Pop Culture | 70s

The Bizarre Story Behind This Famous Photo Of Richard Nixon And Elvis Presley

By Zachary |

<div><p>If you're old enough to remember The King, you've probably seen this famous picture of him shaking hands with President Richard Nixon.</p><p>Maybe you thought it was a joke, or some kind of fake photo, but it's 100% real and the true story behind this famous meeting is impossible to imagine.</p><p>This picture has inspired <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122474/">2</a> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2093991/">movies</a> and remains the most requested photograph in the history of America's National Archives, but what exactly brought this rock and roll icon to the White House?</p><p></p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/04/Indelible-Nixon-Elvis-631-jpg__800x600_q85_crop.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Smithsonian Magazine</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_incontent _1"> </div><p></p><p></p><p>Elvis famously collected cars and guns, but he also had a passion for police badges.</p><p>The singer had been given badges from police departments across America, but always dreamed of having a badge from the federal bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.</p><p>According to his wife Priscilla, Elvis was under the impression that if he could get his hands on one of these badges, he would be allowed to carry guns - and even drugs - anywhere he pleased.</p><p></p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/04/rifle1270.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>For Elvis Collectors Only</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_video"> </div><p></p><p></p><p>To try and get one of these badges, Elvis wrote a letter offering to help President Nixon any way he could, and hand-delivered this note to a White House guard.</p><p>By lunchtime that same day, December 21, 1970, Elvis got the chance he was hoping for.</p><p>He was invited to meet Nixon, and showed up dressed for the occasion in a purple jumpsuit with a huge gold belt buckle.</p><p>He also brought a handgun, a present for Nixon, which was confiscated by Secret Service agents.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/04/enhanced-buzz-12960-1366400486-0.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center">Elvis's gift to Nixon.<cite>Buzzfeed</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_incontent_2"> </div><p></p><p></p><p>The two only had a short meeting, but they covered a lot of hot topics. </p><p>Elvis complained that The Beatles were stirring up "Anti-American spirit." The King claimed he had been studying drug users and "Communist brainwashing," and offered to help keep America safe - if Nixon would only give him a badge.</p><p>Nixon agreed, and the singer was so grateful he actually hugged the president.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://legacy.throwbacks.com/content/images/2017/04/MediaRoots.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Media Roots</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p></p><div align="center" data-freestar-ad="__336x280 __789x280" id="throwbacks_articles_incontent_3"> </div><p></p><p></p><p>The meeting stayed secret for years (at Elvis's request) and only leaked to the press long after.</p><p>The famous photograph didn't appear publicly until after Elvis's early death in 1988. </p><p>Since then then National Archives have received over 8,000 requests for it, and to this day they still sell <a href="https://www.nationalarchivesstore.org/products/elvis-nixon-mug">merchandise</a> of the famous meeting.</p><p>[Source: <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-elvis-met-nixon-69892425/">Smithsonian Magazine</a>]</p><p><strong>Share this story with the Elvis fan in your life!</strong></p></div>

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