Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 795 › Conversation 795-004

Nixon, Butterfield & Bull on James Brown and Public relations

Tuesday, October 10, 1972 · 12:02 PM–12:09 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Butterfield, Alexander P.;  Bull, Stephen B.Conversation795-004 onTape 795StartTuesday, October 10, 1972 at 12:02 PMEndTuesday, October 10, 1972 at 12:09 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 795-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield and Stephen B. Bull to discuss a potential meeting with entertainer James Brown. The participants reviewed Brown’s background and cultural influence to assess the political benefits of an engagement with the artist. Nixon ultimately approved the scheduling of the visit to leverage Brown's popularity among young voters.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.2 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

See?
See?
See?
You, uh... Just that one.
What is this?
Just keep going.
Keep going.
All right.
Okay, we just want to make sure he doesn't get stressed by all this pressing.
All right, if the man is present, we can go.
What's he supposed to do?
Just sit and talk to him for a while.
James Brown apparently is very popular among the young people.
He's black, he's one.
Right.
Right.
Right.

NARA Description

On October 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:02 pm and 12:09 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 795-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 795-4

Date: October 10, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:02 pm and 12:09 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield and Stephen B. Bull.

        Item for the President’s signature
        The President's schedule
            -James Brown
                 -Clothing style
                      -Elvis A. Presley
                      -Press photograph
                 -Background
                      -Marital status
                      -[Charles Bobbit]
            -Letter

Butterfield and Bull left at an unknown time before 12:09 pm.

Also recorded on October 10, 1972

  • 795-002 11:53 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 11:54 am.
  • 795-003 11:54 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Witold Trampczynski, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:54 am to 12:02 pm.
  • 795-005 12:09 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:09 pm to 12:10 pm.
  • 795-006 12:10 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:10 pm and 12:17 pm.
  • 795-007 12:10 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:10 pm and 12:17 pm.
  • 795-008 12:17 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, James Brown, Joseph Brown, James F. Palmer, Charles Bobbitt, Robert J. Brown, Stanley S. Scott, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:17 pm to 12:27 pm.
  • 795-009 12:27 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:27 pm and 12:30 pm.
  • 795-010 12:30 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:30 pm to 12:49 pm.

All 27 conversations from October 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 795-004, October 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/795-004 (accessed September 18, 2026).