The Rock Star Who Wanted to Become a Federal Agent

Washington, December 21, 1970.

Most people would probably think twice before showing up unannounced at the White House.

But one famous rock'n'roll star apparently had a different idea.

Elvis Presley suddenly appeared at the White House.

He was carrying a letter addressed to President Richard Nixon. In it, Elvis explained that he wanted to help the President fight drugs and what he described as the counterculture.

His unusual request?

Elvis wanted an official badge identifying him as a federal agent.

More specifically, he wanted a Federal Narcotics Agent Badge. He believed that such a badge would allow him to move more freely within the world of drug enforcement and help authorities fight the growing drug problem.

And then something happened that sounds almost like a scene from a movie.

The letter actually reached President Nixon.

Nixon agreed to meet Elvis that very same day.

The two men met in the Oval Office. Elvis explained his views to the President and even presented him with a gift: a handgun.

But Elvis did not want to leave empty-handed.

He actually received the badge he had asked for.

A rock star who sold millions of records and performed on the biggest stages in the world was suddenly the proud owner of an official federal badge.

Perhaps the strangest part of the story was that Elvis believed the badge would allow him to travel to other countries and work with drug enforcement agencies and police authorities.

The meeting itself was brief.

But a photograph of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon from that moment would later become one of the most requested photographs in the National Archives.

For a brief moment, two completely different worlds had collided:

The President of the United States and the King of Rock'n'Roll.

And it all started with one very unusual request for a badge.