(Credits: Far Out / KRLA Beat / Flo & Eddie INC)
Fri 5 September 2025 20:52, UK
As much as politicians like to align themselves with musicians, maybe walking out to conferences to the sound of their greatest hits, most artists are inspired by some sense of rebellion. In fact, the very essence of rock and roll is rooted in an anti-establishment ethos. Understandably, when The Turtles were asked to play a gig at the White House, their morals were somewhat called into question.
Particularly in 1970, when President Nixon was cobbling his way through the American leadership and the left-leaning resistance was at an all-time high, much to his frustration. But in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them join them”, Mark Volman and The Turtles decided to accept his invitation and put on a show behind enemy lines.
At the turn of the decade, Volman and The Turtles had already enjoyed chart success through their big-band take on surf-rock, emboldened by their position as a six-piece. Amid the rich spoils of musical greatness from that era, the band seemed to tap into something unique and cultivated an excited fan base of young fans. One of whom was Nixon’s daughter, Tricia Nixon.
Like any parent, Nixon was eager to please his daughter and persuaded the band to step inside the White House grounds and put on somewhat of a private show for his offspring. It was an obscure match as the president welcomed a group of long-haired, drug-addled musicians into his premises, but such was his idea of power, he assumed they would be of relatively sound mind for such a performance.
Yet it proved to be a suitably clunky evening for such a relationship mismatch. After convincing armed guards that their metronome wasn’t in fact a weapon, they were finally allowed into the grounds, where, amidst all of the instrumental weaponry drama, they had managed to smuggle in their cocaine.
In his book Shell Shocked: My Life with The Turtles, Flo and Eddie and Frank Zappa, Howard Kaylan explained, “We were given President Lincoln’s library to use as our dressing room. It was amazing. We were loaded — high from smoking pot back at the hotel and a wee bit tipsy from all the French champagne that was being freely dispensed —and we were roaming around the most important home in America unsupervised.”
Volman led the band on stage, where he set the tone for a hilariously sloppy and drug-fuelled performance that would have surely lived long in the memory of both Richard and Tricia Nixon. From Kaylan’s memory, Volman cut a loose figure, stating, “He fell off the stage a few times, much to the amusement of all present.”
They were part of a liberal resistance and for that night only, representatives of the people they shared political views with, the band never cowered to the pressure of political bureaucracy. Their very indulgence of hedonism and faithfulness to performative craziness meant they gave Nixon an important view into the real life attitude. Volman and The Turtles never wavered or changed upon entry into the White House and for that, earned eternal respect.
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