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One Year

1977 | 5. Elvis, the Pledge, and Extraterrestrials

One Year

Slate Podcasts

Society & Culture, History, Documentary

4.41.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2021

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Three stories from one day in August 1977. Elvis Presley dies, and the National Enquirer goes after the ultimate tabloid scoop: a photo of the King in his coffin. A New Jersey high schooler becomes a pariah when she refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Astronomers in Ohio get a mysterious signal from outer space—could it be a message from aliens? One Year is produced by Josh Levin, Evan Chung, and Madeline Ducharme. Mixing by Merritt Jacob. Want more One Year? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to One Year and your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Slow Burn show page on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠. Or, visit ⁠slate.com/oneyearplus⁠ to get access wherever you listen. For a behind-the-scenes look into some of the articles we read when we create the show, check out our Pocket collection at http://getpocket.com/slate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:32.6

At 1228 a.m. on August 16, 1977, a man from Indiana snapped a photo of Elvis Presley with

0:41.2

a Kodak Instomatic camera. That picture shows Elvis at the front gate of Graceland, heading

0:47.9

back home after a late-night dentist appointment. He's driving a black luxury car, a Stutz

0:53.6

Blackh Hawk 3.

0:55.5

Elvis's right hand is on the steering wheel, and he's holding up his left as though he's giving a casual wave.

1:02.1

He's wearing dark sunglasses, and it looks like he might be smiling, but it's hard to tell.

1:08.0

As far as anyone knows, it's the last image ever taken of Elvis Presley alive.

1:14.0

Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, his dad at the age of 42.

1:18.5

He sold millions of records more than anyone in the music industry except the Beatles.

1:23.1

What we're left with is a life that was the stuff of fables.

1:26.8

I think he'll be the greatest thing ever

1:28.6

remembered that came out of America. On the afternoon of August 16th, Ian Calder convened an

1:38.3

emergency meeting at his office in Lantana, Florida. We wouldn't have dreamed if he was still

1:42.7

alive running a major front-page story in August.

1:46.9

Calder was the editor of the National Enquirer.

1:49.9

It was on him to decide how to cover the King's death.

1:53.7

He had gone downhill, he had got fat.

...

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