Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 859 › Conversation 859-018

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on Meredith Willson and Conservatism

Wednesday, February 21, 1973 · 10:17 AM–10:19 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation859-018 on Tape 859StartWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 10:17 AMEndWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 10:19 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 859-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated a personal letter to composer Meredith Willson to express appreciation for Willson's recent letter in the Los Angeles Times regarding political philosophy and music. The President affirmed his own conservative outlook and shared lighthearted commentary on the varied, often unorthodox, international renditions of the American national anthem he encountered during his travels. This brief recording served to facilitate official correspondence between the President and the musician.

  • Meredith Willson
  • Conservatism
  • National Anthem
  • Correspondence
  • Francis Scott Key

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.0 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

This is for Meredith Wilson, here in America.
I was delighted with your letter to the Los Angeles Times paragraph.
I consider myself a conservative, both politically and physically.
However, I thought your essay... ...sang superbly, very... ...sorry to interrupt you.
I'm sorry to interrupt you.
who have sang or played of all the national anthems.
You should hear what some of the bands abroad and outside have done to the Exclamation Point Paragon.
It's too bad that, quote, Section 76 trombones, close quote,
wasn't available when Francis Scott and Curt Peake wrote those memorable words.

NARA Description

On February 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:17 am and 10:19 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 859-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 859-18

Date: February 21, 1973
Time: Unknown between 10:17 am and 10:19 am
Location: Oval Office

       The President dictated a letter to Robert Meredith Willson

       Thanks for letter in Los Angeles Times
             -President's political philosophy
                      -Conservatism
             -National Anthem
                      -Renditions
                              -President's travels abroad
                      -Francis Scott Key
                              -Musical composition

Also recorded on February 21, 1973

  • 859-014 10:08 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:08 am and 10:16 am.
  • 043-144 10:16 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Harry S. Dent talked on the telephone from 10:16 am to 10:17 am.
  • 859-016 10:16 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Harry S. Dent met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:16 am to 10:17 am.
  • 043-145 10:17 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:17 am and 11:16 am.
  • 043-146 10:17 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:17 am and 11:16 am.
  • 859-017 10:17 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:17 am and 10:19 am.
  • 859-039 10:17 AM · 13 sec — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:17 am and 10:19 am.
  • 859-019 10:19 AM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:19 am to 10:46 am.

All 88 conversations from February 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 859-018, February 21, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/859-018 (accessed October 11, 2026).