Krogh, who documented the meeting and later wrote a book on the encounter, described in his notes how Elvis showed off his badges to the president before stating “that he thought the Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit”. The president gave his opinion that “those who use drugs are also at the vanguard of anti-American protest”.

Then Elvis explained the real reason for his visit: his desire for a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The singer was a collector of police badges and believed this one would give him the special powers and freedom of a federal agent. Nixon granted his wish for a badge, and the meeting concluded with, as Krogh described it, “a surprising, spontaneous gesture”, as Elvis put his arm around the president and hugged him.

Opposites attract

Today the photos and other artefacts from the meeting are available to view in a National Archives exhibition online. But what is it about this one image that sparked such interest and holds such an enduring appeal?

“The reason the photo resonates with the public is due in part to the reputation of Richard Nixon as someone unaware of pop culture icons of this time,” explains Gregory Cumming, Resource Archivist and Staff Historian at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. “It’s the incongruity that people find so fascinating,” adds art historian Kelly Grovier, “the symbol of all things cool meeting the symbol of all things cold and calculating.”

But despite their differences, an affinity was struck between the two men that continued after that day. Elvis’ friend and long-term aide Jerry Schilling, who accompanied him to the Oval Office, saw a bond between the pair, describing the encounter as “two people who had been at the top of their careers… they identified with being lonely at the top… and they hit it off against all odds.”