This is an iHeart Podcast. Taking over the helm of NBC Nightly News, a 75-year-old broadcast. It's a great responsibility. Good evening, I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the story.
Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Yamas.
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And a king. The king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. Here to start us off is Jerry Schilling. A longtime veteran of the music industry. and a close friend of Elvis.
Take it away, Jerry. I was asleep. And I get this call. Hey. And I go, who is this?
He says, it's me, so I knew it was Elvis. And he said, I'm at the airport. Could you meet me at the airport? And I said, well, who's with you? Elvis Presley always traveled with an entourage.
You know five guys at at minimum. And he said, nobody. I don't want anybody in the world to know where I am. He's never bought an airline ticket. And he started giving me his flight numbers and what time he was coming in.
I didn't know what mission he was on. I'm not quite sure if he knew to the extent. But he was on a mission. That was the start of me picking him up. at LAX on a Saturday night about 1.30 in the morning.
Of course, I couldn't go to sleep. I was the only person in the world that knew where Elvis Presley was. You know.
So Elvis goes to sleep and the next day is Sunday and We get up and we have coffee at his old home in L.A. It was just two friends really catching back up. In that conversation, he had told me He said, you know, I really got mad at Gryceland. People were Telling me how to spend my money. He was buying a lot of gifts.
The kernel got involved in it. I was just went, whoa, I think he got in his car. I think he took the first flight out. Anyway, He said, you know, Jerry, um I need you to come to Washington with me. I just got this job at Paramount Studios.
And I go, Elvis, I can't. I gotta be at work in the morning. And, you know, he was hard to say no to. He looked like a little boy. He goes, okay, you know.
He said, first of all, he said, I'll get a Learjet and fly you back.
Well, I'm thinking. They were upset with him back there because he was spending too much money. I said, Elvis, I can't. And then I thought, man, he had this incident flying out on the airlines with the guns and everything. When he changed planes in Dallas, he said there was this smart aleck, little Stewart.
with a mustache that came up to me and said, I couldn't imagine this today. You can't carry your guns on the plane. There had been threats on his life and Elvis got very upset, stormed off the plane. And the pilot came after and said, Mr. Presley, it's okay.
You can carry your guns. I made a deal with them. I said, Elvis, if you will let me call. Graceland. And let them know you're not kidnapped, then I will take the all-nighter flight.
And if I could call one of the security guys there. to meet us where I can go back and hopefully still have my job.
So That started the evening of Uh with no money. Elvis never carried money. taking an all-night flight from Los Angeles to DC. I still don't did not know. why we were going and I talked Elvis into um letting his normal limousine driver Take us to the airport, who he called, by the way, Sir Gerald, because he had found out.
Years ago, I think he was a driver for Winston Churchill. Yeah, and Elvis was a real history buff. I mean, this is the thing. He knew his history. It was Sunday night.
We had no cash. I didn't carry any cash because I just didn't have any. Albus didn't carry any cash because he didn't have to.
So anyway. Uh And I had Elvis' checkbook and Sir Gerald. Found a guy at the Beverly Hilton Hotel that would cash a check for $500.
So I made out the check, had Elvis sign it. On the way to the airport, we stopped at the Beverly Hilton. And I had an envelope with $500. in my coat. And they pre-board us on the plane.
It was Christmas time and There were a lot of soldiers coming back from Vietnam. He got into a real conversation with one soldier for, I mean, like 10 minutes. And he comes back to me, and I'm sitting in the window seat, and he's here, and he goes. Where's that money? I knew what was going to happen, so I said, what money?
And he goes. The five hundred dollars I said Elvis. We're going to Washington. That's all we've got. He said, you do not understand.
This man's been in Vietnam. He's going back home for Christmas to see his family. He gave me the entire $500. Anyway. Senator Murphy was on the plane with us.
Of course, he was in coach. We were in first class. We had met when Murphy came on, but when we were on the flight, About halfway through, Elvis went back. and talked with Senator Murphy. When he came back, he sat down next to me.
And I had never seen Elvis Presley write a letter. And he had only written three in his life. at that point. That's when he was in Germany in the army.
So he said, do you think they have any stationary on the plane? I said, well, you know, let me find out. And I asked the stewardess, and she brought us some American airline stationery. You know, and I respected his privacy. I wouldn't look, I didn't say, what are you writing a letter about?
What's going on? I'm still figuring out how I'm going to get back to my job without losing it. He finishes the letter and he goes, Jerry, would you proofread this for me? I was pretty impressed. I mean, I knew Elvis so well, and I knew where his heart was.
There was obviously some grammar that could have been corrected, but I thought, you know what? This is a letter from a guy who experienced the real American story from poverty to being probably the most famous guy in the world. who is writing a letter from his heart. to his president. And I said, you know, Elvis?
Thank you, Susan. Just as it is. Dear Mr. President, I'm Elvis Presley and admire you and have great respect for your office. Sir, I can and will be of any service that can help the country out.
I have no concerns or motives other than helping the country out, so I wish not to be given a title or appointed position. I can and will do more good if I were made a federal agent at large, and I will help out by doing it in my way through my communications with people of all ages. First and foremost, I'm an entertainer, but all I need is federal credentials. I am on this plane with Senator George Murphy, and we have been discussing the problems that our country is faced with. Sir, I am staying at Washington Hotel room 505-506-507.
I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and communist brainwashing techniques. I would love to meet you and just say hello if you're not too busy. Respectfully, Elvis Presley.
Well, knowing Elvis, he's not going to put it in a mailbox, you know. I want to try to dropped the letter by the White House and I said, I was It's not even daylight. Let's just go to the hotel. I want to freshen up. You know, I've been up two days now.
And he said, no, no, no, I really wanted to deliver this. I wanted it to be there first thing Monday morning. We get in the limo. And We're driving up to the gate. He said, you just stay in the car.
I said, fine.
So Elvis gets out of the limo. He's wearing a kind of cape coat. He's got a cane. You know, for that time of the morning, it was kind of a Dracula. Yeah, you got Um And the security guards, I see this is not going well.
So I jump out of the car and I say, gentlemen, please excuse me, but this is Mr. Presley who just wants to drop a letter off to the President. And they really warmed up and they said, you know, a senator's coming up at 7 and Mr. Presley we'll make sure that your letter is carried up to be delivered to the president. Elvis went to a meeting, which I had never seen him in a meeting either.
And he had left me a phone number and said, You stay here and wait for the White House call. And I didn't want to hurt Elvis' feelings and tell her we weren't going to get across. And you've been listening to Jerry Schilling telling one heck of a story about when the president met the king. What happens next? Stay tuned.
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You have to go out there to bring people at home closer to the story. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth.
For NBC News, I'm Tom Yamis. That's what we do every night. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas, evenings on NBC. Hi, it's Jenny Garth. We all know the importance of taking care of our physical and mental health.
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And we return to our American stories of the story of how Elvis met Nixon. Here's Bud Crow, assistant to the council to the president. I was sitting at my desk. And I got a call from Bright Chapin. But the king is here.
And I looked at the president's schedule. I said, What, King? There aren't any kings in the schedule here. He said, No, not any two-bit king. The king, the king of rock, Elvis Presley, he's right here.
And he wants to help on the drug program, and that's what you work on because one of Dwight's jobs was to help get people in the policy area involved.
So he said, I'll send the letter over to you. You can read it and tell me what you think. Full disclosure requires me to tell you that I belong to a group of eight guys who played practical jokes on each other in the White House every week. And this was my turn to have one played on me by Chapin.
So I figured, okay, well, I'll go along with it. I'm going to try this out.
So I called over. Jerry answers the phone, I said, my name is Bud Krogh, and I have this letter here from Elvis Presley. I'm laughing on the phone because I'm expecting to be talking to Dwight's daughter, you know, who's all part of it. And he said, oh yes, Mr. Krogh, yes, that is one of the letters Mr.
Presley has written and we would very much like to see if we could arrange some kind of a meeting with the President.
Well, I'm still thinking all right, so he got a personator of an aide to take this and this is still Chapin's joke.
So I said, look, why don't you come on over to the White House? And let's talk about this. Because normally, when you're responsible for a meeting with a president, you sort of like to know who's going to go in.
So they said, oh, we'll be right over. And I still did not know you guys were for real. And it wasn't until they walked into my office that I realized, Oh my goodness, this is Elvis Presley. Oh, my secretary's, oh, Sandra Green. Oh, it is, it is Elvis Presley.
And then you all came in, and I will tell you, that was one of the most lovely half hours that I've had talking to you all and hearing Elvis talk from the heart about what his country meant to him. He sort of paraphrased the letter: I've gotten a lot from my country. I want to give it back. I want to help the country out. I can go into any group of people and be accepted by anyone.
And he had put in the letter that he would like to be made a federal agent at large. We don't have federal agents at large. We got Secret Service agents, FBI, we got all kinds of agents, but not agents at large. But that didn't seem to me to be a showstopper. But I should also, full disclosure requires me to tell you, I was the biggest Elvis fan in the 1950s.
Never went on a date without him. You know, I mean, that would say.
So here he is, he's in my office with you guys. This meeting has got to take place. The president has never met anyone quite like Elvis Presley. Elvis hasn't met anyone quite like the president. And I want to be in this meeting.
Well, they came back over. And I got a call from the Secret Service. The head of the Secret Service details said, We've got a little problem here. I said, what's that? He said, well, Elvis has brought a gun with him.
It's a very nice gun. It's got battles of World War II engraved in the barrel, and there are bullets in the display case. He said, Bud, you know that no guns in the Oval Office is standard policy around here. And I said, Yeah, I realize that. I took the gun.
And we walked into the Oval Office. He's wearing his cool glasses and his cape and his shirt. Nobody was ever dressed quite that way. And the president had never seen anyone quite like that either. And I mean, just to get Elvis over to the desk took a little effort because he walked in the door and he looked at the eagles engraved in the ceiling and eagles engraved in the carpets and the floor.
And I knew it sort of overwhelmed him. I'm a poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, and I'm here in the Oval Office of the President of the United States.
So I sort of escorted him, you know, put my hand on his back.
Well, they start talking about things that Elvis has been studying. And he had put this in his letter too, that I made a study of communist brainwashing president. You have.
Okay. And then he said something about the Beatles that wasn't that flattering. He said, you know, the Beatles came over here, made a lot of money, and said some anti-American stuff. And President Beatles, the Beatles have done that. And I didn't say, I'll get right on it, Mr.
President. Find out what they're doing. And then he talked about how difficult it was to play Las Vegas. And the president said, yes, I understand. That's a hard gig to do out there.
And I go, how does he know that? It's just so this stuff is going back and forth. And I'm just watching this amazing conversation unfold. And then. Elvis turns to the President and he said, Mr.
President, Can you get me a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs?
Now, I ask this audience. If you don't know the answer to that question, what is the right answer as the staff person responsible for the meeting? What should I have said? I'll look into it. Let me check it out.
Let me find out if it's legal. You know, I mean, a lot of things that you want to find out in advance. What do you think I said? Mr. President, if you want to get him a badge, we can get him one.
Okay, exactly.
So at that point, the president said. Get him a badge. I want him to have one. Elvis is overcome and he steps forward and he grabs the president. And he hugs him, which wasn't the norm in that White House.
And I'm watching this, probably the last meeting they're going to let me run around this place. I'm out of here. And then after that, he turned to the president, he said, Mr. President. Do you have time to meet my friends?
And the president looks at me and said, Bud, do we have time for that? I mean, already we are far beyond anything anybody thought about this meeting. And I said, well, yes, sir, we do. And Elvis opened the door and said, come on, you know. I looked down and there was the president at his desk and I realized the oval room was oval.
Pictures are flat, right? And Elvis thought I was afraid, which I was intimidated. And he kind of pushed me in. And as we're going over, the president kind of did a little thing like that on my shoulder. Yeah, he whacked it and goes, look like some football players.
It wasn't not a technical assault. Then I realized There was a human side of President Nixon. Personally, politically, I was on the other side at that time. And I saw there was these two great Men. Both who had been at the top of their professions, but weren't at that moment.
You know, Elvis was okay at the time, and the president wasn't that popular at the time. but my observation of seeing two great men connect on a human level. And I think they really Got the loneliness of both of their positions in the world. And it wasn't just that meeting, they stayed in touch. We grew up in North Memphis.
And here we were in the oval room of the White House with the President of the United States. There's so many funny things about that meeting, but the real thing about that meeting to me If there was ever a true American story, I think that's... one at the top.
Well, and what was so fun about this part of it, too, is that after the president has met with some guests. He often likes, when the meeting's coming to an end, he wants to give gifts to the people that have been there.
Now, let's say that you've won. The award for best cow for the 4-H Club in King County, Washington, and you come to the Oval Office, the president will go in his bottom drawer and give you a golf ball. Here's your ball. And there's no connection between ball, cow, 4-H, here's your ball. It's nice, and it's cheap.
This is one of the most abiding memories that I have of this entire episode. The president went behind his desk, and he opens the bottom left-hand drawer. The bottom drawer on that side of the desk is where he had the gifts. And they're arranged by golf balls through cufflinks to bracelets to pins. And I don't know if it's an ascending order of value from the cheapest to the 16-karat gold that you give to the big hitters.
But anyway, he's behind his desk, starting to reach down.
Now, Elvis didn't get to be the king of rock by not knowing where the gold is.
So he went behind the desk with the president. The KGB can't do this. You know, but Elvis Presley is diving into the president's drawer, and the president's looking at me and he's cleaning me out. He's going back in. I mean, you saw this.
I was saw him. And remember what he said. Remember, Mr. President, they have wives and sweethearts. And Elvis wasn't clear about what he was saying there.
And you have to understand, halfway through this meeting. The President and Elvis concluded that it ought to be kept secret. Because they weren't sure that their respective constituencies would understand why we were all together. Yes, they Elvis was saying, Well, you know, I think we need to keep this confidential. And the president said, Yes, that's a good idea.
We'll do that. After lunch, I called John Finlater over at the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. He brought a badge over. And when I said it was secret, it was secret not just for a week. It was a secret for 13 months.
Amazing.
Now imagine this. The King of Rock comes to the White House in the morning. And we weren't secreting him through tunnels or anything like that. I mean, we were moving him through the Roosevelt room into the Oval Office. Afterwards, we went down the halls, and Elvis was friendly with a lot of the employees, kissed a couple of the girls down.
So it's to keep that confidential. I mean, it's incredible. Top secret material floats out of that place every day. But having this man come in and have that be kept secret for 13 months was incredible. And I have just, you know, I've milked this as much as possible.
We still are. That's right. That's right. 40 years later. And what terrific storytelling.
Thanks to Jerry Schilling and Bud Krogh, and to the National Archives for preserving so much. of American history, including this story. when the president met the king. Here on Our American Stories. Traveling is one of life's greatest joys.
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Whisper: parakeet / 2025-07-01 21:30:19 / 2025-07-01 21:30:59 / 1
