Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 861 › Conversation 861-016

Nixon & Bull on White House social events and Irving Berlin

Thursday, February 22, 1973 · 12:33 PM–12:42 PM ET · Oval Office · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation861-016 on Tape 861StartThursday, February 22, 1973 at 12:33 PMEndThursday, February 22, 1973 at 12:42 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 861-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met to coordinate logistics for upcoming White House events, including an 'Evening at the White House' entertainment program and various social receptions. They discussed potential guests, such as Apollo astronauts and Wallace Wade, as well as production details for musical performances featuring Irving Berlin and the Army Chorus. Additionally, Nixon provided specific instructions on how to handle incoming communications from returned prisoners of war and their families.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I go left, that's better than natural.
Well, we were pulling the date on the March 11th.
Now we've got it.
But now we're firm on the 11th.
All right.
All right.
Bye.
We're looking towards the early relentless.
I want to include one of those I don't know whether he's in common or not, but he's a great friend of mine.
Wallace Wade, the former coach at Duke, and his wife.
She could make it on the bench.
He's a very old man.
I don't know.
And you've got the urban Berlin and also the large one.
Yes.
Right.
I know I'm better in Berlin as the author of God Bless America.
Well, it would make me the best.
But who could you have for the orchestra?
Maybe you've got... Who would be the entertainers you could get?
Micah, our old friend Les Brown.
Of course, that's a long way to come.
Possibly Ray Blunt.
Ray who?
Ray Blunt.
He was one of our nobodies when he died.
I've talked to Norman Turok.
I don't know from the opera, but we think they've been very helpful.
Norman Turok is a producer.
And very enthusiastic about this idea.
The other thing is to invite the three astronauts in our life.
Which one are you going to have on board?
Well, I wanted to ask that question of you, sir.
Perhaps we might want to invite them to this first one.
And invite them to Camp David.
Camp David here, Friday night, Saturday, or afternoon evening,
What I would do would be to have them go up to the,
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
We don't have a check here.
We've got a check for PR people.
There's a phone in the PR room.
Some of the thoughts that did write so many things.
But fortunately, some of our supporters have been involved in productions such as .
I don't know where your voice is.
She still has a voice on the show.
Sure.
Yeah.
So we were all working on it.
We were not confirmed with Irving, but when he's about 75 or 76, we understand he's a little bit frail.
And we're looking at it.
And that will appear.
Fine.
All right.
Good.
We'll give you what you've got.
Yeah.
For the God Bless America one, though, I would then get the Army Chorus in.
for the finale and something.
And so they have a big, boomy thing.
And not just play this, have the orchestra.
You see what I mean?
I could envision all of the audience singing with it.
I understand that.
The orchestra quite is.
I just want to get the army chorus so that everybody moves it up.
They could perhaps do the first chorus.
All right, now let's see.
What about the list of the people that you got that
Well, I don't, I'm not looking for anything there.
I mean, I, I don't want to.
We want to own the people and we should too.
I don't know how to consolidate the rest of the staff and
I think I would have, you can invite Harlow and McGregor to this thing tonight.
But one other thing I was going to tell you, any calls from the POW,
If you get a call from a BW or a BW wife, I don't want to take them in person.
In fact, I would not be able to take them in arm.
But sometimes, if I am free at a time, and a call comes in, I should take one out of the arms of the BW wife.
Well, I've had that one work.
I've taken a couple of calls.
I've said the president's unavailable, but I know you want me to respond immediately, so I can talk to you.
Sure.
That's fine.
I think that helps as well.
have a school problem dropping.

NARA Description

On February 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:33 pm to 12:42 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 861-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 861-16

Date: February 22, 1973
Time: 12:33 pm - 12:42 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       State of the Union

       Samuel L. Devine

       William B. Saxbe

       Invitations
               -Proofs
               -Worship services
               -Republicans
                       -Cancellations
               -Gridiron dinner

       Worship Service
             -William F. (“Billy”) Graham
                    -Edward V. Hill
             -Catholic
                    -Democrats
             -Dr. Hill
                    -Graham

       Evening at the White House
             -Entertainment
                      -Irving Berlin
                      -Sammy Davis, Jr.
             -Invitation
                      -Rose Mary Woods
                      -Wallace Wade
                              -Coach at Duke University
                                        -24-

             NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                    Conversation No. 861-16 (cont’d)

                        -Wife
                        -Age
         -Entertainment
                -Sammy Davis, Jr.
                -Berlin
                -Lawrence Welk
                -Berlin
                        -Orchestra
                        -Les Brown
                        -Ray Bly [?]
                               -1973 Inauguration
                        -Sue and Norman Turak [?]
                               -Producer

Apollo astronauts
       -Invitation
       -Wives
       -Evening at the White House
       -Camp David
       -Davis
       -President’s preference
       -Recognition

Berlin
         -New York producer
         -Works
         -Producers
                -Support for the President
                -Ethel Merman
         -Age
         -Army Chorus
                -Finale
                -"God Bless America"

Biographical list
       -John D. Ehrlichman
                                                -25-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                         Conversation No. 861-16 (cont’d)

       Congressional reception
             -Bryce N. Harlow and Clark MacGregor
             -Invitation
             -Votes

       Calls from Prisoners of War [POWs] or POW wives
               -Acceptance
               -Handling

   Meeting with Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft

Bull left at 12:42 pm.

Also recorded on February 22, 1973

  • 861-021 12:21 PM · 35 sec — Stephen B. Bull and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:21 pm and 12:23 pm.
  • 861-015 12:23 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Walter E. Washington, Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., Frank Frazier, William Bullock, Portial Bullock, Wilhelmina Thomas, Joseph Bullock, Mrs. Joseph Bullock, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:23 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 861-017 12:42 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:42 pm and 12:44 pm.
  • 861-018 12:44 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:44 pm to 12:46 pm.
  • 861-019 12:46 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William E. Timmons, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:46 pm to 1:08 pm.
  • 861-020 1:08 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:08 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 043-166 1:12 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 2:22 pm.
  • 411-010 1:12 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:22 pm.

All 52 conversations from February 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 861-016, February 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/861-016 (accessed October 1, 2026).