photo has made the rounds for so long it loses the humorous punch it once had in the Eighties; there was a store selling a this T-Shirt I spotted on Philly’s South Street with the word “Culture” above the two men.
This month’s Smithsonian gives a good synopsis on how the meeting came about and it certainly puts the last years of Elvis’ life into perspective. If you go to Graceland, you will see the final stages for him were a weird obsession with guns, badges and drugs wrapped in rather comical outfits…even by Seventies’ standards. Makes you wish Elvis went back to Hollywood to make those formulaic movies.
So what motivated either side because they were both artifacts from the Fifties (Nixon being Eisenhower’s vice president and Elvis’ days as a Pop sensation)? According to his ex-wife Priscilla, Elvis thought that a narc badge would grant him the ability to transport drugs without prosecution. As for Nixon, free publicity at the advice of his handlers since I doubt he was fond of any Pop music. They met, Elvis offered his services to be an undercover agent and discussed their mutual dislike of the Beatles. Somehow the former band was responsible for drug usage and the anti-American social unrest. The meeting was kept a secret I suppose to protect the King’s cover even if he only received an honorary badge. The meeting was revealed to the public a year later.
Afterwards, Nixon wrote off Elvis as a dumb hillbilly and Elvis thought Nixon was a moron wasting a great opportunity.
To everyone else, it became a great piece of kitsch, jokes and a funny song by Pinkard & Bowden.