Collections › Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs
Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs
480 songs · chronological within each section · A–Z by artist
Annotations and notes by Justin A. Brummer
Entries are numbered (#1, #2 …) for reference on this page; the numbers shift when entries are added or split.
Freda Payne — “Bring the Boys Home” (Invictus, 1971)
A collection of soul, doo-wop, R&B, gospel, and funk songs that reference the Vietnam War
This forms part of the larger Vietnam War Song Project, an interpretive examination of over 6,500 Vietnam War songs identified, revealing how the war's significance is represented through music. The project also collects spoken-word recordings about the conflict. This unique collection of voices advances scholarship by providing insights into people’s views about the war over time as represented in music, looking at diverse communities and vibrant music scenes. It is crucial in developing our knowledge of the war and the humanities, through the use of a digital research platform.Note: The VWSP has identified, to date, 480+ songs in the soul, gospel and funk genres.
Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs, vietnamwarsongproject.com/list/soul-gospel-funk-songs, accessed 12 November 2026
Further acknowledgement:
Greg Burgess: a Londoner with family roots in Ireland and England who has been collecting soul and rhythm & blues since the age of eleven when a cousin gave him a stack of 45s featuring the Chess, Motown, Atlantic and Stax labels. A beautiful obsession began and fifty years later he’s still rolling! Graduating from listening to writing Greg has written approaching one hundred published articles for the likes of In the Basement, Juke Blues and Record Collector. He has contributed to sleeve notes and websites and has been a regular on local radio through the years playing some of his expanding music library.
In 2001 whilst in the pub with other music scribes John ‘Sir Shambling’ Ridley and the soul music author John Lias he was persuaded to write the first properly researched article on Soul Music and the link with Vietnam, an article that was published in Record Collector in 2002. Fame and fortune didn’t follow but the subsequent article was the catalyst for others to pick up the baton and cover this formerly neglected subject.
Criteria
The songs in this collection most often deal with: Soldier's Perspective, Anti-War, Civil Rights, Home Front Perspective.
1 of 3
- Pre-War: 1960-1961
While many of these early songs may have been intending to refer to US troops in Germany, or Korea, or representing general Cold War fears, they were released in the run-up to the "Vietnam era", and thus a selected few are included in this list, as cultural perspectives. The criteria is the same as for the war years. - War Years: 1962-1975
Released during the war years, between 1962 and 1975, the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as the draft, napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism. - Post-War: 1976-present
Themes especially found in the post-Vietnam War era are lyrics about post-traumatic stress disorder, prisoners of war and the missing in action, the plight and treatment of veterans, and agent orange, in the years after the collapse of South Vietnam and the unification of North and South Vietnam.
Structure
This sub-list is in chronological order. At the beginning of each section, there is a list of the key historical events related to the war, followed by a song summary, that looks for themes. It then looks at each song individually.
Bibliography
1 of 3
Other sources:
- Andresen, Lee, "African American Music", in Battle Notes: Music of the Vietnam War (Superior, WI: Savage Press, 2003).
- Burgess, Greg, "The Soul of Vietnam", Record Collector, No. 275, July 2002, 40-48.
- Ellison, Mary, "Black Music and the Vietnam War", in Vietnam Images: War and Representation, eds. Walsh, Jeffrey & James Aulich (London: Macmillan Press, 1989).
- Hall, Simon, Peace and Freedom: The Civil Rights and Antiwar Movements in the 1960s (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006).
- Lucks, Daniel S., Selma to Saigon: The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War (Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press, 2014).
- Ridley, John, Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven [online-only]1
Sources
1960-1965
1965 saw a significant US escalation under LBJ with the implementation of Operation Rolling Thunder - the sustained aerial bombardment of North Vietnam, to support the South Vietnamese government, pressure the North Vietnamese, and to target North Vietnamese transport, industry, and air defences. LBJ also committed an additional 50,000+ ground troops, which saw total US personal in South Vietnam increase to 184k+, up from only 23k+ in the previous year. In other news, Australia committed to support the US, sending a battalion to South Vietnam. Meanwhile, the anti-war movement gained pace, with major demonstrations taking place in Washington D.C., including the March on Washington for Peace in Vietnam.
- 8 November 1960: John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in US presidential election.
- 20 December 1960: National Liberation Front (NFL) or the Viet Cong is established.
- 2 November 1962: South Vietnamese leader Diem executed in coup.
- 22 November 1963: Lyndon Baines Johnson becomes US president following Kennedy assassination.
- 2-4 August 1964: North Vietnam attacks US ships in Gulf of Tonkin.
- 7 August 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed by US Congress, permitting intervention.
- 3 November 1964: Johnson re-elected US president.
- 2 March 1965: US Rolling Thunder bombing campaign of North Vietnam kicks-off.
- 8 March 1965: Escalation of US combat troops in Vietnam.
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
These early songs focused on the plight of the soldier and the family, friends, and sweethearts left behind on the home front. They were mainly relationship songs, particularly on the "soldier boy" theme, as sung by The Shirelles: "soldier boy I'll be true to you". Opinions on fighting usually involved expressing patriotism, a sense of duty to their country, and to prove their manhood. In 1962 Marvin Gaye tells us that he is "over here fighting to keep us free", while Emanuel Laskey "will fight real hard", even though he was a "peace loving man". Some were less pleased about being drafted. Nathan McKinney sadly moaned that "I guess I'll have to go" because Uncle Sam called, while The Valadiers shouted out "please Uncle Sam, don't take me away".
1960
#1 Jerry Butler A Lonely Soldier 1960 · Single · A Lonely Soldier / I Found a Love · Abner # 1035 · USA
Notes
Lonely Soldier, A (Butler, Jerry) Doo-wop.
Build-up to Vietnam-era.
Same as William Bell song of the same name.
Generic soldier boy, he wrote a letter to…
Notes
Abner 1035 (60-1368), black label with silver bird-and-quill logo, vocal, "Made in U.S.A."; "A Lonely Soldier" (C. Carter), Conrad BMI. [From the record…1961
#2 The Valadiers Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) 1961 · Single · Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) / Take a Chance · Miracle # MIR-6 · USA
Annotation
The Valadiers formed in 1959 in Detroit, and signed to one of Berry Gordy's many Motown Records subsidiaries, one of the first white bands to do so. The original line-up of the four-piece vocal group consisted of Jerry Light, Stuart Avig, Martin Coleman, and Art Glasser. The group released the doo-wop song "Greeting (This Is Uncle Sam)" (Miracle Records # MI-6) which dealt with general conscription / the draft during the Vietnam War period - although it could have been referencing American troops in other countries, such as Korea, or Germany. In any case, many people interpreted this as a Vietnam War song. Its political theme undermines the myth that Motown did not release…Notes
Miracle Records MIR-6 (ZTSC 84119, H 849), 45 RPM, black label with stars; "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)" (P. Bennett), 2:33, Jobete, BMI; produced by… #3 The Orlons I'll Be True 1961 · Single · I'll Be True / Heart, Darling, Angel · Cameo # C-198 · USA
Notes
I'll Be True (Cameo Records # C-198) Doo Wop, girl group. Soldier boy theme.
Formed in Philadelphia in 1960, this line-up featured Rosetta Hightower…
Notes
Cameo C-198-A, red and black label with the cameo logo; "I'll Be True" (Kal Mann), Kalmann Music / Lowe Music, ASCAP, time 2:30; "© 1960 Cameo Records".… #4 The Creators Drafted, Volunteered and Enlisted 1961 · Single · I've Had You / Drafted, Volunteered and Enlisted · Dootone # 463 · USA
Notes
Drafted, Volunteered and Enlisted (Creators)1961 - early draft song. Vietnam? Germany?
Doo-wop, soul vocal group.
#5 The Viceroys Uncle Sam Needs You 1961 · Single · Uncle Sam Needs You / I'm So Sorry · Smash # S-1716 · USA
Notes
Uncle Sam Needs You (The Viceroys)Doo-wop, soul. Draft, soldier's perspective.
What does Uncle Sam want with me?
Sure got to go (reluctance), back in the…
Notes
Smash S-1716 (YW21901), red label, a division of Mercury Record Corp.; "Uncle Sam Needs You" (H.B. Barnum-Frank Robinson), Hidle Music (BMI), 2:30; an H.… #6 The Elgins Uncle Sam's Man 1961 · Single · Uncle Sam's Man / Casey Cop · Flip # 45-353 · USA
1962
#7 The Shirelles Soldier Boy 1962 · Single · Soldier Boy / Love Is a Swingin' Thing · Scepter # 1228 · USA
Annotation
The classic song "Soldier Boy" (Scepter Records # 1228) performed by the doo-wop girl group the Shirelles, from New Jersey, USA, topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 5 May 1962 and stayed there for three weeks. Released in March 1962, it stands as one of the earliest, and certainly the most successful of the dozens of "soldier boy" themed songs to appear in the early 1960s. Whether about Vietnam, Berlin, or the general Cold War, these songs presented soldiering and the draft as a common occurrence in the US. Released in 1962, it is interesting to look into how much people in the US really knew what was going on in Vietnam. President Eisenhower had clearly attached American…
Notes
Scepter Records 1228 A, red label, "A Ludix Production"; "Soldier Boy" (Luther Dixon - Florence Green), Ludix Publ. (BMI), 2:40; Burt Keys, arranger;… #8 The Supremes Your Heart Belongs To Me 1962 · Single · Your Heart Belongs to Me / (He's) Seventeen · Motown # 1027 · USA
Annotation
The pop-soul song "Your Heart Belongs to Me" (Motown Records # 1027) took the 'soldier boy' perspective, as a woman missed her sweetheart who had "gone to a faraway land, serving your country" - in Berlin? Vietnam? Like a whole bunch of 'soldier boy' tracks from the early 1960s, it presented soldiering as a common activity. The sweetheart sent the soldier "a picture to carry with you all the time" for when he was "feeling lonely" and so that he did not forget her. It featured the vocals of the Detroit, Michigan girl group as a quartet - Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Barbara Martin. Smokey Robinson composed and produced the song. The Supremes signed to Motown in…
Notes
Motown 1027 picture sleeve, "Your Heart Belongs to Me" / "(He's) Seventeen", with a black-and-white photograph of the three Supremes in matching cardigans… #9 Marvin Gaye Soldier's Plea 1962 · Single · Soldier's Plea / Taking My Time · Tamla # 54063 · USA
Annotation
Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. Also note that in 1972 Gaye recorded the song "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" about a Vietnam P.O.W., which took an anti-war perspective. Released on 8 May 1962, the song "Soldier's Plea" (Tamla…
Notes
Tamla 54063, yellow globe label, "Tamla Records, Detroit, Michigan", matrix ZTSC 82821 / DM-V 004101, stamped "D.J. Copy"; "Soldier's Plea" (Stevenson,… #10 Jogettes Johnny's Comin' Home 1962 · Single · Johnny's Coming Home / Your Love · Mar # 45-102 · USA
Annotation
The song "Johnny's Comin' Home" (Mar Records # 45-102) - released on a New York based label in 1962 by the Jogettes, an R&B girl group - they seem to be a one hit wonder, imitating other girl groups by ending their name with "ette". Steve Verroca wrote and produced the song. The track might be too early to be considered specifically about the Vietnam War, but rather more of a general 'soldier boy' song. The narrator received a letter informing her that her sweetheart "Johnny" was on his way back home, so for his impending arrival: "we're going to have a party" and "invite all our friends". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Mar Records 45-102 (M-7517), red and yellow label, Mar Records, 214 W. 50th St., N.Y.C., "Dist. nationally by Kip Records"; "Johnny's Comin' Home" (Steve… #11 Mickey Woods Please Mr. Kennedy 1962 · Single · Please Mr. Kennedy / (They Call Me) Cupid · Tamla # 54052 · USA
Credited on the record as Mickey Wood.
Annotation
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Tamla 54052, Tamla Records, Detroit, Michigan, white "Disc Jockey" / "Not for Sale" label, 45 RPM; "Please Mr. Kennedy" (B. Gordy, Jr. - L. Wakefield),… #12 Valli Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy) 1962 · Single · Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy) / Jimmy's in a Hurry · Scepter # 1233 · USA
Annotation
Notes
The song Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy) (Valli) (Scepter Records # 1233) Answer to the The Shirelles - Soldier Boy
"Greenberg wasn't above trying to cash in on a big hit, either. After the Shirelles topped the charts with "Soldier Boy" (Scepter 1228) in the spring of 1962, Scepter tried a single by the Soldier Boys ("I'm Your Soldier Boy," Scepter 1230), and a related single by Valli ("Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy)", Scepter 1233), but the public wasn't having any ersatz Shirelles. They wanted the real thing".1
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Scepter Records 1233 A, red label; "Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy)" (Luther Dixon, Florence Green, Kay Rogers, Bob Elgin), 2:59, Ludix Publ. (BMI);… #13 The Soldier Boys I'm Your Soldier Boy 1962 · Single · I'm Your Soldier Boy / You Picked Me · Scepter # 1230 · USA
Annotation
Notes
I'm Your Soldier Boy (Soldier Boys, The) (Scepter Records # 1230) Answer to the The Shirelles - Soldier Boy
"Greenberg wasn't above trying to cash in on a big hit, either. After the Shirelles topped the charts with "Soldier Boy" (Scepter 1228) in the spring of 1962, Scepter tried a single by the Soldier Boys ("I'm Your Soldier Boy," Scepter 1230), and a related single by Valli ("Hurry Home to Me (Soldier Boy)", Scepter 1233), but the public wasn't having any ersatz Shirelles. They wanted the real thing".1
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#14 Elena Marie Soldier Boy 1962 · Single · Soldier Boy / Blue Mood · Geebee # GB-01 · USA
Notes
Geebee GB-01 (GB-101), blue label, "distributed by Original Sound Sales Corp., 7120 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California"; "Soldier Boy" (Jones-Williams),… #15 Little Bernie and the Cavaliers Lonely Soldier 1962 · Single · The Waddle / Lonely Soldier · Jove # 100 · USA
Notes
Soul, soldier's perspectiveLonely soldier coming home to your arms, love you so
If you leave me I'll go out of my mind
I wait for your letters
Notes
B-side. Writer credit on label: B. Milton (A-side The Waddle: B. Milton, J. Perialas). Discogs also lists a promo pressing (release 8001740) and a… #16 The Shondells Don't Cry My Soldier Boy 1962 · Single · Don't Cry My Soldier Boy / My Love · Ember # EMB S191 · USA
Notes
Ember Records EMB S191, Side Two, 45 R.P.M., "Recording first published 1964", "A King Recording"; "Don't Cry My Soldier Boy" (Phillips—Simms), Lois Music… #17 The Illusions Lonely Soldier 1962 · Single · Lonely Soldier / Hey Boy · Mali # 104 · USA
Notes
Lonely Soldier (Illusions, The)Doo-wop, soldier's perspective
Vietnam-era. Please don't send me a 'Dear John'.
I think about you all the time
Notes
Mali Record Co., "A Division of Fausto Malish Enterprises", Record No. 104 A, black label, 45 R.P.M.; "Lonely Soldier" (Anthony Carman), Deb-Ann Music Co.… #18 Laura Otis and The Satinettes Bye Bye Soldier Boy 1962 · Single · I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (For a Long, Long Time) / Bye Bye Soldier Boy · Mexie # 102 · USA
Notes
Girl group, teen popSoldier boy theme - going overseas
I'll be waiting sweetheart, I'll be true
Notes
Mexie Records 102. Label credits 'Laura Otis And The Satinettes'. Published by Phyllis Music (BMI). A-side 2:36. Mexie Records 102-B, magenta label;… #19 The Dootones Sailor Boy 1962 · Single · Sailor Boy / Down the Road · Dootone # 471 · USA
Notes
Dootone 471 A, Dootone Record Corporation, Los Angeles, California, Made in U.S.A.; "Sailor Boy" (Royal Dillard), Dootsie Williams Inc., BMI, 2:23. [From… #20 The G-Clefs They'll Call Me Away, This Is My Country 1962 · Single · They'll Call Me Away, This Is My Country / Make Up Your Mind · Terrace # 45-7507 · USA
Notes
Terrace Records Co. 45-7507 (JG 817), "Disc Jockey — not for sale"; "They'll Call Me Away / This Is My Country" (Wade Bordes) (Don Raye; Al Jacobs), 1:56;…1963
#21 Dee Clark I'm a Soldier Boy 1963 · Single · I'm A Soldier Boy / Shook Up Over You · Vee Jay # VJ-487 · USA
Annotation
"I'm a Soldier Boy" (Vee-Jay Records # VJ-487) - another early R&B / soul track that took the 'soldier boy' perspective. Dee Clark (aka Delectus Clark), born in Arkansas in 1938, moved to Chicago with his mother (a gospel singer) in 1941, where much of his musical career was based. The song, composed by Chicago Soul artists Otis Leavill, Curtis Mayfield, & Major Lance, does not mention Vietnam, but contained lyrics dealing with themes of the conflict, and of course released during its early stages. The soldier, remembering his loved one, re-assured her that "I'll be home soon my love", and so he wanted her to "be true". The song was included in Billboard's spotlight singles on 9…Notes
Vee-Jay VJ #487 (62-2622), vocal, black label with rainbow rim; "I'm a Soldier Boy" (C. Mayfield–O. Cobbs–M. Lance), Conrad-Curtom, BMI, time 2:36. [From… #22 The Sherwoods Uncle Sam 1963 · Single · Three Love Letters Ago / Uncle Sam · V-Tone # V-506 · USA
Annotation
The song "Uncle Sam" (V-Tone Records # V-506) by the soulful girl group The Sherwoods, out of Philadelphia, was a draft and soldier boy themed song, probably released around 1965-67. Narrated from the perspective of a soldier's sweetheart, she recalled that her "boyfriend got a letter" . So she sung out "Uncle Sam, please don't take my boyfriend away" . Eventually she accepted that he will have to go fight, and thus she asked Uncle Sam to "bring him back to my arms some day" . Composed by Harry Moffitt and produced by Lenny Caldwell. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
V-Tone Records V-506-B, orange label; "Uncle Sam" (Harry Moffitt) (Copyright No. Eu780417), Tore Music & Caldwell Music, BMI, time 2:09; Bill Massey arr.,… #23 The Carmel Sisters Joey's Comin' Home 1963 · Single · Joey's Comin' Home / The Rumor · Jubilee # 45-5464 · USA
Notes
Joey's Comin' Home (The Carmel Sisters) Teen pop, soldier boy song.
My Sweetheart Joey is coming home.
But he is not here! Where is he?
Army took him…
Notes
Jubilee 45-5464 (JB-12053), white "Advance Release — Disc-Jockey Record — Not for Sale" label, vocal with instrumental accompaniment; "Joey's Comin' Home"… #24 Bobby John Lonely Soldier 1963 · Single · Lonely Soldier / The Bad Man · Sony [Los Angeles] # 111 · USA
Notes
Soul, soldier boy theme.Composed by Curtis Mayfield, produced by Ike & Tina Turner.
Remembering my love, I'll always be true
Marching off to war
Going to…
Notes
Sony 111 (1001), tan label with a rosette reading "A circa release"; "Lonely Soldier" (Curtis Mayfield), 2:45, Placid-Curtom BMI; produced by Ike & Tina… #25 The Blue Belles When Johnny Comes Marching Home 1963 · Single · When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Cool Water · Newtown # 5009 · USA
Notes
When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Blue Belles, The) Soul, girl group.
1963 - Vietnam-era update / cover of the Civil War song.
Soldier boy - gone for…
Notes
Newtown Records 5009, matrix BBCW 1B; "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (R. Martin-M. Bailey), 3:30, 66 BMI; The Blue Belles; pale blue label with chain… #26 The Charmaines G.I. Joe 1963 · Single · G.I. Joe / Don't Take Away Your Love · Fraternity # F-961 · USA
Notes
Fraternity F-961, Hi-Fidelity, Side 1 (T5KM-4792), red label; "G. I. Joe" (Kenny Smith), 2:15, Carlson Music Co.-Edwood Music Co., BMI; The Charmaines;… #27 Robert Portee I Am So Proud 1963 · Single · Casanova / I Am So Proud · Diamond # D-151 · USA
Notes
Diamond Records Inc, D-151 (B-side D-151-B). Promo issue on gold translucent wax (Discogs 13319623). Producer Teddy Vann (Discogs 31313565). Diamond… #28 The Montells Soldier Boy, I'm Sorry 1963 · Single · Soldier Boy, I'm Sorry / A Rang a Lang Lang · Golden Crest # 582 · USA
Notes
Golden Crest Records #582 (CR104632), cream label; "Soldier Boy, I'm Sorry" (Charles Dell), David Music, BMI, time 2:26; arranged by Charles Dell; "A Dell…1964
#29 Nathan McKinney Weep No More 1964 · Single · Oh How I Love You / Weep No More · Rayco # R-526 · USA
Credited on the record as Nathan McKinney and Valleyites.
Annotation
Nathan McKinney recorded the doo-wop track "Weep No More" , composed by the blues man Len Johnson. The song, released on the Los Angeles based label Rayco Records (R-526), founded by Floyd Ray, contained themes of the Vietnam War. It is narrated from the soldier's perspective, who tells us that "Uncle Sam is calling for me", and that he is resigned to leaving those he loves: "So I guess I'll have to go". Covers song: Six Pak - "Weep No More". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Ray-Co R-526 (RC-426), vocal, 45 RPM, black label with silver saxophone and guitar logo; "Weep No More" (Len Johnson), 2:48, Bira Music, BMI; produced by… #30 Nathan McKinney Soldier Boy 1964 · Single · Soldier Boy / Never Fall in Love · Rayco # R-527 · USA
Credited on the record as Nathan McKinney and The Chamber Bros..
Annotation
McKinney shortly followed up the above song with the track "Soldier Boy" (Rayco Records # R-527) - a standard soldier relationship song. The narrator reassured the soldier that his sweetheart back home will be "by your side" on his return, and that their love was "written eternally". It made no specific mention of Vietnam or other conflicts. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Ray-Co R-527-B (R-427), 45 RPM, black label with silver print; "Soldier Boy" (Jones-Williams), Bryden Music (BMI), time 2:40; credited to Nathan McKinney… #31 Sherry Jenkins Hey, Little Soldier 1964 · Single · Hey, Little Soldier / Short Honeymoon · Pen # 45-2PN-301 · USA
Notes
Pen Records Inc. 45-2PN-301, matrix PEN-56792, pink label; "Hey, Little Soldier" (S. Davidson), 2:00, Beckie Music, BMI; distributed by London Records,… #32 The Chiffons Sailor Boy 1964 · Single · Sailor Boy / When Summer's Through · Laurie # 3262 · USA
Notes
Sailor Boy (Chiffons, The) 1964 Vietnam-era soldier / sailor boy song
Girl Group. Brooklyn, New York
Notes
Laurie Record No. 3262 (RK4M-0296), Laurie Records Inc., New York; "Sailor Boy" (Goffin - Titelman), Screen Gems-Columbia Music Inc. (BMI), 2:55; produced… #33 Little Buster & Henrietta Buchanan He's Gone 1964 · Looking for a Home · Sequel # NEM CD 76 · USA
Notes
"He's Gone" (Little Buster and Henrietta Buchanan) Recorded 1964, unreleased. Appeared on this compilation: "The Complete "Little Buster" Jubilee And…
#34 The Sherry Sisters Sailor Boy 1964 · Single · Sailor Boy / He's Just Another Guy · Epic # 5-9693 · USA
#35 The Ronettes Soldier Baby of Mine 1964 · Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 5 - Rare Masters · Phil Spector International # 2335233 · USA
1965
#36 Emanuel Laskey I'm a Peace Loving Man 1965 · Single · I'm a Peace Loving Man / Sweet Lies · Thelma # T-108 · USA
Annotation
The song "I'm a Peace Loving Man" (Thelma Record Company # T-108) by the Detroit soul singer Emanuel Laskey (1945-2006) is not really a protest, but a love song and statement of peace. Laskey called for an end to the war because he wanted to marry his girl - in other words, he did not want to leave his life in the US. The narrator said that if Uncle Sam called him then "I will fight real hard", but he wanted to "stop this war" and for everybody to know that "I'm a peace loving man" - thus an interesting reflection of somebody who supported the peace movement, but was willing (in the early days of the conflict) to do his duty if called. Note that two years later (in 1968) Laskey…Notes
Thelma Record Co., 6519 Grand River, Detroit, Michigan, T-108A (HJC 701), black label with silver print; "I'm a Peace Loving Man" (Don Juan Mancha), BMI,… #37 Beverly Shaffer Where Will You Be Boy 1965 · Single · Even the Score / Where Will You Be Boy? · One-derful # 4838 · USA
Annotation
In the song "Where Will You Be Boy?" (One-derful # 4838) a woman is wondering whether her boyfriend will be called-up in the near future: "will you be gone 12 months from now, will you...be my little soldier boy". She is also wondering whether the relationship will last during his service: "I'm hoping our love is strong enough". Beverly Shaffer, born on the West Side of Chicago in 1947, recorded this track at the young age of 18. She won a talent contest in 1965, run by The Chicago Defender, a weekly newspaper, which later ran a story on "Up and Coming Tunes, Teens" on 15 January 1966 which referenced Shaffer. Success in the competition led to interest from the One-derful label,…Notes
One-derful! 4838, matrix 3146; "Where Will You Be Boy?" (Jones, Shaffer, Rice, Nestor), 2:30, Vapac Music BMI; Beverly Shaffer; "Arr. & Cond. by Larry… #38 Candy & The Kisses Soldier Baby (Of Mine) 1965 · Single · Soldier Baby (Of Mine) / Shakin' Time · Cameo # C-355 · USA
Credited on the record as Candy and The Kisses.
Annotation
The track "Soldier Baby (Of Mine)" (Cameo Records # 355) released by Candy & the Kisses in January 1965 took on the soldier boy theme - a 1960s doo-wop girl group from Port Richmond, New York, featuring the two sisters Candy and Suzanne Nelson along with Jeanette Johnson. There is no reference to Vietnam, just that the soldier was stationed "way across the sea". The narrator waited for the day that the soldier returned, hoping he would "say you'll marry me". Co-written by Phil Spector (with Pete Andreoli and Vini Poncia), he produced this song with the The Ronettes in 1964, but it was unreleased until it appeared on some compilations, such as Phil Spector Wall of Sound Vol. 5:…Notes
Cameo C-355-A, red and black label; "Soldier Baby (Of Mine)" (Andreoli-Poncia, Jr.-Spector), Hill and Range Songs, Inc. – BMI, time 2:33; produced by… #39 The Shirelles (Mama) My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home 1965 · Single · Soldier Boy / (Mama) My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home · Scepter # SCE 12123 · USA
Annotation
The Shirelles song "(Mama) My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home" (Scepter Records # SCE 12123) released in 1965 can be viewed as an answer to their earlier 1962 hit "Soldier Boy" - in which the narrator promises to stay true to a young soldier heading off to war. In this track, the narrator "just got a letter" informing her that the soldier is returning him. She wanted to "jump and shout" with joy, that "Santa can skip my house", and together "we'll have Christmas everyday".Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Scepter Records SCE 12123 B (60546), Scepter Music Inc., New York, N.Y.; "(Mama) My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home" (A. Wayne), Flomar Music, Inc. (BMI), time… #40 Carole Coby My Soldier Boy 1965 · Single · My Soldier Boy / You Just Said You Love Me · Roulette # R-4625 · USA
Notes
Roulette R-4625 (18567), 45 RPM, white "Radio Station Copy – Not for Sale" label, "Made in U.S.A. by Roulette Records, Inc."; "My Soldier Boy" (B. Ramal –… #41 Little Brenda Duff The Army's Got Me Crying 1965 · Single · The Army's Got Me Crying / Tell Me Where'Er You Going · Downbeat # 101 · USA
Notes
Army's Got Me Crying, The (Duff, Little Brenda) Soul. Birmingham, Alabama.
Father, brother and sweetheart drafted to wars
Vietnam-era.
Soldier boy.
Notes
Downbeat Record No. 101 (SO: 3094), red label, 45 R.P.M.; "The Army's Got Me Crying" (Art Grayson), time 2:55, produced by Art Grayson; "Downbeat… #42 The Emotions Do This for Me 1965 · Single · Love Of A Girl / Do This For Me · Vardan # 201 · USA
Notes
Do This for Me (Emotions, The) "We've been in the service now, friend will always be..."
Soldier's perspective, coming home.
Notes
Vardan Records 201, B-side. Credits: Arranged by Arthur Wright; Producer Arvey Andrews; Written-By D. Saunders, M. Otis. Discogs lists two label variants… #43 Othello Robertson Come on Home 1965 · Single · So In Luv / Come On Home · Baby Luv # BL-0035 · USA
Notes
Come On Home is the B-side. Arranged by Dale Franklin and General Chalmer (A-side So In Luv written by Dell Randle, arranged by Dell Randle and Eddie… #44 The Rouzan Sisters Men of War 1965 · Single · Men of War / Dance Every Dance · Frisco # 113 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Men of War (Rouzan Sisters, The) Frisco Records, Inc. # 113
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.1
Wanda Rouzan (also released Vietnam song: Here's a Letter From Home), Barbara Rouzan, Laura Rouzan
Anti-war. Soldier boy theme.
Soul.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Frisco Records, Inc. 113 (178-1470), light-blue label, N.O. 70130; "Men of War" (Al Reed), 3:00, Frisco-Chervalin, BMI; "Distributed by Dover Records,… #45 The Freedom Singers I'm a Demonstratin' G.I. From Fort Bragg 1965 · Album · The Freedom Singers Sing of Freedom Now! · Mercury # MG 20924 · USA
Annotation
Artist background
Also known as The SNCC Freedom Singers, formed December 1962 in Albany, Georgia, USA, they performed Civil Rights and protest gospel and spiritual songs. Its members included Cordell Reagon (tenor), Rutha Mae Harris (soprano), Charles Neblett (bass vocals), Bernice Johnson Reagon (alto), Matt Jones, and Bertha Gober. They were active in the Civil Rights protest movements, taking part in famous demonstrations, from the March on Washington to the Selma to Montgomery marches - documented on several records, such as "WNEW's Story of Selma". Also of note is that Bernice Johnson Reagon released the album Give Your Hands to Struggle: The Evolution of a Freedom Fighter…
Notes
Mercury MG-20924, Monaural (back cover "SR 60924/MG 20924", front "Hi-Fidelity MG 20924"), red label, "Vendor: Mercury Record Corporation"; "I'm a… #46 Brenda Hall Soldier Baby of Mine 1965 · Single · Soldier Baby of Mine / Oh Eddy, My Baby · Loma # 2020 · USA
Notes
Loma 2020 (HX14635), white "Promotion – Not for Sale" label; "Soldier Baby of Mine" (Spector-Poncia-Andreoli), Hill and Range Songs, Inc. / Mother Bertha… #47 Janie Hemphill Teenage Soldier Boy 1965 · Single · Teenage Soldier Boy / Little Booga From Chattanooga · Hemphill # 1003 · USA
Credited on the record as Janie Hemphill with The Tynsions.
Notes
Teenage Soldier Boy (Hemphill, Janie)Hemphill Records # 1003.
Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Distributed by Sound of Nashville.
Composed Neil Hemphill.
Janie…
Notes
Hemphill Records, Record No. 1003, matrix SoN 23801, "Promotional Copy"; "Teenage Soldier Boy" (Neal Hemphill), 2:36, Neal Hemphill Music, BMI; Janie… #48 Patti Young The Valiant Kind 1965 · Single · Head and Shoulders (Above the Rest) / Valiant Kind · Ernstrat # 495 · USA
Notes
Valiant Kind (Young, Patti) Soul. Referencing Vietnam. Rare Northern soul [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM]1966
- 11 February: Johnson announces 200,000 troop increase.
- 19 March: South Korea sends another 20,000 troops.
- 1 September: French President de Gaulle denounces the war.
- 31 December: US military personal in Vietnam reaches 385,300.
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
1966 saw a large increase in war-related soul songs, especially about the draft. They continued to display a degree of loyalty and respect for the law. 'Vietnam' also started to appear in the lyrics. William Bell, drafted into the war in 1962, recalled his experiences in the tracks a "Soldier's Goodbye" and "Marching Off to War" - he told his sweetheart that "I've got to go fight". The Players also released two tracks, in which the narrator "must join the boys in Vietnam", and he hopes to return with "victory in his hand", while The Pace Setters told the listener that the soldiers are in Vietnam "fighting to make it free". A song by J.W. Alexander believed that "our cause is right". Ray Holland & the Lilly Cups swore that "for my country I'd fight". Meanwhile Rev. Oris Mays sent out a gospel prayer for those fighting so "that we may be free".
Mike Williams provided a dissenting voice. His "lonely soldier" was not convinced with the official line on the war, and was "tired of seeing people dying".
Many other songs were focused on relationships and the soldier missing life at home. The Mighty Hannibal told of a soldier crying out "there is no tomorrow". Charles E. Scott dealt with mail call time, as a soldier waited "to hear from my girl". Likewise, Joe Tex sung about a soldier who received a letter from his girl, which inspired him: "I raised up and got two more enemies". As for the soldier in The Creations song, he requested that his girl "just remember me". Two songs, narrated by soldiers, looked at Christmas. Johnny & Jon cried that "it won't be merry this year", while Charles Bowens said that "it's gonna be a dark, dark Christmas for me". Dorothy Norwood's gospel song took a rare look at a soldier who "is a prison of war" - this usually only appeared in songs after 1970.
Finally, some songs focused on those left at home. Mitty Collier narrated a tale of a lady who was "really sad" that her man was leaving for war. Mary Moultrie sung that "last year" a young lady's boyfriend was at the "senior prom", but "this year: Vietnam". The girl at the centre of a song by the The Charmels cried that the "sweet days are gone" since Uncle Sam took her man to Vietnam.
1966
#49 William Bell Soldiers Good-Bye 1966 · Single · Never Like This Before / Soldiers Good-Bye · Stax # 45-199 · USA
Annotation
Similar to the track above, the narrator of the song "Soldier's Goodbye" (Stax Records # 45-199) has just been drafted to fight in Vietnam - "I've been called to war...I've got to go fight...in a foreign land". He reassures his girlfriend that he will return and cries out "please, please wait for me". Recorded by William Bell, the southern soul singer from Memphis, Tennessee, it was written by Bell and Steve Cropper (guitarist with the Booker T. & The M.G.'s), on the famous soul label Stax Records. On 5 November 1966 the single reached # 29 in the Billboard R&B charts. Bell also released the Vietnam related songs Marching Off to War (1966: Stax Records # S-191) and Lonely Soldier…Notes
Stax 45-199, matrix STX-10699, light-blue label, "Vocal"; "Soldiers Good-Bye" (Cropper–Bell), 2:47, Pub. East, BMI. "Distributed by Atlantic Record Sales,… #50 The Monitors Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) 1966 · Single · Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) / Number One in Your Heart · V.I.P. # 25032 · USA
Annotation
The Detroit soul song "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)" (V.I.P. Records # 25032 - a sub-label of Berry Gordy's Motown Records). This was a cover of the The Valadiers's 1961 Motown single Greeting (This Is Uncle Sam) (Miracle Records # MI-6), released before the major American presence in Vietnam, and thus probably not directly about that conflict. However, by 1966, when the Monitors released the song, the war and draft was in full-swing - jumping from 3,000 in December 1961 to 239,400 in December 1966, of which a disproportionate number were African-Americans. The track opened the 2003 compilation A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 (Kent #…Notes
V.I.P. 25032 (AC-IL-181301); "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)" (Brianbert, The Valadiers, R. Dunbar), 2:57, © 1961 Jobete (BMI); produced by Stevenson &… #51 Mike Williams Lonely Soldier 1966 · Single · Lonely Soldier / If This Isn't Love · Atlantic # 2339 · USA
Annotation
The track "Lonely Soldier" (Atlantic # 45-2339) by soul singer Mike Williams is narrated from the perspective of a soldier who is "off to fight a war that they say will make me free". But all the soldier only felt loneliness, missing the woman he loves and his son. The son wanted to know "why must this war be"? But the soldier could not find an answer. At the end of the song the soldier emotionally cried: "I'm tired of seeing people dying". So this song dealt with the personal impact of the war both on the soldier and the family left behind, the death and hurt caused by war, and the frustration of having to fight when not really understanding the point / relevance of the…Notes
Atlantic 45-2339 (A-10323), red and black label, 45 RPM, vocal; "Lonely Soldier" (Gaines-Leeper), 2:55, Pub. Pronto-Chevis, BMI; arranged and conducted by… #52 William Bell Marching Off to War 1966 · Single · Share What You Got / Marching Off to War · Stax # S-191 · USA
Annotation
Another Vietnam related single from the southern soul singer William Bell, from Memphis Tennessee, the song "Marching Off to War" (Stax Records # S-191) focused on that moment when the troops left their homes and headed off to Vietnam - "standing at the station, troops waiting in line". The soldier's loved one said that "she'd wait three years or more", which made the soldier's "life worth living". The single entered the R&B Billboard charts on 9 July 1966 at # 40, reaching its peak on 13 August, at # 27. It stayed in the top 50 for 8 weeks. See his two other Vietnam singles: "Soldiers Good-bye" (1966: Stax Records # 45-199) & "Lonely Soldier" (1970: Stax Records # STA-0070). Ann…
Notes
Stax 45-191 (STX-10224), light-blue label; "Marching Off to War" (Floyd, Cropper), vocal, 2:45, Pub. East, BMI; "Distributed by Atlantic Record Sales,… #53 The Players He'll Be Back 1966 · Single · He'll Be Back / I Wanna Be Free · Minit # 32001 · USA
Annotation
The song "He'll Be Back" (Minit # 32001) looked at the arrival of the draft papers and its impact on those left behind. It was recorded by the Chicago soul group The Players, founded in 1966, featuring Herbert Butler, Collis Gordon, and John Thomas - the latter two composed this song. In late 1966 they were joined by the Chicago soul vocalist Joe Brackenridge of the group The Pace Setters, who released a similar Vietnam War song called My Ship Is Coming in Tomorrow, below. The narrator of the song offers reassuring words to the lady left behind in the US: "I believe that he loves you". Moreover, when he returns "with victory in his hand", she will "be proud". The Players shortly…Notes
Minit 32001 (MN-848), "A product of Liberty Records", black label; "He'll Be Back" (C. Gordon-J. Thomas), 2:37, Stanc Music BMI; producer Cal Carter;… #54 The Pace Setters My Ship Is Coming In (Tomorrow) 1966 · Single · My Ship Is Coming In (Tomorrow) / Victim of Loneliness · Mica # 503 · USA
Annotation
The song "My Ship Is Coming In Tomorrow" (Mica Records # 503) referred to the Vietnam War. This is a fairly unknown track, from the obscure (northern) Chicago R&B / doo-wop group The Pace Setters, which included the brothers Joe Brackenridge (lead vocals) and Henry Brackenridge (baritone vocals), in addition to Stacy Steele Jr. (tenor vocals), Willie C. Robinson (tenor vocals), and Charles Johnson (bass vocals). All of them actually featured in an earlier Chicago group called the Von Gayles. After some other members left, they created a new group in 1964, the Cascades, and then changed their name to The Pace Setters in 1966. (1)The Pace Setters linked up with the Chicago DJ Al…Notes
Mica Records 503 A, Mica Records, Inc., 1823 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago 60616; "My Ship Is Coming In (Tomorrow)" (J. Brackenridge – Al Benson), Vi Jim… #55 The Players I'm Glad I Waited 1966 · Single · Why Did I Lie / I'm Glad I Waited · Minit # 32012 · USA
Annotation
This track by the Chicago soul group The Players, a follow-on from He'll Be Back, appears to have been released on single under two different names: "I'm Glad I Waited" and "I'm Glad You Waited" - both with the same catalogue number and both the same song (Minit # 32012). It also featured on the album He'll Be Back. In the song "He'll Be Back" the soldier received his draft card and went to Vietnam. He promised his girl that he would be back. In this song the soldier has returned from Vietnam "fighting for Uncle Sam". While fighting he suffered "moments of loneliness" but for his girl he "kept trying, trying". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Minit 32012 (MN-869), "A Product of Liberty Records", "A Division of Liberty Records, Inc., Los Angeles, California", black label; "I'm Glad I Waited" (Al… #56 Charles E. Scott From Vietnam With Love Part I 1966 · Single · From Vietnam With Love · Attack # L-274 · USA
Credited on the record as L-Cpl Charles E. Scott (USMC).
Annotation
An interesting Vietnam soul song, called "From Vietnam With Love - Part I & Part II" (Attack Records # L-274), of a rather mysterious origin. The artist name on the label is "L-Cpl Charles E. Scott (USMC)" - that being "Lance Corporal" of the US Marine Corps, the third enlisted rank, above private first class and below corporal. It also said on the label "Recorded Live in Chu-Lai, Vietnam". But was this really recorded in Vietnam and was Charles E. Scott really a US soldier? No record of his military service has been tracked down yet. More likely, the recording of the song took place in Richmond, Virginia, the home of Charles Scott's Attack Records label, the "Virginia Sound"…Notes
Attack Records L-274-1, "Virginia Sound (T.M.) Pat. Pend."; time 2:40; "Recorded Live in Chu-Lai, Vietnam"; Pub. Cha-Scot BMI; produced by Charles E.… #57 The Charmels Please Uncle Sam (Send Back My Man) 1966 · Single · Please Uncle Sam / Something Sweet About My Baby · Volt # 45-142 · USA
Annotation
The Charmels - a US soul group formed in 1966 (possibly based in Memphis?), signed to the label Volt Records (# 45-142), an R & B subsidiary of Stax Records founded by Jim Stewart. It featured the four female vocalists Barbara McCoy, Mary Hunt, Mildred Pratchett, Eula Jean Rivers. Two of whom, Mary Hunt and Mildred Pratchett, previously sang in the mid-60s groups The Tonettes & the The Dixiebelles. In the song "Please Uncle Sam (Send Back My Man)" , written by ..., the narrator pleads with the US government to send her man back from war, as she is very lonely and all the couple's "sweet days are gone". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Volt 45-142 (VLT-11157-BW), "Plug Side", vocal, black-and-white label, "Distributed by Atco Records"; "Please Uncle Sam (Send Back My Man)" (Hayes -… #58 The Creations Just Remember Me 1966 · Single · Just Remember Me / Times Are Changing · Globe # C 102 · USA
Annotation
The song "Just Remember Me" by the Creations (Globe Records # C 102), a Chicago soul group, whose members were Eugene Amos, Charles Boyd, Gerald Dickerson and Michael Wiggins - the final three went on to form The Contributors of Soul. They also worked with the Detroit soul group Brothers of Soul (who released a Vietnam War song a few years later in 1969 - "Wait for Me"). This song told the story of a soldier on his way to Vietnam: "the boys in Vietnam are waiting for me to come". The new soldier asks his sweetheart not to forget him, and that it is better if they remain just friends because "I may never see you again". However, he does not know this for a fact, so just in case,…Notes
Globe C 102 A, light-blue label; "Just Remember Me" (Middlebrook & Dickerson), Colfam, Giant Ent., time 2:30. [From the record sleeve and labels] #59 J.W. Alexander Keep a Light in the Window Till I Come Home 1966 · Single · Baby, It's Real / Keep a Light in the Window Until I Come Home · Mirwood # 5518 · USA
Annotation
The song "Keep a Light in the Window Till I Come Home" (Mirwood Records # 5518), a composition written and performed by the Mississippi-born soul singer J.W. Alexander (1916-1996), came from the perspective of a soldier away at war. Alexander mainly worked as a session musician in the 60s and 70s with Sam Cooke, the Bar-Kays, and Isaac Hayes. He was also a member of the The Pilgrim Travelers. Solomon Burke covered the song in 1967 ("Keep a Light in the Window Till I Come Home"). This song tells the story of a soldier asking his loved one not to forget him. It also includes the patriotic line: "I'm risking my life to win this fight, for in my heart I know our cause is right". Annota…
Notes
Mirwood Records 5518 (66-2077-A), blue label; "Keep a Light in the Window Till I Come Home" (J. W. Alexander), Kags Music Corp. (BMI), time 2:51. [From… #60 Mary Moultrie Last Year, Senior Prom (This Year, Viet Nam) 1966 · Single · Last Year, Senior Prom (This Year, Viet Nam) / They're Trying to Tear Us Apart · King # 6038 · USA
Annotation
In the soul song "Last Year, Senior Prom (This Year, Viet Nam)" (King Records # 6038), a woman recalled that just one year ago she was dancing with her man at the senior prom, but he is fighting in Vietnam. This was a soldier boy song, from the home front perspective. A highly collectable northern soul record. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Blue King "High Fidelity" label, 45-6038, matrix K-12113; "Last Year, Senior Prom (This Year, Viet Nam)" (T. Parker-M. Wilson), Your & Me-BMI, time 2:37.… #61 Mitty Collier My Party 1966 · Single · My Party / I'm Satisfied · Chess # 1964 · USA
Annotation
Mitty Collier, southern soul singer from Birmingham, Alabama, released the song "My Party" (Chess Records # 1964), which had a female narrator who made a minor reference to a man "leaving me to the war across the sea". She is holding a farewell party, and is "pretending to be glad" and holding her "head up high", but she can't help be feel "really sad". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Chess 1964 (14468); "My Party" (Smith – Davis – Miner), Chevis Music, BMI, time 2:39; arranged by Phil Wright; produced by Davis, Smith & Miner under… #62 Chuck Corby Bring My Daddy Home 1966 · Single · Bring My Daddy Home / City of Strangers · Sonic # 118 · USA
Credited on the record as Chuck Corby & The Entrees.
Annotation
The song "Bring My Daddy Home" - released on Joe Averbach's Pittsburgh label Sonic (# 118) - looked at how the war affected the children of soldiers. Chuck Corby, a white Italian-American, born Charles Anthony Ciorra, he had a strong soul sounding voice. In this song a young girl's father had to leave to "fight in some war" - no mention of which war. The girl's "mama cries all through the day". So she said that she would "give you all my candy, all of my gum" - presumably to Uncle Sam or god - if whoever would "please bring my daddy home". At the end of the song the father returns from the war. The soldier recalled that his daughter "held me with a warm embrace" and that her…Notes
Sonic No. 118 (18084), yellow label; "Bring My Daddy Home" (Corby – Phillips), Febe Music, BMI, 2:45; Chuck Corby & The Entrees. [From the record sleeve… #63 The Mighty Hannibal Hymn No. 5 1966 · Single · Hymn No. 5 / Fishin' Pole · Shurfine # 21 · USA
Annotation
The song "Hymn No. 5" , a chilling narrative by a Vietnam soldier, crying out "there is no tomorrow" and missing home life. Written and performed by the Atlanta, Georgian soul man James T. Shaw, known as the Mighty Hannibal - he actually mentioned his home town on this track. He married the Atlanta soul singer Delia Gartrell who released the 1971 Vietnam War song "See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9)" about Vietnam and drug addiction, co-written by the two of them. This single by the Mighty Hannibal, originally released on the small Atlanta label Shurfine Records (# 021), was subsequently picked up by New York's Josie Records (Hymn No. 5 # 45-964). The founder of Shurfine,…Notes
Shurfine Record No. 021 A, blue label, "Dist. Nationally by Sims Records, Inc."; "Hymn No. 5" (James T. Shaw), 3:10, Bold Lad-Cape Ann-, BMI; The Mighty… #64 Ray Holland & The Lilly Cups Gotta Go to Viet Nam 1966 · Single · Gotta Go to Viet Nam / King of the Beasts · Aertaun # 1106 · USA
Annotation
In the R&B / soul track "Gotta Go to Viet Nam" (Aertaun Records # 1106) it seems that the narrator may have volunteered to go to war: "held up my hand...sure stuck my head out". Whether a volunteer or draftee, the narrator swore that "for my country I'd fight". So he goes to boot camp for training, and rather than being stationed in Japan, he is sent to Vietnam. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Aertaun Records 1106 (1106-80), vocal; "Gotta Go to Viet Nam" (Ray Holland), 2:50, Mate Music, Inc. (BMI); Ray Holland and The Lilly Cups. [From the… #65 Joe Tex I Believe I'm Gonna Make It 1966 · Single · I Believe I'm Gonna Make It / You Better Believe It, Baby · Dial # 4033 · USA
Annotation
Joe Tex, born Joseph Arrington Jr. (1935-1982), southern soul singer from Texas, recorded the track "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It" (Dial # 4033). A soldier received a letter from the home front, which gave him inspiration to fight and win: "I got your letter baby...I raised up and got two more enemies". In the spoken-word extract, the narrator expressed disappointment that he did not marry his girl "before I left for Vietnam", but then at the same time he did not want to leave her a widow. Note: furlough - a temporary leave of absence from military duty. The song referenced Jackie Robinson, the African-American baseball player. Written by Tex, and produced by Buddy Killen, founder…Notes
Dial 45-4033 (DL-10431), white "Plug Side" label; "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It" (Tex), 2:58, vocal, Pub. Tree, BMI; produced by Buddy Killen; "Distributed… #66 Sylvia Maddox Viet Nam Blues 1966 · Single · Got to Be Free / Viet Nam Blues · Duke # 408 · USA
Annotation
The track "Viet Nam Blues" appears to be the only single by the obscure R&B / soul singer Sylvia Maddox. Released on the Memphis, Tennessee label Duke Records (#408) in 1966, the song expressed a mother's loneliness, because "Uncle Sam has taken my baby...to Vietnam". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Duke 408 (UV 7227), orange label, 45 RPM; "Viet Nam Blues" (S. Crite), 2:30, Don Music Co., BMI. [From the record sleeve and labels] #67 Rev Oris Mays Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam) 1966 · Single · Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam) / I've Done What You Told Me to Do · Songbird # 1064 · USA
Credited on the record as Reverend Oris Mays.
Annotation
In 1966, gospel singer Rev. Oris Mays released the song "A Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam)" (Songbird Records # 1064) which sent out a patriotic prayer to US troops in Vietnam. Two years later, in 1970, Mays' view on the war changed, with the release of the track "Another Christmas Without My Son" which attacked government policy in Vietnam. It is unknown if Mays actually did lose his son in Vietnam, and if that led to him changing his view on the war. Mays, born in Lambert, Mississippi, 1935, moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he worked at the Boston Street Baptist Church. In Memphis he fronted the first African-American TV gospel program. He died in Memphis on 21…Notes
Song Bird 1064 (UV 11130), pink label with feather emblem, "World's Greatest Spirituals - Division of Peacock Records"; "Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier… #68 Dorothy Norwood The Soldier From Viet Nam 1966 · Album · The Soldier From Viet Nam · Savoy # 14157 · USA
Annotation
The gospel song "The Soldier From Viet Nam" (Savoy Records # 14157) is one of the earliest tracks that referenced the M.I.A. / P.O.W. issue during the Vietnam era - most of them appeared from 1968 onwards. Performed by Dorothy Norwood, born in Atlanta, Georgia, she later moved to Chicago and performed with Mahalia Jackson, Albertina Walker, and the gospel group The Caravans. The recording sounds like it came from within a church, with the congregants clapping and singing along with the choir. It started with the story of a soldier "drafted to Vietnam" and his father (the minister of a church) being informed that "his son's missing in action". However, he soon discovered that in… #69 The Singing Crusaders Soldier in Viet Nam 1966 · Single · Soldier in Viet Nam / Ships a Sailing · Songbird # 1060 · USA
Annotation
The gospel song "Soldier in Viet Nam" (Songbird Records # 1060) by The Singing Crusaders focused on religion, and how Jesus brought comfort to a soldier. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Song Bird 1060 (UV 11122), purple "Promotional Record" label; "Soldier in Viet Nam" (Sharp/Williams), Lion Publishing Company, Inc., BMI, 2:36; "World's… #70 Johnny & Jon Christmas In Viet Nam 1966 · Single · Christmas in Viet Nam / Why Did You Leave Me · Jewel [Shreveport] # 776 · USA
Annotation
Southern soul singers Johnny and Jon (aka John Wilson and John Wessler), wrote the song "Christmas in Vietnam" (Jewel Records # 776), recorded in 1965, and released in 1966, during President Johnson's troop escalation. No biographical details known about this duo. But the label Jewel Records, founded by Stan Lewis in 1962, was based in Shreveport, Louisiana. A spoken-word introduction told the listener that there are "two lonely soldiers, fighting a war; they won't be home for Christmas day". The singing harmonies of Johnny and Jon kick-in - the soldier expressed sadness: "it won't be merry this year". At the end of the song, the soldier shouted "Vietcong, everywhere I go", a…Notes
Jewel Records 776 (TM 1808), © 1965, "Produced by Jewel Records – 728 Texas St., Shreveport, La."; Su-Ma – BMI; "Christmas in Viet Nam" (John Wilson – F.… #71 Private Charles Bowens Christmas in Vietnam 1966 · Single · Rojac # Ra-111 · USA
Credited on the record as Private Charles Bowens & The Gentlemen From Tigerland.
Annotation
Another track with the name "Christmas in Vietnam" , but it is a different song to the Johnny & Jon single "Christmas in Vietnam". It is credited to a "Private Charles Bowens", accompanied by the Gentlemen From Tigerland, and released on the New York based label Rojac (# RA-111). The song began with a military trumpet, and then a dark soul groove kicked in. In the chorus, the singer sadly moaned that "it's gonna be a dark, dark Christmas for me". The soldier described his situation "in some foxhole, fighting the Vietcong", and missing his sweetheart. He read her letter a "thousand times". Even though the soldier missed home, he expressed support, or acceptance, of the official,…Notes
Rojac RA-111 (1225), green label, "Printed in U.S.A.", Rojac Records, Inc., 417 West 126th Street, New York, N.Y. 10027; "Christmas in Vietnam" (Jack… #72 Wanda Rouzan Here's a Letter From Home 1966 · Single · Here's a Letter From Home / Long Time No See · Frisco # 115 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Here's a Letter From Home (Rouzan, Wanda) Frisco Records, Inc. # 115 Soldier boy song. Soul. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.1
Member of The Rouzan Sisters - who released the Vietnam-era song Men of War
How I miss you. Been spending time with your family.
We are all praying you'll return home soon.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Frisco Records, Inc. Record No. 115 (178-1713), pink label with suspension-bridge design; "Here's a Letter From Home" (Al Reed), 2:58, Frisco & Chervalin… #73 Don Hart Soldier Comin Home 1966 · Single · Soldier Comin Home / I Can Make It · Cool School # 2002 · USA
#74 The Shangri-Las Long Live Our Love 1966 · Single · Long Live Our Love / Sophisticated Boom Boom · Red Bird # RB 10-048 · USA
Notes
Red Bird RB 10-048 (LS-1166), yellow label; "Long Live Our Love" (J.L. Jackson-Sid Barnes), 2:42, Trio Music Co., Inc. / Tender Tunes Music (BMI);… #75 The Chantels Soul of a Soldier 1966 · Single · You're Welcome to My Heart / Soul of a Soldier · Verve # VK 10387 · USA
Annotation
Notes
The song "Soul of a Soldier" (Verve Records # VK 10387) All girl doo-wop group, formed in the Bronx, 1957 while attending St. Anthony of Padua School. Original members Arlene Smith, Sonia Goring, Jackie Landry, Lois Harris, and Rene Minus.1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Verve Records VK 10387 (66 vk 222), side B, blue label; "Soul of a Soldier" (Giant-Baum-Kaye), Aberbach Inc., BMI, 2:00; produced by Robert Bateman and… #76 Hugh Barrett Another Lonely Soldier Boy 1966 · Single · Another Lonely Soldier Boy / Moon Light Down by the River · Dynamic Sound # 2003 · USA
Notes
Dynamic Sound Records 2003-A, dark-blue label marked "Plug Side", "A Division of Magic Touch Records — Mil. Wisc."; "Another Lonely Soldier Boy" (Lennie… #77 Gary and the Knight Lites Lonely Soldier's Pledge 1966 · Single · So Far Away From Home / Lonely Soldier's Pledge · Bell # 643 · USA
Notes
Bell 643, blue label marked "Promotional Copy"; "So Far Away From Home" (Charles A. Colbert), 2:55, Anthor Music Co. BMI 6778, marked "Plug Side"; flip… #78 Gary and the Knight Lites So Far Away From Home 1966 · Single · So Far Away From Home / Lonely Soldier's Pledge · Bell # 643 · USA
Annotation: see “Lonely Soldier's Pledge” above (same release).
#79 Ronnie Wallis Sailor Boy 1966 · Single · How It All Began / Sailor Boy · Decca # 31930 · USA
Notes
Decca Record No. 31930 (116,332), pink promotional label marked "Promotion Copy Not For Sale"; "Sailor Boy" (Artie Butler), Trio Music Co. Inc. (BMI),… #80 The Fantaisions G.I. Joe, We Love You 1966 · Single · G.I. Joe, We Love You / Wait · Thomas # 308 · USA
Notes
Label: Thomas Records 308. Credits: Arranged By, Producer – Burgess Gardner; Producer – Monk Higgins. Publishers: Arc Music, Ala King, Cragvee. Discogs… #81 The Lovers Do This for Me 1966 · Single · Do This for Me / Someone · Philips # 40353 · USA
Notes
Do This for Me (Lovers, The)Notes
Philips 40353, matrix PHW1-35929, "Philips Records — Vendor: Mercury Record Corporation"; "Do This for Me" (D. Sanders-M. Otis), 2:26, Mark Nine Music… #82 The Starfires Lonely Soldier 1966 · Single · Lonely Soldier / I'm So Proud · Sea-Mist # SM-1002 · USA
Credited on the record as The Starfires featuring Vic Baxter.
Notes
Soul Soldier's perspective
- letter to sweetheart, stay true to me.
My love is real
- Sea-Mist Record Co. SM-1002 (45-012A, TK5M-6603, 847C-0012), green…
#83 Don Bryant The Lonely Soldier 1966 · Single · Coming On Strong / The Lonely Soldier · Hi # 45-2114 · USA
Notes
Soul, soldier's perspectiveWrites letter to sweetheart, missing you etc.
Notes
B-side. A-side 'Coming On Strong' (2:26) written by Little David Wilkins. Distributed by London Records, Inc. Several other 1966 US pressings on Discogs… #84 Joe Wild Thing King Hold Out 1966 · Single · Hold Out / On My Way Home · Capitol # 5806 · USA
Credited on the record as Joe (Wild Thing) King.
Notes
Hold Out (King, Joe) On My Way Home (King, Joe)
Both sides, soul.
A-side: combat, soldier's perspective, draft
Here I am, over here in Vietnam, fighting…
Notes
Capitol 5806, yellow promotional labels marked "Promotion Record, Not for Sale"; "Hold Out" (Preston Peters), 2:30, matrix 45-56886, and "On My Way Home"… #85 Joe Wild Thing King On My Way Home 1966 · Single · Hold Out / On My Way Home · Capitol # 5806 · USA
Credited on the record as Joe (Wild Thing) King.
Annotation: see “Hold Out” above (same release).
#86 Hy Tyde A Message to the Soldiers 1966 · Single · A Message to the Soldiers / Innocent · GATIT # 201 · USA
Notes
- Soul, released in Jamaica, New York, USA- We're proud of you
- Hang in there soldier boy
- Back home thinking of you
- Label printed GATIT on both sides;…
#87 The Cheques A Thousand Miles Away 1966 · Single · A Thousand Miles Away / Go on Girl · Sur-Speed # 214 · USA
Notes
Sur-Speed Records 214 (SO: 3284), "Compatible 45 RPM"; "A Thousand Miles Away" (J. Sheppard-W. H. Millet), 2:30, Nom Music, BMI; produced by Robert Riley,… #88 The Martin Sisters Only Seventeen 1966 · Single · Only Seventeen / Mother, Mother (I Feel Sick) · Barry # 1006 · USA
Notes
Doo-wop, girl group."Only Seventeen" - boyfriend wants to be a marine, to get a gun and go to battle, for his country. Fills me with pride. But my selfish…
Notes
Barry Records 1006 (Discogs copy is a promo). Published by Maureen Music / Wemar Music Corp. (BMI). Manufactured by Deb Mor Sales Corp. Matrix AX 107 / AX… #89 Joe Medwick Letter to a Buddie 1966 · Single · Letter to a Buddie / Stealing · Boogaloo # 1002 · USA
Annotation
"Letter to a Buddie" (... # 55101) by Joe Medwick, released in 1963 - contained an early reference to Vietnam. Also released on Houston, Texas label Boogaloo Records (# 1002) - this was probably the original release, with Medwick based in Texas, and the song being picked up by the larger New York based label .... Born 22 June 1931, Houston, TX, United States
Died 12 April 1992, Houston, TX, United States1
spoken-word. soulful, blues background music.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
East-West 55101 (EW 1), cream label; "Letter to a Buddie", Joe Medwick, "Vocal With Instrumental Accompaniment"; Hudson-Dart & Crazy Cajun Mus.; produced… #90 Gordon Keith This Is How I Feel 1966 · Single · This Is How I Feel / I'll Try To Please You · One-derful # 4844 · USA
Notes
Soul, patriotic, soldier's perspective.Marching sound-effects.
Fighting for my country, wife, and kids.
Protecting the country, I know I'm right, helping…
Notes
7" 45 RPM mono. Producer – Mo (Mo Rodgers). Published By – Vapac Music. Label credit: 'A MoJo-Supreme Production'. B-side 2:31. Other uploads:… #91 Charles E. Scott From Vietnam With Love Part II 1966 · Single · From Vietnam With Love · Attack # L-274 · USA
Credited on the record as L-Cpl Charles E. Scott (USMC).
Annotation
An interesting Vietnam soul song, called "From Vietnam With Love - Part I & Part II" (Attack Records # L-274), of a rather mysterious origin. The artist name on the label is "L-Cpl Charles E. Scott (USMC)" - that being "Lance Corporal" of the US Marine Corps, the third enlisted rank, above private first class and below corporal. It also said on the label "Recorded Live in Chu-Lai, Vietnam". But was this really recorded in Vietnam and was Charles E. Scott really a US soldier? No record of his military service has been tracked down yet. More likely, the recording of the song took place in Richmond, Virginia, the home of Charles Scott's Attack Records label, the "Virginia Sound"…Notes
Attack Records L-274-2, "Virginia Sound (T.M.) Pat. Pend."; time 2:38; "Recorded Live in Chu-Lai, Vietnam"; Pub. Cha-Scot BMI; produced by Charles E.… #92 Don Hart Keep on Holding On 1966 · Single · Keep on Holding On / I Can Make It · Cool School # 2002 · USA
Credited on the record as Don Hart and The Fyve.
Notes
Cool School 2002, yellow and purple label, "A La Beat Production, 6072 14th St., Detroit, Mich."; "Keep on Holding On" (Don Hart), MUMS - BMI, time 3:01;… #93 Rick Shorter Last Thoughts of a Young Man 1966 · Single · City Women / Last Thoughts of a Young Man · Columbia # 4-43571 · USA
Notes
Anti-war, Killed in action (K.I.A.)Psychedelic pop
So hard on a mother - her only son
So hard on the young woman - her sweetheart
Now he's a soldier, they…
Notes
Columbia 4-43571 (JZSP 113506), white "Not for Resale – Radio Station Copy" 45 rpm label; "Last Thoughts of a Young Man" (R. Shorter), publisher E.B.… #94 The Velvelettes Your Heart Belongs To Me 1966 · Archival · Does Anybody Know I'm Here? (Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America) · Kent [London] # CDKEND 245 · USA
1967
- 13 February: US resumes bombing campaign of the North
- 22 February: Beginning of largest US offensive - Operation Junction City
- 8 March: Congress authorises $4.5 billion for the war
- 4 April: Martin Luther King anti-war speech
- 15 April: Mass anti-war demonstrations in New York ad other cities, attended by King
- 30 June: US troop levels reach 448,800
- 21 October: March on the Pentagon
- 31 December: 485,600 US troops in Vietnam
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
In 1967 a majority of the songs continued to focus on the draft and to express patriotism and a sense of duty to fight for their country. Eddy Giles sung about fighting "for the country we love dear...land of liberty". Jimmy Holiday took a strong line against protesters: "hey you, mister protester...I just can't seem to find your pride". The draftee sung about by Jimmy Hughes said that "I know its right...I've got to stand for myself", similar to The Masqueraders draftee: "I've got to do my part". Tony Mason also sung about a law-abiding drafted man who said that "I must answer my country's call". The soldier in Tiny Watkins' track said "still I have to fight", even though he was very scared. Meanwhile, The Fawns told of a soldier "in Vietnam, fighting for your country...what a sacrifice". Richard Barbary sent a message to those with loved ones fighting, saying that the soldiers would be "coming home soon...wearing a medal for bravery".
Yet signs of disgruntlement with the draft and the length of the war were beginning to show. Archie Bell & The Drells said "please Uncle Sam I really don't want to go", while the soldier in The Masqueraders track, mentioned above, said that he "don't wanna go". Furthermore, the loyal soldier in the song by Tiny Watkins, pleaded with President Johnson: "LBJ...help me if you can...I don't want to lose my baby". Jesse James commented that "in Vietnam...we are caught in...a deep rut", and the Cool Sounds thought that the US government continued "to practice hate" in Vietnam, and wanted to know "where do we go from here?"
A couple references to African-American rights also appeared. Jimmy Holiday pointed out that "I don't agree with all the laws" in the US and that "this is my country too", while Eddy Giles highlighted that there should be "justice for all".
Several songs focused on the hell of war. Archie Bell & The Drells described it as "a cruel...bitter war", Tiny Watkins as a "terrible war". Tony Mason sung about soldiers "lying in ditches so deep, missiles flying...lying close to the dead". Jim Jackson's soldier recalled "lonely days" in a "rotten, god forsaken place". Another Christmas songs came from the The Soul Searchers in which "a lonely soldier laid dying in a foxhole in Vietnam". On the other side of the coin, a few more soldier boy / relationship songs appeared, such as Thelma Houston's "Don't Cry My Soldier Boy" and La' Shell and The Shelletts' "My Soldier Boy Over There".
1967
#95 Archie Bell & The Drells A Soldier's Prayer 1967 1967 · Single · A Soldier's Prayer 1967 / On in One · Ovide # 226 · USA
Credited on the record as Archie Bell & The Drells with Sunliners Band.
Annotation
The song "A Soldier's Prayer 1967" (Ovide Records # 226) looked at a soldier being drafted to Vietnam but not wanting to go - released on the 1968 album Tighten Up. It was recorded by the Houston, Texas soul / R&B group Archie Bell & The Drells, formed in 1966. In the late 60s and early 70s they recorded with Atlantic, before becoming a major band for the label Philadelphia International Records. But first they started on the small label Ovide Records from their hometown Houston, founded by Skipper Lee Frazier. The leader of this group, Archie Bell, was actually drafted to fight in Vietnam on 12 May 1967. When he received his draft card, his band mate Billy Butler tried to cheer…Notes
Ovide Records 226, side A, 45 RPM, matrix LH-3740, grey label, "Vocal"; "A Soldier's Prayer 1967" (Archie Bell), 2:54, Orellia Pub., BMI; Archie Bell &… #96 Eddy G Giles & The Jive Five While I'm Away (Baby Keep The Faith) 1967 · Single · Eddie's Go Go Train / While I'm Away (Baby Keep the Faith) · Murco # 1033 · USA
Credited on the record as Eddy "G" Giles and the Jive 5.
Annotation
The song "While I'm Away (Baby Keep the Faith)" (Murco # 1033) is another soul love song about a soldier leaving the US to fight in Vietnam. While the central theme is about a soldier requesting that his girlfriend stick by him, a fascinating few lines revealed a patriotism and support for the country's perceived ideals, despite a growing opposition to the war from African-Americans: "I had to go fight for the country we love dear...This is our country, land of liberty, justice for all" - was this a subtle civil-rights message? The song was composed and performed by Elbert ("Eddy") Wiggins Giles, from Shreveport, Louisiana, and recorded on the Dee Marais label Murco, sub-label of …Notes
Murco No. 1033, 45 RPM; "While I'm Away (Baby, Keep the Faith)" (Elbert W. Giles), 2:27, Heads Up Music-BMI; Eddy "G" Giles and the Jive 5, "Vocal with… #97 Jimmy Holiday I Wanna Help Hurry My Brothers Home 1967 · Single · We Forgot About Love / I Wanna Help Hurry My Brothers Home · Minit # 32023 · USA
Annotation
The song "I Wanna Help Hurry My Brothers Home" (Minit # 32023) is another very interesting soul track, that displayed patriotism, mixed with civil rights issues, as well as attacking the protest movement. Recorded by Jimmy Holiday (1934-1987), from Durant, Mississippi - he also wrote the song, with E. Wright and E. Jones. It started with the soldier giving up his home life "to fight that war in Vietnam". The narrator then declared that "this is my country too, and I'll never forsake it, though I don't agree with all the laws" - while it showed loyalty and a sense of duty to his country, it sought to highlight racial inequality. Despite the mistreatment of African-Americans in the…Notes
Minit 32023, side MN-890, black label, "A Division of Liberty Records, Inc., Los Angeles, California"; "I Wanna Help Hurry My Brothers Home" (J.… #98 James Dudley & the Dee Jay's What a Man Will Do (When He Loves a Woman) 1967 · Single · What a Man Will Do (When He Loves a Woman) / Have Faith · Chess # 1995 · USA
Annotation
The song "What a Man Will Do (When He Loves a Woman)" (Chess Records # 1995) was about the feelings of a man who had just "received a letter from Uncle Sam", sending "him to Vietnam", and how memories of his wife, and faith in the bible, will keep him going. The soldier then recalled his old hobbies - walking in the park, listening to records with his wife. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Chess 1995 (15533), blue "D J Copy" label, manufactured by Chess Producing Corp., Chicago, Illinois; "What a Man Will Do (When He Loves a Woman)" (James… #99 Jimmy Hughes Uncle Sam 1967 · Single · It Ain't What You Got / Uncle Sam · Atlantic # 2454 · USA
Annotation
Southern soul singer Jimmy Hughes, from Alabama, released the track "Uncle Sam" (Atlantic # 2454) which focused on the draft. It was composed by Marlene Teasley and produced by Rick Hall (owner of Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama). The narrator had been called up, and even though he will miss his family, he must go to Vietnam like all the other men, in order to do his duty and to be a man: "I know its right...I've got to stand for myself". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Atlantic 45-2454 (A-11536-PL), 45 R.P.M., red and black label; "Uncle Sam" (Marlene Teasley), vocal, Jet Set, BMI, time 2:26; produced by Rick Hall &… #100 The Masqueraders Let's Face Facts 1967 · Single · I Don't Want Nobody to Lead Me On / Let's Face Facts · Wand # WND 1168 · USA
Annotation
Another draft song was the Masqueraders' "Let's Face Facts" (Wand Records # WND 1168) - later covered by James Carr, discussed below. The Masqueraders were a vocal soul group formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1958, featuring Robert Wrightsil, Charlie Moore, Lee Jones, Harold Thomas, David Sanders - Thomas and Jones composed this song. It was produced by Chips Moman. Recorded at American Studios in Memphis, it was leased or sold to the New York based Wand.1 The narrator had been drafted to fight the war. Although he "don't wanna go", the narrator displayed loyalty to the country and acceptance of the laws: "I've got to do my part". The narrator wanted his sweetheart to "be strong"…Notes
Black-and-cream Wand label, "1650 Broadway, New York, N.Y.", WND 1168 (50744); "Lets Face Facts" (Harold L. Thomas-Lee W. Jones Jr.), Press Music (BMI),… #101 Tony Mason Take Good Care 1967 · Single · Take Good Care / Seeing Is Believing · RCA Victor # 47-9104 · USA
Annotation
The 1967 soul song "Take Good Care" , released on RCA Victor (# 47-9104) is about a man drafted to Vietnam: "I must answer my country's call, I must go and fight in a war". He doesn't want to go, but his girl asks him to take good care and "come back to me", which helps him make it through the difficult war conditions, such as "lying in ditches so deep, missiles flying over my head". Tony Mason, based in New York, had worked with the R&B producer and writer George Kerr. The song, which opened with an interesting inter-play between a trumpet and a xylophone, followed by Mason's soulful lyrics and a large backing orchestra, was written by M. Thomas and conducted by Richard Tee. Annota…
Notes
RCA Victor 47-9104 (TPKM-7940), white promotional label marked "Plug Side" and "Not For Sale"; "Take Good Care" (M. Thomas), Hara Music, ASCAP, 2:36;… #102 Thelma Houston Dont Cry My Soldier Boy 1967 · Single · Don't Cry, My Soldier Boy / Let's Try to Make It (Just Once More) · Capitol # 5882 · USA
Annotation
The song "Don't Cry My Soldier Boy" (Capitol Records # 5882) focused on a soldier off to fight overseas and the narrator (girlfriend / wife) promised the soldier that she will be waiting for him on his return. Smooth soul singer Thelma Houston, born in Mississippi in 1946, relocated to California where she joined the group Art Reynolds Singers on Capitol Records. She then moved to the Motown sub-label MoWest. This song, released during the Vietnam escalation, was a cover of the 1962 single "Don't Cry My Soldier Boy" (King Records # 5597) by the girl-group The Shondells. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Capitol P 5882, matrix 45-57120, yellow "Promotion Record — Not for Sale" pressing; "Don't Cry My Soldier Boy" (Marvin Phillips), 2:40, Garpax Music, Inc.… #103 The Shelletts My Soldier Boy Over There 1967 · Single · My Soldier Boy Over There / Something I'm Doing Wrong · Eagle # E-102 · USA
Credited on the record as La'Shell & Shelletts.
Annotation
La'Shell & Shelletts (who also recorded under the name The Shelletts), offered their take on the soldier boy theme, with the song "My Soldier Boy Over There" (Eagle Records # E-102). It was also released on the Canadian label Power (# PN-1002), who took out a small advert in Billboard on 11 February 1967 promoting the single. A later edition, on 18 March, announced that "My Soldier Boy Over There...has been picked for broadcast by the US Armed Services Network". In the song the narrator promises to stay true to her loved one fighting the war. She recalls that fearful moment when "you were chosen by Uncle Sam" and the realisation "that it was Vietnam"[. The track was arranged by…Notes
Eagle Record Co. – Inc., 1697 Broadway, N.Y.C.; E-102 A (C-102 A); "My Soldier Boy Over There" (E. McNeill – K. O'Brien), Teashea BMI, time 2:42; arranged… #104 Tiny Watkins A Soldier's Sad Story 1967 · Single · Soldier's Sad Story / Love Flows Like a River · Excello # 2287 · USA
Annotation
The title of Tiny Watkins soul song "Soldier's Sad Story" (Excello Records # 2287) sought to portray the feeling of the drafted soldier in Vietnam: "I'm not so very brave, but still I have to fight". In a first person narration, at the end of the song the soldier pleads with the president, Lyndon B. Johnson: "LBJ...help me if you can" because "I don't want to lose my baby", thus also reflecting a common fear among soldiers (often referred to in Vietnam War songs). This was the title track of the 2003 Vietnam compilation A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 (Kent # CDKEND 226). Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Excello Records 2287 (8722); "Soldier's Sad Story" (Watkins), 2:58, Rub-Hu-Seeus BMI; produced by Rogana Prod.; arranged by Aaron Varnell. "Nashboro… #105 The Fawns Wish You Were Here With Me 1967 · Single · Wish You Were Here With Me / Nothing But Love Can Save Me · New Frontiers # NF 4401 · USA
Annotation
The song "Wish You Were Here With Me" (Cap City Records # CC-105) by the Washington D.C. soul group The Fawns, featuring the three sisters Ann, Avis & Mildred Harrell. Also released on the DC label New Frontiers (# NF 4401). It told the story of a woman left on the home front longing for her man "in Vietnam, fighting for your country". Many men are trying to temp her, but she promised to "be true and only love you". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Orange New Frontiers NF 4401; "Wish You Were Here With Me" (L. Barbour - E. Todd), time 2:58, Euberto Music (BMI); "A G.E.L. Prod.", arranged by F.… #106 Jesse James Believe in Me Baby Part I 1967 · Single · Believe in Me Baby Part I / Believe in Me Baby Part II · 20th Century Fox # 6684 · USA
Annotation
The love song "Believe in My Baby - Part I & II" (20th Century-Fox Records # 6684) by the soul singer Jesse James (aka James McClelland), from Arkansas, made a minor reference to the Vietnam conflict: "in Vietnam...seems like we are caught in such a deep, deep rut". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
20th Century-Fox Records 6684, black and gold label, "Distributed by ABC Records Inc."; produced by Jesse Mason Prod. "Believe in Me Baby - Part I"… #107 Cool Sounds Where Do We Go from Here (America) 1967 · Single · Rag Doll / Where Do We Go from Here · Soultown # S-13 · USA
Annotation
The track "Where Do We Go From Here" (Soultown Records # P-103) put forward a strong critique of the US, with a small reference to the Vietnam conflict. Originally released on the small Los Angeles, Californian label Soultown, it was later issued in 1971 - I'll Take You Back (If You Promise) / Where Do We Go From Here (America) (Warner Bros. Records # 7538). Bobby Sanders - West Coast soul producer and owner of Soultown - produced the song, co-wrote it with Fulton Mitchell, and co-arranged it with Art Freeman. The narrator said that "we have conquered the atom bomb, almost Vietnam", and that the US government continued "to practice hate". The song referred to contradictions within…Notes
Soultown Records S-13-A; "Where Do We Go from Here (America)" (Bobby Sanders - F. Mitchell), 2:49, Lenoir-Four Ways (BMI); Cool Sounds; "Arr. by Bobby… #108 Jim Jackson Welcome Me Home 1967 · Single · Welcome Me Home / Some Love With Soul · Sandbag # S102 · USA
Annotation
The song "Welcome Me Home" (Sandbag Records # S102) from 1967 looks at the returning soldier. Little is known of the artist Jim Jackson - signed to the New York based label Sandbag - who screams his way through this soulful track. It was composed by Jackson, produced by Mike Symansky (who founded the label), and arranged by Richard Bobeuf. The narrator, having returned home, wants to re-start his life: "I'll be your loving husband and you can be my lovely wife". But he needs help to "forget all about Vietnam" because of its horrors, which he recalls: "lonely days" in a "rotten, god forsaken place". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Sandbag Records S102 (MS 3057), blue label with silver print; "Welcome Me Home" (Jim Jackson), 3:14, Ilene Music (BMI), Mr. Mike (ASCAP); produced by Mike… #109 Soul-Jers Say Welcome Home 1967 · Single · Say Welcome Home / Better As We Go Along · Stepping Stone # 101 · USA
Annotation
Released on a label based in Smyrna, Georgia, the song "Say Welcome Home" (Stepping Stone # 101) - a rare record, that according to Greg Burgess, in his article "The Soul of Vietnam", Record Collector, No. 275, July 2002, 40-48, was about the Vietnam conflict. The label gives the writing credit to R. Brannon and C. Brannon, and production to Lamar Keeter.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Stepping Stone Record No. 101 (X4KM-7615, 662T-7614), "Division of Trend Records", label showing a stepping-stone path over a green hill under a starry… #110 Richard Barbary When Johnny Comes Marching Home 1967 · Single · When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Get Right · Spring # SK701 · USA
Annotation
Richard Barbary recorded the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Spring Records # SK-701) - "adapted by Harold Thomas", according to the label - this is the famous title of a well-known song from the American Civil War, narrated from the perspective of the family and friends of those fighting in war. In this case, the narrator is a veteran, who served with "Johnny", and he reassures "all you mothers" and "young ladies too" that Johnny would be "coming home soon...wearing a medal for bravery". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Spring Records SK701 (103,683), green label marked "Disc Jockey Record" and "Not for Sale"; title printed "When Johnny Comes Marchng Home" (Adapted by… #111 Zerben R.Hicks & Dynamics Lights Out 1967 · Single · Lights Out / You Make Me Feel Good · RCA Victor # 47-9278 · USA
Credited on the record as Zerben R. Hicks and the Dynamics.
Annotation
This beautiful Detroit soul track "Lights Out" (RCA Victor # 47-9278), performed by Zerben Hicks and The Dynamics was narrated from the position of a soldier, writing a letter home to his loved one, pleading with her "to wait for me, we've got to hold on a little longer". The narrator then cries out that if he makes it home then they will be together "while they play lights out" - perhaps a reference to a treasured song?Available on two compilations
- 1997: Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures: Taken From the Vaults, Vol. 1 (Kent # CDKEND 143)
- 2003: A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 (Kent # CDKEND 226)
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
RCA Victor 47-9278, white promotional label marked "Plug Side" and "Not for Sale", matrix UPKM-5176; "Lights Out" (Banks), 2:53, Millbridge/Elbee Music… #112 T. Valentine Massius Ray 1967 · Single · Massius Ray / Betty Sue · Val # 016 · USA
Credited on the record as T. Valentine and Company.
Annotation
The R&B novelty song "Massius Ray" (VAL # 016) - a play on "Cassius Clay" - later known as Muhammad Ali - who tried and failed to obtain conscientious objector status in 1967 (refusing to turn up for induction), and subsequently convicted, famously saying "I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong" - this was seen as both a religious and Civil Rights message.1 The narrator criticised Ali, because "the men will eat sleep, and even fight better when they know their hero, the great Massius Ray, is with them in Vietnam". Thus, the song took a patriotic perspective. The artist Thurman Valentine (T. Valentine) was born in 1932 in Helena, Arkansas, USA, and moved to Chicago, Illinois in…Notes
Label and catalogue number from the copy in the collection (Val 016). Discogs profile states he recorded 'Massius Ray' on his own label. AllMusic lists… #113 Soul Searchers Christmas in Viet Nam 1967 · Single · Christmas in Viet Nam / Lord Help Me · Songbird # 1187 · USA
Annotation
The song "Christmas in Vietnam" (Songbird Records # 1187), released in 1967 by the Soul Searchers, is fairly similar to the Johnny and Jon track. Written by A. Pointer, this gospel / soul song starts with a talking intro, telling the listener that "a lonely soldier laid dying in a foxhole in Vietnam". Thinking about Christmas back home in the US, the soldiers start singing - group harmonies enter at this point, moaning "jingle bells". Released in Houston, Texas on Don D. Robey's gospel record label, founded in 1963.1Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Songbird 1187 (LRS 11408), "Promotional record", 2809 Erastus St., Houston, Texas 77026, "World's greatest spirituals – Division of Peacock Records";… #114 Capt. Jesse Fountain I'm Marchin' 1967 · Single · I'm Marchin' / When It Rains Love (It Pours Love) · Cameo # C-457 · USA
Notes
I'm Marchin' (Fountain, Jesse) Soul, funk
Soldier's perspective - can't wait to see my sweetheart
I'm coming home, that's why I keep on marching
Notes
Cameo C-457-A, white label marked "D. J. Copy — Not for Sale", "A Product of Cameo Parkway Records, Inc."; "I'm Marchin'" (Leon Mitchell), Sharsnock Music… #115 Robert Hodge When the War Is Over 1967 · Single · When the War Is Over / I'm So Glad · Savoy # 4275 · USA
Notes
When the War Is Over (Hodge, Robert) Gospel, soul, religion
New Jersey
We will meet our friends and family when the war is over. Pray
Notes
Savoy Records 4275 (SRH 67-017), 45 R.P.M.; "When the War Is Over" (R. Hodge), Planemar Music B.M.I.; Robert Hodge; blue and silver label. [From the… #116 The Southerners This World 1967 · Single · This World / If You Get There · Jewel [Shreveport] # 116 · USA
Notes
- Gospel- Many soldiers killed in Vietnam
- Mother said my child is over there
- Home front perspective
- Jewel Records Devotional Series. Published by Su-Ma…
#117 Billy Joe Young Little Tin Soldier 1967 · Single · Jewel [Shreveport] # 782 · USA
Notes
Jewel Records 782 (TM-1996), ©1965, marked "Promotional Copy" and "Not for Sale" with a "Thanks Music Merchants" stamp; "Little Tin Soldier" (Daniels),… #118 Jimmy Castor Leroy Is in the Army 1967 · Single · Leroy Is in the Army / D-R-Y · Smash # S-2099 · USA
Notes
Red Smash label, S-2099, matrix 1-40065; "Leroy Is in the Army" (Castor - Pruitt), Bozart Music, Inc. (BMI), 2:30; produced by John Brantley, arranged by… #119 Dionne Warwick I Say a Little Prayer 1967 · Single · I Say a Little Prayer / (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls · Scepter # SCE-12203 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Dionne Warwick wrote in her autobiography "My Life, As I See It": "I Say A Little Prayer was written during the Vietnam War and seemed to resonate with listeners touched by the war. General Colin Powell and many other who fought in Vietnam have thanked me... letting me know how it got them through many difficult time".12"I Say a Little Prayer" , composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick. Lyricist Hal David said that it was composed from the perspective of a woman whose partner was serving in the Vietnam War. (Dominic, Serene, "Burt Bacharach, song by song: the ultimate Burt Bacharach reference for fans" (2003).
1
Sources
Notes
Scepter Records SCE-12203-A (60865), multicoloured label; "I Say a Little Prayer" (Burt Bacharach - Hal David), 3:04, Blue Seas Music, Jac Music Inc.… #120 Dionne Warwick The Windows of the World 1967 · Single · The Windows of the World / Walk Little Dolly · Scepter # SCE-12196 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Written about the Vietnam War12
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Scepter Records SCE-12196-A (60925), multicoloured label; "The Windows of the World" (Burt Bacharach - Hal David), 3:17, Jac Music Co., Inc./Blue Seas… #121 Freddie Roach Johnny's Comin' Home No More 1967 · Single · My People (Soul People) / Johnny's Comin' Home No More · Prestige # 45-454 · USA
Notes
Soul jazz.B-side: soldier killed in action (KIA), all dreams gone
Leans anti-war
A-side: Civil Rights, economic protest
Notes
Prestige 45-454, Side 2, blue-grey label, Prestige Records Inc., 203 S. Washington Ave., Bergenfield, N.J.; "Johnny's Comin' Home No More" (Freddie Roach… #122 R. B. Hudmon Send Your Boy a Letter 1967 · Single · Send Your Boy a Letter / I'm a Roller · Tomahawk # 110 · USA
Notes
Soul, home front perspectiveYour man is in the army, send him a letter
Notes
Credited on label as 'R.B.'; Discogs links the credit to R.B. Hudmon. No writer, duration or matrix data on Discogs. #123 The Staple Singers For What It's Worth 1967 · Single · For What It's Worth / Are You Sure · Epic # 5-10742 and recheck Year and Release Title against this issue · USA
Notes
- Soul cover of Buffalo Springfield song- Epic 5-10742 (JZSP 154873), 45 RPM, white and pink "Radio Station Copy" label; "For What It's Worth" (S.…
#124 The Shangri-Las Take the Time 1967 · Single · Take the Time / Footsteps on the Roof · Mercury # 72670 · USA
Notes
Credits from Discogs promo (release 5452539): written by R. Cordell, S. Trimachi; arranged by Shadow Morton; published by Hastings Music Corp. / Kama… #125 The Southerners This World 1967 · Single · This World / If You Get There · Jewel [Shreveport] # 116 · USA
Annotation
"This World" - soul, gospel. Also released as single: This World / If You Get There
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Jewel Records Devotional Series. Published by Su-Ma (BMI). Mastered at Ter Mar Studios, TM 1840 / TM 1843. Discogs note: '©1965 printed on labels'.… #126 Jesse James Believe in Me Baby Part II 1967 · Single · Believe in Me Baby Part I / Believe in Me Baby Part II · 20th Century Fox # 6684 · USA
Annotation
The love song "Believe in My Baby - Part I & II" (20th Century-Fox Records # 6684) by the soul singer Jesse James (aka James McClelland), from Arkansas, made a minor reference to the Vietnam conflict: "in Vietnam...seems like we are caught in such a deep, deep rut" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
20th Century-Fox Records 6684, black and gold label, "Distributed by ABC Records Inc."; produced by Jesse Mason Prod. "Believe in Me Baby - Part I"… #127 The Stars of Faith Prayer For Vietnam 1967 · Live · I've Got Shoes / Prayer for Vietnam · Évasion # LP E 102 · USA
Notes
Évasion Disques SE 1016, 7" single, stereo, gravure universelle, 1969, BIEM, made in France; Évasion Disques, 16, Avenue du Théâtre, CH 1005 Lausanne;… #128 Masters Of Soul Please Wait For Me (My Darling) 1967 · Single · Please Wait for Me (My Darling) / Love Loves Love · Ovide # 232 · USA
Credited on the record as Masters of Houston.
1968
- 30 January: NVA and Vietcong launch Tet Offensive.
- 16 March: My Lai Massacre led by Lt. William Calley.
- 31 March: Johnson decides not to seek re-election.
- 4 April: Assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.
- 10 May: Peace talks start in Paris.
- 1 July: General Westmoreland replaced by General Abrams.
- 28 August: Anti-war protest outside Democratic National Convention, Chicago.
- 31 October: US Rolling Thunder bombing campaign halted.
- 5 November: Richard Nixon elected US president
- 27 November: Henry Kissinger appointed National Security Adviser.
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
In 1968 a few more anti-war messages appeared in soul songs, but the majority still focused on the plight of the soldier and expressed patriotic sentiments. On the anti side, The Impressions thought that the war was a "shame and a crime", and that there was "no reason for our fighting". It also contained a civil rights message, calling for African-American's "long overdue....human right". The Southern Bells cried out "lord, won't you teach us to love one another". The Shurfine Singers offered a poignant anti-war message with their Christmas song "Silent Night & the 11 O'Clock News", in which a news report told listeners that "the war could drag on for 20 years". Pattie Ward was upset with the war, saying that "Uncle Sam got my man, get off my stuff".
Several of the song still displayed a degree of patriotism. Emanuel Laskey said that it was "a burden to bare" and that "we've got to win". Bobby Joy sung that the "world's got to be free". Inez & Charlie Foxx wanted to encourage soldiers to "kill their enemies" and "keep us free".
Most of the tracks were about relationships. The Masters of Houston sung about a soldier who wanted his sweetheart to "please hold on...don't lose faith my beloved". In the The Dells' track the soldier wondered if his girl "loves him anymore", while Artie Golden's soldier promised his wife that "I'll be home after a while". Martha and The Vandellas sung about a lady back home, who hoped that her boyfriend would "forget me not". The Sweet Inspirations wondered "is he ever coming back?"
Finally, in a totally different take on the war, the Soul Patrol told of GI's visiting prostitutes in Saigon, "where all the girl are just so sweet".
1968
#129 The Staple Singers John Brown 1968 · Single · Pray On · Epic # LN 24237 · USA
Notes
"John Brown" - soul cover of Bob Dylan anti-war song #130 Emanuel Laskey A Letter From Vietnam 1968 · Single · More Love (Where This Came From) / A Letter From Vietnam · Westbound # W-143 · USA
Annotation
The 1968 song "A Letter From Vietnam" (Westbound Records # W-143) by Detroit soul singer Emanuel Laskey, displayed sympathy for those fighting. In a first person account, a soldier in Vietnam send home his love. The soldier is there "not by chance nor choice" - thus a draftee - yet the soldier has "no remorse" and that it is "a burden to bare". In the spoken-word section the soldier expressed his fear of the war, and that the US needed to win for those that had died: "I've lost a many a friend, that's why we've got to win". Subsequently re-released in 1969 - "Never My Love / A Letter From Vietnam" (Westbound Records # W-151). Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Westbound Records W-143B, light-blue label, matrix ZTSC-141441; "A Letter From Vietnam" (M. Hanks), time 2:35, Bridgeport Music (BMI); produced by M.… #131 Bobby Joy Letter From a Soldier 1968 · Single · Letter From a Soldier / You Sweet Devil You · Sentry # 103 · USA
Annotation
Another obscure, wonderful soul Vietnam song, "Letter From a Soldier" (Sentry Records # 103), by Bobby Joy, played at a very slow pace, which takes the form of a soldier writing back home, expressing his loneliness at being "way over here" and "on the other side", as well as pleading with his girl to stay true to him while he is gone. Nevertheless, he says that he understands "why the world's got to be free". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Pale-blue Sentry Records label with a centaur-archer logo, No. 103-A; "Letter From a Soldier" (C. Hunter, B. Beatty), Philly Sounds Music BMI, time 2:59;… #132 Masters Of Soul Please Wait For Me (My Darling) 1968 · Single · Please Wait for Me (My Darling) / Love Loves Love · Capitol # 2255 · USA
Annotation
The song "Please Wait for Me (My Darling)" (Ovide Records # 232) by the Houston, Texas soul group the Masters of Houston, led by Fred Kibble, and managed by Skipper Lee Frazier, the founder of Ovide Records which released this single in 1968. The song is credited to "Kibble / Hopkins / Bellard". Frazier leased the song out to Capitol, in the hope of shifting more records ("Please Wait for Me (My Darling)" (Capitol Records # 2255). By which time, the group changed their name to Masters of Soul due to a contractual dispute with a previous label. This song provides a representation of the soldier's fear that his loved one back home will abandon him while away fighting. Although…
Notes
Capitol 2255 (45-59637), yellow-and-red swirl label; "Please Wait for Me (My Darling)" (Kibble-Hopkins-Bellard), 2:52, Beechwood Music Corporation/Orellia… #133 The Dells Does Anybody Know I'm Here? 1968 · Single · Make Sure (You Have Someone to Love You) / Does Anybody Know I'm Here · Cadet # 5631 · USA
Annotation
The song "Does Anybody Know I'm Here" (Cadet Records # 5631) by the 50s / 60s soul / R&B group the Dells, from Harvey, Illinois, was about a soldier "in a foreign land" - Vietnam? Germany? The soldier wondered if the people back home had forgotten about him. It represented the homesick soldier. It also suggested that the soldier did not want to be there. The song was written and produced by Bobby Miller, and arranged by Charles Stepney - both working for Chess Records (of which Cadet Records was a sub-label). Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Cadet 5631, matrix 17459, "Mfg. by Chess Producing Corp. Chicago, IL 60616"; "Does Anybody Know I'm Here" (Bobby Miller), 3:15, Chevis Music, BMI;… #134 Artie Golden I'll Be Home 1968 · Single · I'll Be Home / Bad Habits · Bunky # 7758 · USA
Annotation
In the song "I'll Be Home" (Bunky Records Inc. # 7758), a soldier asked his sweetheart to keep up her spirits, because he has "just got nine month to go" until he returns from the war. The soldier also asked to pass a message on: "tell my son, daddy will be home after a while". Artie Golden - born Arthur Eugene Camp, possibly came from Louisiana or East Texas because of the recording of his first release on Dodge Records.1 This song appeared on Bill "Bunky" Sheppard's Chicago, Illinois label Bunky. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Bunky Records Inc. 7758 (B-1323), orange patterned label marked with a star and "Bunky's Pick", "Distributed by Scepter Records Inc., 254 West 54 Street,… #135 The Impressions Dont Cry My Love 1968 · Single · Don't Cry My Love / Sometimes I Wonder · ABC # 11135 · USA
Annotation
The Impressions formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1958. A hugely influential soul and funk group, they helped revolutionise R&B. While it had a revolving line-up, it featured Curtis Mayfield as it central member (1958-1970). Mayfield sits amongst the first African-American to introduce social commentary into his music, dealing with civil rights, Vietnam, and drugs, becoming an inspiration to later generations of hip-hop artists. Born on 3 June 1942, in the Cabrini-Green housing project on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, he started out singing gospel as a child at his grandmother's church. In 1963 he co-wrote the plight of the soldier track I'm a Soldier Boy performed by Dee Clark…Notes
ABC Records 45-11135, matrix AMP 45-14869, "A Product of ABC Records Inc., New York, N.Y. 10019 - Made in USA"; "Don't Cry My Love" (C. Mayfield, O.… #136 Kip Anderson Letter From My Darling 1968 · Single · Letter From My Darling / Watch You Work It Out · Excello # 2298 · USA
Annotation
Southern soul singer Kip Anderson took the letter format in the 1968 song "Letter From My Darling" (Excello Records # 2298). Born Kipling Taquana Anderson (1938-2007) in Starr, South Carolina, he started his recording career with the small Derrick Records, founded by Charles Derrik, releasing the 1959 single "I Wanna Be the Only One". It was then leased out to the larger Vee-Jay Records. Ten years later, Derrik produced this emotional Vietnam track, in which a "lonely soldier" receives the "sweetest letter" from his girl, saying "I love you, faithfully...even though we are far apart". As the trumpets and strings build toward the end of the song, the girlfriend tells the soldier…
Notes
Excello 2298, turquoise label, "Dist. by Nashboro Record Co., Nashville, Tenn."; "Letter From My Darling", time 3:35, Lois Music BMI; "A Charlie Dee… #137 Inez and Charlie Foxx Fellows in Vietnam 1968 · Single · Fellows in Vietnam / Vaya Con Dios · Dynamo # D119 · USA
Annotation
Brother and sister soul duo Inez & Charlie Foxx, from Greensboro, North Carolina, covered the classic 1953 song Vaya con Dios (written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper) - meaning "go with god". They updated the track to deal with the war in Vietnam, in a medley called "Fellows in Vietnam" (Dynamo Records # D-119). The intro told the listener that "there is a war over in Vietnam" being fought by young boys, from the ages 16-21 years, "snatched from their mother's arms" - thus drawing attention to the Vietnam War age issue. The narrator pleaded with the listeners to join in singing "vaya con dios", in order to encourage the soldiers to get "out of their fox holes" and…Notes
Dynamo Records D-119 (D-119-2), red label with Musicor logo; "Fellows in Vietnam" (I. Foxx), time 3:05, Catalogue Music, Cee & Eye Music, BMI; arranged… #138 The Southern Bells Viet Nam 1968 · Single · Viet Nam / You Will Be There · Woodruff # 402 · USA
Credited on the record as The Southern Bells (Lead: Isaac Sumlin).
Annotation
The track "Viet Nam" by the Southern Bells (Woodruff Enterprises Inc. # 402) - a gospel, soul group from Atlanta, Georgia - leaned towards the anti-war side of the debate. Referencing President Johnson and his "pledge" (presumably to preserve an independent South Vietnam), the narrator expressed concern with "so many mother's sons...going to Vietnam" and that "so many men are getting killed". The group cried out "lord, won't you teach us to love one another". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Woodruff Enterprises Inc. #402, 625 Reed St. S.E., Atlanta, Ga., red label, side 1, 45 RPM; "Viet Nam", time 2:58, Woodruff Music, BMI; The Southern… #139 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas Forget Me Not 1968 · Single · I Promise to Wait My Love / Forget Me Not · Gordy # 7070 · USA
Annotation
The song "Forget Me Not" (Gordy Records # 7070) by Motown girl group Martha and The Vandellas told the story of a soldier setting "off to war" because "the battle's on" - probably Vietnam-related. The narrator declared that "I'll be here when you return", and she wanted the soldier to "write a letter every day, don't throw my picture away". The theme is very similar to Soldier Boy by The Shirelles. Composed by Sylvia Moy and Richard Morris (also the producer) - both of whom worked as song-writers and producers with Motown over a long period. In 1970, Martha and the Vandellas released the Vietnam single "I Should Be Proud", which leaned towards the anti-war side of the debate and…Notes
Gordy G-7070 (GSU-417M04), © 1968, purple-and-yellow label; "Forget Me Not" (Morris, Moy), Jobete, BMI, 2:58; produced by R. Morris; "In album 'Martha… #140 The Sweet Inspirations Am I Ever Gonna See My Baby Again 1968 · Single · Unchained Melody / Am I Ever Gonna See My Baby Again · Atlantic # 2551 · USA
Annotation
The song "Am I Ever Gonna See My Baby Again?" (Atlantic #2551) does not mention Vietnam, or indeed war, just that a woman's man is over seas, although the narrator's tearful questions - "is he ever coming back?" and "when will it end?" - indicate that he is away at war. Released in 1968, this track is largely associated with the Vietnam conflict. The Sweet Inspirations were a soul group founded in New York in 1967, led by Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney Houston). Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Atlantic 45-2551 (A-14356-PL), red and black label, 45 rpm, vocal; "Am I Ever Gonna See My Baby Again" (R. Clark-R. Bailey-J. Northern), pub. TM Music,… #141 Abdullah Why Them, Why Me 1968 · Single · Why Them, Why Me / I Comma Zimba Zio (Here I Stand the Mighty One) · Soul # S 35051 · USA
Annotation
The song "Why Them, Why Me" was released by Abdullah on Soul (# S 35051), a subsidiary of Motown Records, for blues and R&B (1964-1978). The b-side "I Comma Zimba Zio" was an strong civil rights, African-American militant song, evoking Africa and the fight for freedom. Born Joseph McLean, he changed his name as a follower of Elijah Muhammad, a self-proclaimed black Muslim nationalist.1 He apparently fell out with Motown's Ralph Seltzer in a racial confrontation, hence only one single on Motown.2 It is fairly difficult to transcribe, but clearly it is narrated from the perspective of a soldier on "the shores of Vietnam", who was "fighting and dying". He was looking out at sea for a…Notes
Soul S-35051, © 1968 Jobete, matrix C-Z1-K-M5-480M07; "Why Them, Why Me" (Abdullah), 3:30; produced by H. Cosby, F. Wilson; "A Trademark of Motown Record… #142 The Soul Patrol Saigon Strut (Instrumental) 1968 · Single · Saigon Strut · Shamley # S 44017 · USA
Credited on the record as The Soul Patrol featuring Cheap Charlie.
Annotation
A funk track, "Saigon Strut" (Shamley # S 44017), by the obscure Soul Patrol, focused on American G.I.s visiting clubs and prostitutes on the famous Tu Do street in Saigon, South Vietnam - Tu Do translated as "Liberty", called that between 1955 and 1975. It was formerly known as Catinat street (pre-1955), and was re-named Dông Khoï (General Insurrection) after the fall of Saigon.1 The narrator told the listener that he was "drifting down to Tu Do Street, where all the girl are just so sweet". They apparently cost "200 xu" (probably somewhere between $3-5).2 The soldier then referenced a series of clubs: CC Club, Mango Club, Paradise Club, and Hollywood Club. Then the narrator…Notes
Shamley S 44017, issued with an Instrumental side (.6033) and a Vocal side (.6032), each "Saigon Strut" (Quesada–Amador–Mariscal), 2:48, Highwood Music… #143 Pattie Ward Get Off My Stuff 1968 · Single · (Girls) You Have To Wait for Love / Get Off My Stuff · Road # R-6244 · USA
Annotation
Collectable soul song "Get Off My Stuff" (Road Records # R-6245), narrated from the US domestic perspective - a woman back home tells us that "Uncle Sam got my man" and that "he's in Vietnam" - she was very displeased and told Uncle Sam to send back her "stuff". The B-Side contained a passing reference to Civil Rights. Released in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Arranged and conducted by Leon Mitchell, produced by T. Shepard. No artist biography known at this time.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Road R-6244, © 1968, black and silver label with a truck design; "Get Off My Stuff" (T. Shepard, J. Wooten, A. Flemming), Thomas Shepard Pub. Co., BMI,… #144 The Shurfine Singers Silent Night & the 11 O'Clock News 1968 · Single · Silent Night & the 11 O'Clock News / Go Tell It On the Mountain · Josie # 969 · USA
Annotation
The song "Silent Night & the 11 O'clock News" (Josie Records # 969) from gospel/soul singers Shurfine Singers takes a very similar approach to the well-known Simon & Garfunkel single 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night, playing the Christmas hymn "Silent Night" with a a news monologue in the background. Like that track, this news report is also from 1966, starting with an item about the Beatles proclaiming to be "more popular than Jesus", and then onto contemporary issues from Civil Rights to Vietnam. The Vietnam section included news from Saigon, saying that the recent deaths took "the total number of American soldiers killed in Vietnam to over 5,000" - by the end of 1966 the official…
Notes
Josie Record No. 45-969 (Joz-570), "A Product of Jay-Gee Record Co., Inc., N.Y."; "Silent Night & the 11 O'Clock News" (Wendell Parker), Benell Music… #145 Aretha Franklin I Say a Little Prayer 1968 · Single · The House That Jack Built / I Say a Little Prayer · Atlantic # 45-2546 · USA
Notes
- Soul, home front perspective- Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick
- About a woman's concern for her man serving in Vietnam
- Top 10…
#146 Jo Ann Garrett That Little Brown Letter 1968 · Single · That Little Brown Letter / I've Gotta Be Loved · Duo # D-7454 · USA
Notes
That Little Brown Letter (Garrett, Joann)Notes
Duo Records D-7454, matrix ZTSC-141733; "That Little Brown Letter" (Andre Williams), time 2:30, Sea-Jack/June Sixteen Music Co., BMI; Jo Ann Garrett;… #147 The Linneas My Baby Comes Home Today 1968 · Single · My Baby Comes Home Today / Born to Be Your Baby · Diamond # D-248 · USA
Notes
My Baby Comes Home Today (Linneas)Notes
Diamond Records Inc D-248 (248-A), green label, "Not for Sale Promotion Copy", "Plug Side", Diamond Records Inc, 1650 Broadway NYC, NY; "My Baby Comes… #148 The Intentions Don't Forget That I Love You 1968 · Single · Don't Forget That I Love You / The Night Rider · Philips # 40428 · USA
Notes
Don't Forget That I Love You (Intentions, The) #149 Chiquita Oh Happy Day 1968 · Single · Father in Law / Oh Happy Day · Cha Cha # C-772 · USA
Notes
Oh Happy Day (Chiquita) Soul, home front perspective.
My baby is coming home from Vietnam.
Fighting for country day and night.
Please god protect him
Notes
Cha Cha Records, Chicago, Ill., C-772 (843C-0772, W4KS-4965), red label; "Oh Happy Day" (Prestella Young), 3:07, Don-Del Music (BMI). [From the record… #150 The Opportunity Please Knock Chorus I'll Be Back 1968 · Single · All This Talk About Freedom / I'll Be Back · Ramsel # 1000 · USA
Annotation
Notes
I'll Be Back (Opportunity Please Knock Chorus, The) Soul / funk from Chicago, Illinois.
Group created by Oscar Brown Jr.123
A-side: civil rights
B-side: soldier off to war - mother don't cry, I'll be back.
I'll write and pray for you.
Going to marry my sweetheart when the war is over.
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Ramsel Records, Chicago, Illinois, 1000 (68-101), ram's-head logo with blue stripes; "I'll Be Back" (O. Brown, Jr.), Edward B. Marks Music, BMI, time… #151 The Dixie Drifter Dear John Letter 1968 · Single · Dear John Letter / Across the Table · Platinum # PL-2300 · USA
Credited on the record as The Dixie Drifter (Enoch Gregory).
Notes
Dear John Letter (Dixie Drifter, The) Across the Table (Dixie Drifter, The)
Soul, Vietnam-era.
A-side: Soldier overseas, received a letter from his…
Notes
Platinum PL-2300 (U4KM-9059), American Music (BMI); "Dear John Letter" (L. Talley, B. Baton, C. Owen), vocal, time 2:58; produced by Joe Robinson;… #152 Odetta Peace and Harmony 1968 · Single · Peace and Harmony / Until It's Time for You to Go · Verve Forecast # KF 5087 · USA
Notes
Verve Forecast KF5087 (104,910), "Disc Jockey Record - Not for Sale"; "Peace and Harmony" (Shelley - Ellis), 2:42, Spiral Record Corp., ASCAP; A Groscourt… #153 Jean Carter If You Want Peace 1968 · Single · If You Want Peace / And None Shall Make Them Afraid · Star [New York] # ST 103 · USA
Credited on the record as Jean Carter and The Centerpieces.
Notes
Star Records Enterprises Inc., New York, N.Y., ST 103 (18-391), 45 RPM, white label marked "D. J. Copy" and "Promotion Copy — Not for Sale"; "If You Want… #154 Michigan Stone Foxx Love Not War 1968 · Single · Love Not War / Born December 2 67 - Died Jul 4, 68 · Pompeii # 45-66676 · USA
Notes
Love Not War (Michigan Stone Foxx) Funk / soul. Dallas, Texas, USA. Anti-war.
Sick and tired of differences - make love not war.
Vietnam-era, hippie.
Notes
Pompeii Records 45-66676, white label, vocal, PP-14933-PL, "Plug Side"; "Love Not War" (McKay & Bland), time 2:17, Pub., Pompeii-Attack, BMI; "Produced by… #155 Bernie Moore I'm Still a Lonely Soldier 1968 · Single · I'm Still a Lonely Soldier / Which Way to Turn · Lark [Detroit] # L-103 · USA
#156 Kim Weston When Johnny Comes Marching Home 1968 · Single · The Impossible Dream (The Quest) / When Johnny Comes Marching Home · MGM # K 13928 SS · USA
Annotation
Vietnam-era revival of Civil War song
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
MGM Records K 13928 SS – 'SS' (Sound Saturation) suffix means the 45 plays in stereo (Discogs promo note).Track also on LP This Is America (MGM SE-4561,…
#157 The Salem Travelers A Letter for Christmas 1968 · Compilation · A Christmas Dedication · Checker # LPS 10050 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Letter for Christmas, A (Salem Travelers) (Checker Records # LPS 10050) 1968 The Salem Travelers. Various artist compilation.
Christmas. Soul
Formed 1962, Chicago, IL, United States
1
"I received a letter from my brother fighting
Over in the war, he wrote me brother, I want
To come home, but tell the family I'm just too
Far, tell mama I want to come home, tell her
I wish I could come home for Christmas
Wish I could be there, he wrote it's bad living
Here, everyday your'e living in fear, knowing
When you lay down at night, in the morning
You might not be here, I wish could come home
Wish I could make it home, wish I could make it
For Christmas...this is between you…
#158 Larry Sanders Where Did the Peace Go 1968 · Single · Where Did the Peace Go / Story of My Love · Sound of Soul # SOS-200 · USA
Credited on the record as Larry Sanders, The Prophet of Soul.
Annotation
The song "Where Did the Peace Go" by Larry Sanders - the "Prophet of Soul" according to the New York based record label the Sound of Soul (# SOS-200) - takes an anti-war stance, recalling the "10 long years we been fighting" and that "50,000 men have died in vain" , leaving their friends and family in "misery and pain" . Sanders mournfully asks the congress, the senators, and the president "where did peace go" . Composed by D. Diamond. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Sound of Soul SOS-200A, 45 RPM, "Distributed by All Platinum of Englewood"; "Where Did the Peace Go" (D. Diamond), 3:18, Nitro Music Gambi BMI; Larry… #159 Roberta Flack Compared to What 1968 · Single · Compared to What / Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye · Atlantic # 45-2665 · USA
#160 Arthur Prysock No Sun Today 1968 · Single · Verve # VK-10592-SS · USA
Notes
No Sun Today (Prysock, Arthur) Traditional pop. Combat, soldier's perspective.
Message to mother, describes the sounds of war.
Afraid to fight. Can I…
Notes
Verve Records VK-10592-SS (104,447), "MGM Records – A Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc."; "No Sun Today" (James Last – Fred Anisfield – Scott… #161 Bill Medley Peace Brother Peace 1968 · Single · Peace Brother Peace / Winter Won't Come This Year · MGM # K 14000 · USA
Notes
MGM Records K-14000 (L-863), blue and gold lion label; "Peace Brother Peace" (Barry Mann), 4:15, Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Inc., BMI; "A Medley… #162 The Soul Patrol Saigon Strut (Vocal) 1968 · Single · Saigon Strut · Shamley # S 44017 · USA
Credited on the record as The Soul Patrol featuring Cheap Charlie.
Annotation
A funk track, "Saigon Strut" (Shamley # S 44017), by the obscure Soul Patrol, focused on American G.I.s visiting clubs and prostitutes on the famous Tu Do street in Saigon, South Vietnam - Tu Do translated as "Liberty", called that between 1955 and 1975. It was formerly known as Catinat street (pre-1955), and was re-named Dông Khoï (General Insurrection) after the fall of Saigon.1 The narrator told the listener that he was "drifting down to Tu Do Street, where all the girl are just so sweet" . They apparently cost "200 xu" (probably somewhere between $3-5).2 The soldier then referenced a series of clubs: CC Club, Mango Club, Paradise Club, and Hollywood Club. Then the narrator… Notes
Shamley S 44017, issued with an Instrumental side (.6033) and a Vocal side (.6032), each "Saigon Strut" (Quesada–Amador–Mariscal), 2:48, Highwood Music… #163 Los Pop Tops The Voice of the Dying Man 1968 · Single · Oh Lord, Why Lord / The Voice of the Dying Man · Calla # C-154 · Spain
Notes
Calla Records C-154 (C-154 B), 1631 Broadway, N.Y.C., N.Y.; "The Voice of the Dying Man" (Phil Trim), 2:31, Jamf Music Corp., BMI; producer Alain Milhaud,… #164 The Impressions This Is My Country 1968 · Single · This Is My Country / My Women's Love · Curtom # 1934 · USA
Notes
Curtom CR 1934 (CR 1934 A), "We're a Winner" label; "This Is My Country" (Curtis Mayfield), 2:47, Camad Music, BMI; produced by Curtis Mayfield; "From the…1969
- 25 January: Peace talks in Paris begin
- 17 March: Operation Menu - bombing of Cambodia
- 10-20 May: Battle at Hamburger Hill
- 14 May: Nixon announces Vietnamisation plan
- 8 July: The first US troop withdrawals, starting with 800 men
- 2 September: Ho Chi Minh dies
- 5 September: Lt. Calley charged with murder over My Lai Massacre
- 15 October: Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam
Song Summary.
by Justin A. Brummer
Songs released in 1969 bought a real mixed bag of views, perhaps accurately representing a stage of the war in which public opinion started to change. Patriotic sentiments still lingered. Brothers of Soul track contained the line "fighting for my country and doing the best I can". Eddie Billups sung about a soldier who was "fighting for a good cause". The O'Jays also had a song containing patriotic lyrics: "doing my duty, being a man" and "here to defend my homeland". In The Jubilators' gospel track, the father of a dead soldier (who had volunteered), took comfort in knowing that his son had helped to "make our country America free".
On the anti side, the Six Pak demanded that the government "bring 'em on home" and that "we can still change things if we try". Watson and the Sherlocks wanted the government to change their policy because "men are getting scarcer". Roscoe Robinson pointed out that "we ain't going to win nothing killing a fellow man". Robinson also took on the civil rights issues, pointing out that people should "stop worrying about who is black".
Several songs involved people having affairs. A woman in a track by the The Superbs confessed that she "started to date and fool around". In the Manuel B. Holcolm track, a soldier worked out that "something was wrong" - his girl left him because he "stayed away too long". Meanwhile, in the Joe Tex song, a man was having an affair with a woman who "is waiting on a man; right now he is in the army"
1969
#165 Azie Mortimer Eternally 1969 · Single · That's That (Get Off My Back) / Eternally · Number One # 7778 · USA
Annotation
The song "Eternally" (Number One Records # 7778) is one of the lesser known soul songs to directly reference the Vietnam War. This might be because it starts out as a slow jazzy / soul number, with a woman recalling the night that her man "whispered 'love' so tenderly". But the narrator tells us that he is gone, and that only the "memory of you will linger on", leaving her sad and lonely. About 30 seconds before the end of the song the listener discovers what happened, as Azie Mortimer screams out "lord, why did they have to send you to Vietnam?" The song was written by Azie Mortimer, and her manager Don Clay. Clay, and Mortimer's husband, Mort Kaplan, released the single on their…Notes
Number One Records 7778-B, red label; "Eternally" (A. Mortimer, D. Clay), time 2:59, Scot-Tees Pub. Co., Cetra Music Corp., Rah-El Music, B.M.I.; arranged… #166 Brothers Of Soul Wait For Me 1969 · Single · Wait for Me / I'd Be Grateful · Boo # 1006 · USA
Annotation
The Brothers of Soul were Fred Bridges, Richard Knight, Bobby Eaton, an R&B vocal group founded in Detroit, Michigan. They also recorded under the name The Creations. The song "Wait For Me" (Boo # 1006) was a sweet soul song about a soldier writing home to his loved one. He told the listener that he was "fighting for my country and doing the best I can". He re-assured his love that "it won't be too long...I'm coming home, darling", so "wait for me". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#167 Eddie Billups A Soldier's Prayer 1969 · Single · Ask My Heart / Soldier's Prayer · Peachtree # P-104 · USA
Annotation
The song "A Soldier's Prayer" (Peachtree Record Company # P-104) by Eddie Billups (from Atlanta?), a northern soul super rare collectable - it sells for thousands of dollars, with the last auction on Ebay hitting $3,900 (May 2012) - has a gospel, religious feel to it, as the soldier "prays night and day", that "one day you'll soon take me by the hand". The track actually opened with a little patriotic line, with the soldier telling the listener that "I'm...way over here fighting for a good cause". Released on the Atlanta label Peachtree, founded by Henry Wynn & William Bell - the latter, who produced this record, had some similar themed Vietnam songs already discussed: "Soldier's… #168 The O'Jays There's Someone Waiting (Back Home) 1969 · Single · One Night Affair / There's Someone Waiting (Back Home) · Neptune # N-20 · USA
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The Philly soul group, the O'Jays, from Canton, Ohio, released the song "There's Someone (Waiting Back Home)" (Neptune Records # N-20) in 1969, which looked at a reason for a soldier in Vietnam to be hopeful for the future - to return home to their loved one. It made patriotic and law-abiding references, such as "doing my duty, being a man" and "here to defend my homeland", but it is mainly a love song. The song was written by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, well-known soul producers who founded the label Neptune, as well as Gamble Records, Philadelphia International Records, and TSOP. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
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Neptune Records N-20 (17836), "The Sound of Philadelphia"; "There's Someone Waiting (Back Home)" (K. Gamble-L. Huff), 2:28, Assorted Mus., BMI; arranged… #169 Roscoe Robinson Don't Forget the Soldiers (Fighting in Vietnam) 1969 · Single · Don't Forget the Soldiers (Fighting in Vietnam) / Tis Yuletide · Gerri # 2 · USA
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Roscoe Robinson, soul and gospel artist, wrote and recorded this single on his own label, Gerri Records (named after his wife Geraldine), which he established in Chicago, 1965. Born in Arkansas, 1928, he is currently based in Alabama. He also performed with the gospel groups The Fairfield Four, The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, & The Highway QC's.1This soul song "Don't Forget the Soldiers (Fighting in Vietnam)" (Gerri Records # 002) started with mail being handed out to the soldiers in Vietnam, highlighting the importance of sending letters to the soldiers abroad (and another song address mail call time). As the title suggested, the song concerned itself with the plight of the…
Notes
Gerri Records, Chicago, 002, Side A, pink label; "Don't Forget the Soldiers (Fighting in Viet Nam)" (Roscoe Robinson), 3:10, Scoe Pub., BMI; produced by… #170 Rudy Ludaway Trying to Make It Home 1969 · Single · What's Wrong Baby / Trying to Make It Home · Galico # G-45-102 · USA
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The song "Trying to Make It Home" (Galico # G-45-102) by Rudy Ludaway - originally released on two Georgian based labels - Galico and Awake Records (# 45-300). It later appeared on the national label United Artists (# UA 50590). Ludaway wrote and produced the track, although the record also said "Bobby Smith Productions". The song is narrated from a soldier in the war, missing his sweetheart back home: "I miss you baby...I can't come home now although I wanna". The soldier said that he will "fight a good fight" in order to make it home. The soldier did not know or care "whose wrong, right" - he was just doing his service. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#171 The Superbs So Glad You're Home 1969 · Single · So Glad You're Home / The Dawning of Love · Symbol # 8 · USA
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The Superbs, aka Devotion, formed in New Jersey, USA. Its members included Retta Young, Rhonda Franklin, Phillis Harris, Anita, Henrietta Young, Bertha Addison, and Madge Quince. In the track "So Glad You're Home" (Symbol Records # 8) - written, produced, and arranged by Paul Kyser - a woman's sweetheart had returned "from the service" after two years. During the soldier's service, she "started to date and fool around" because it had been such a long time. But she declared that "I was so wrong...I wanna be your bride". Thus, this was another song about the strain of army service on a relationship. In this case, a slightly different element was added compared to other songs - the…Notes
Symbol Records, Symbol 8 (69-SY-8-B), red label; "So Glad You're Home" (Paul L. Kyser), Micro Mini Music & Mozella Music (BMI), time 3:13; arranger Paul… #172 Manuel B. Holcolm I Stayed Away Too Long 1969 · Single · I Stayed Away Too Long / Kick Out-Ins · Diamond Jim # DJ-900 · USA
Credited on the record as Manuel B. Holcolm and His Band.
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The funky song "I stayed Away Too Long" (Diamond Jim Recording # 900) came out of Detroit, Michigan, in 1969. Sung by Manuel Holcolm, it was written by G. Current and Jim Riley, known in Detroit soul circles as Diamond Jim - he founded the labels Diamond Jim, Big D, and Riley's Recording Co.. So in this song a soldier is "laying in a foxhole...in Vietnam", reading a letter from his girl while "covered all in mud". The soldier soon discovers that "something was wrong" and that she has left him for someone else. But the soldier cries that "I couldn't help myself, I stayed away too long". This is another song representing both the fear and the reality that some soldiers found their…Notes
Diamond Jim Records DJ-900, matrix DJ-17755-PL, vocal; "I Stayed Away Too Long" (Diamond Jim–G. Current), pub. Steve-Dot-Syderia-Cotillion, BMI, time… #173 Joe Tex I Can't See You No More (When Johnny Comes Marching Home) 1969 · Single · Sure Is Good / I Can't See You No More (When Johnny Comes Marching Home) · Dial # 4095 · USA
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Texas soul singer Joe Tex released another war-related track during the Vietnam era, called "(When Johnny Comes Marching Home) I Can't See You No More" (Dial # 4095) - following on from 1966's "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It". The title of the song was a play on the title of the well-known American Civil War song, while the theme fitted into the "Jody" category. The term "Jody" originated from "Joe the Grinder" (dated c.1939) - a mythical man in blues and jazz tunes who seduced the wives and girlfriends of soldiers, prisoners, and those away from home (for work or whatever). "Grinder" was an old slang word for sex (dated c.1647). It is thought to have been introduced into the army…Notes
Dial 45-4095 (DL-17883 SP), vocal; "(When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again) I Can't See You No More" (Tex), 2:45, Pub. Tree, BMI; produced by Buddy… #174 Six Pak Weep No More 1969 · Single · Bring 'Em on Home / Weep No More · Gordo # 704 · USA
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Double-sided Vietnam War single by Chicano soul group Six Pak, released on the Californian label Gordo (# 704), founded by Eddie Davis (a sub-label of his Rampart Records). Both tracks had a Latin Soul feel to it - of course, the label focused on Mexican Americans.1 This formed part of the West Coast 'Eastside Sound' music scene. According to the president of Rampart Steven Chavez: "almost 50% of the artists from the East Side Sound era served in combat roles in Viet Nam, losing their innocence to a war in the prime of their youth, and returned to a changed American music scene that pretty much turned their back on them with the advent of new genres like hard rock, heavy metal,…Notes
Gordo 704, Gordo Enterprises, Inc., Los Angeles, California, green label with sombrero cartoon logo; production and sound by Mario Paniagua & Eddie Davis,… #175 Troy Seals Mama Hold My Hand 1969 · Single · Mama Hold My Hand / Ebony and Ivory · Rising Sons # RS-715 · USA
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Kentucky born country singer Troy Seals released the deeply emotional blue-eyed soul song "Mama Hold My Hand" (Rising Sons # RS-715). A soldier is off to war, presumably drafted, "to fight for his land". He is wondering "where am I going? When will it end?" As he waits for an army man to call his name to take him off to war, he cries out "mama, hold my hand", and ask her to say goodbye to his father, because he would not want to "see his big boy cry". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
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Rising Sons RS-715S, stereo, RS1B-15 S, white label marked "Disc Jockey Not for Sale"; "Mama Hold My Hand" (T. Seals), time 4:11, Combine Music Corp.-BMI;… #176 The Fabulous Performers One Little Kiss 1969 · Single · One Little Kiss / Where Is My Daddy · Blackjack # 1407-B-3 · USA
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Group formed in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, USA in 1969. Members included Roy Walker, Danny Todd, James Marshall, Timothy Jenkins, Bernard Henderson (bass vocals). They were also known as The Informers. In this Philly Soul track "One Little Kiss" (Blackjack Records # 1407-B-3), a man is off to war: "I got a letter here from Uncle Sam...going to a far off land". He did not want to go because he would miss his sweetheart. Through the years this has become a very rare Northern Soul collectible, selling for hundreds of dollar. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#177 Watson and The Sherlocks Standing on the Corner 1969 · Single · Funky Walk / Standing on the Corner · Soulville # SV-1015 · USA
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The soul / funk song "Standing on the Corner" (Soulville Records # SV-1005) warned that "if Uncle Sam don't change his policy and bring some men home from overseas", the lonely girls might start a revolution, because "men are getting scarcer" - a similar theme to the song "Men Are Getting Scarce" by Chairmen of the Board and Joe Tex. In the meantime, the narrator suggested that the woman were hanging out on the street corners, "looking fine" and "flicking eyes" because they were "getting desperate" and "need a man to squeeze". Released on the Philly soul label Soulville founded by Bobby Fulton in 1967. The song was written by Joseph "Watson" Moore (the lead vocal) & Jesse Herring. …
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Soulville Records SV-1015, red, cream and teal label; "Standing on the Corner" (Joe Moore-Jesse Herring), Toote Town Pub., Inc.-BMI, time 2:07; produced… #178 Sister Maggie Merckson It's a Time in the USA 1969 · Single · It's a Time in the U.S.A / Hand Made Servant · Gusman # 106 · USA
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The gospel song "It's a Time in the U.S.A" (Gusman # 106) by the obscure artist Sister Maggie Merckson, recorded in Savannah, Georgia, was a prayer for the well-being of the soldiers in Vietnam and for their mothers: "Oh lord please take care of my child over there in Vietnam". It also pleaded with the president and governor to kneel down and pray with the mothers because "they all seem so confused". This record label was established by Waymon "Gusman" Jones, born in Bulloch County, GA in 1932. He owned a record shop at 1210 East Broad Street, Savannah, where he recorded local gospel singers on his labels Gusman and Pitch Records - for further information see the booklet of the…Notes
Gusman Records, P.O. Box 9202, Savannah, Ga. 31402, red label, 45 RPM, 106, matrix 24785, stamped "D.J. Copy — Not for Sale"; "It's a Time in the U.S.A."… #179 The Jubilators The Knock at the Door 1969 · Single · The Knock at the Door / Togetherness · Veep Gospel # VG-1302 · USA
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The New York-based gospel group The Jubilators released the song "The Knock at the Door" (Veep # VG-1302), which took a strong religious and patriotic perspective. It firstly started off with religious sentiment, with a father praying for his son in Vietnam: "I'm asking you god to take care of my boy". The father is re-assured by "god's amazing grace". But then a man delivers a letter to the soldier's parents, with a knock "different from any knock I'd ever heard before". The letter, from the war department, said that "I regret to inform you that your son in Vietnam is dead". Yet, the father takes comfort in remembering that his son "volunteered to go" because he wanted "to help…Notes
Veep Gospel VG-1302 (UA 2178), white "Not For Sale Promotional Copy" "Plug Side" label, "A Division of United Artists Records, Inc. • A Transamerica… #180 The Emotions Going on Strike 1969 · Album · So I Can Love You · Volt # VOS-6008 · USA
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The soul track "Going on Strike" (Volt Records # VOS-6008) looked at the position of a soldier's woman left on the home front, waiting for her man to return, and faced with male attention and the opportunities to have fun without their loved one. So the narrator tells us that she has been "sitting up crying" reading the newspaper, and receiving letters, that "keep bothering me about Vietnam". She is also receiving invitations to "all night parties" from people, including her man's best friends, who have "been thinking" they have a chance with her. However, she decides that she is going on strike "until my baby comes back". Female vocal group The Emotions, from Chicago, featured…Notes
Track A3. Producers David Porter, Isaac Hayes; arranged by Isaac Hayes. Matrix (variant r10635497): VOL-0071 / VOL-0072; label variation blue with… #181 Frank & Vivian Over Here, Over There 1969 · Single · Sen-Town # 1006 · USA
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The soul song "Over Here, Over There" (Sen-Town # S-1006), from Alabama, dealt with both the plight of the soldier, and the soldier's loved one backed home. Strong horns introduce the song, followed by the first vocal verse, in which Vivian sings that she misses her man: "I'm so lonely and full of memories" . In the second verse, Frank replied, saying that being separated from his sweetheart left him "in such a sad mood" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#182 Pilgrim Jubilees Mr. President 1969 · Single · Mr. President / Swing Low · Peacock # 3182 · USA
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Mr. President (Pilgrim Jubilees) Gospel, anti-war. Released in 1969. Houston, Texas, USA.
I've heard rumors of war - please Mr. President, leave our boys…
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Peacock Records 3182, "World's Greatest Spirituals", black label with silver print, 45 R.P.M., Peacock Records, Inc., 2809 Erastus Street, Houston 26,… #183 The Pilgrim Travelers A Soldier's Plea 1969 · Single · A Soldier's Plea / Mother Bowed · Specialty # 920 · USA
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- Gospel, religion, soldier's perspective- Stock single. Matrix: 7003 (A) / 7004 (B). BMI. No writer credits on Discogs. 'A Soldier's Plea' first issued…
#184 The Stars of Faith Prayer for Vietnam 1969 · Single · I've Got Shoes / Prayer for Vietnam · Évasion # S E 1016 · USA
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Évasion Disques S E 1016, stereo, pink label, "Made in France", BIEM, 1969; Face 2 "Prayer for Vietnam" (Mattie Dozier), 4'30.The picture sleeve front…
#185 Harps of Melody Lord Bless the Weary Soldier in Viet Nam 1969 · Single · Lord Bless the Weary Soldier in Viet Nam / King Jesus Will Roll All Burdens Away · Philwood # G-207 · USA
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Philwood G-207 (012), Gospel Series, P. O. Box 8033, Memphis, Tenn., light blue label; "Lord Bless the Weary Soldier in Viet Nam" (Clara Anderson), 3:08,… #186 Earl Wright This Soldier Wants to Come Home 1969 · Single · This Soldier Wants to Come Home / Let Me Go · Brotherhood-Winley # BHD-W 101 · USA
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Brotherhood-Winley Records BHD-W-101 A, 409 W. 125 St., N.Y. 10027 N.Y., 45 RPM; "This Soldier Wants to Come Home" (Wright-Winley), 4:06, Ninny Publ. Co.,… #187 Mizax and the Flizaps On the Other Side 1969 · Single · On the Other Side / Test Me · ABC # 11222 · USA
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On the Other Side (Mizax and the Flizaps)Notes
ABC Records, 45 RPM, white label marked "Promotion Copy"; "On the Other Side" (M. Kidd, R. Bateman), Pamco Music/Exus Trek - BMI; produced by Bob Bateman,… #188 Francine Peaches Barker Angels in the Sky 1969 · Single · Angels in the Sky / Traces · Columbia # 4-44910 · USA
Credited on the record as Francine "Peaches" Barker.
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Angels in the Sky (Barker, Francine Peaches) (Columbia Records # 4-44910) Born 28 April 1947, Washington, DC, USA
Died 13 August 2005, Washington, DC, USA
Member of Peaches & Herb, The Darlettes (also known as The Sweet Things)1
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
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Columbia 4-44910, matrix JZSP 151538, 45 RPM, white label marked "Not for Resale — Radio Station Copy"; "Angels in the Sky" (F. Barker-G. Tillman),… #189 The Green Berets We Must Make Things Right 1969 · Single · (Lord) Send Me Somebody / We Must Make Things Right · Uni # 55186 · USA
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We Must Make Things Right (Green Berets, The) Soul / funk.
Civil right, anti-violence. Minor reference to the war.
Vietnam-era.
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Uni 55186 (.380), vocal, multicoloured swirl label, Universal City Records, a Division of MCA Inc., 8255 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Calif. 90046; "We Must… #190 Johnny Holiday Show the Peace Sign 1969 · Single · Magic of the Mind / Show the Peace Sign · Bold [Massillon] # 3410 · USA
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Bold Records 3410 NRB (Mono 711 BR), Massillon, Ohio; "Show the Peace Sign" (Nick R. Boldi), Carlman Music BMI, 2:00; produced by Nick R. Boldi, arranged… #191 Black Velvet Peace and Love Is the Message 1969 · Single · Peace and Love Is the Message / CLown · Ember # EM 702 · UK
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UK funk / soul group, anti-war protest "somewhere, maybe Vietnam, a lonely soldier sits"
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Ember EM 702 (EM 702 A), "Not for Sale"; "Peace and Love Is the Message" (Eddie Grant), time 3:17, Ed Kassner Music; produced by John Simon, produced by… #192 Bishop J.M. Smith A Soldier's Plea 1969 · Single · A Soldier's Plea / Just Jesus Alone · King # 45-6262 · USA
Credited on the record as Bishop J.M. Smith and the "Evangelist Choir".
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Soldier's Plea, A (Smith, Bishop J.M.) Gospel narrative. Soldier's perspective, religion, civil rights.
Watching TV: black soldier told he is fighting…
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King 45-6262, matrix K-13177, blue-and-silver label, "Vocal"; "A Soldier's Plea" (M. Anderson, J.M. Smith), 3:51, Andersmith-Lois (BMI); produced by… #193 The War Babies War Baby 1969 · Single · War Baby / Together Forever · Uni # 55164 · USA
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Soul, anti-war, Civil Rights I'm off to war, to a conflict I don't understand
Why must my children be war babies too?
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Uni 55164, "Promotion Copy - Not for Sale"; "War Baby", vocal, 2:27, Bengal Tunes Music Co., Inc., BMI; "A Fat Production", produced by Lynn Ourso and… #194 Jimmy Ruffin Farewell Is a Lonely Sound 1969 · Single · Farewell Is a Lonely Sound / If You Will Let Me, I Know I Can · Soul # 35060 · USA
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Farewell Is a Lonely Sound (Ruffin, Jimmy)Soul, soldier's perspective.
Saying goodbye to his sweetheart. I'll be back
Motown subsidiary
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Soul S-35060 (TJ1-S-I-487S03), purple label, © 1967 Jobete, BMI; "Farewell Is a Lonely Sound" (Dean, Weatherspoon, Goga), time 2:56; arranged by Paul… #195 Jae Mason Peace 1969 · Single · Peace / Everyday I Go Sailing · Rama Rama # RR 7797 · USA
#196 Jackie Sule Bring My Baby Home (What Good Is Christmas Alone) 1969 · Single · Bring My Baby Home / I Found Someone · Big Town # BTR 101 · USA
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Bring My Baby Home (What Good Is Christmas Alone) (Sule, Jackie) Soul, Christmas. New York City, USA
Mr. President, I want my baby home this Christmas
I…
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Big Town Records BTR 101 (X4KM-1597), Big Town Records Inc., 2 Pennsylvania Plaza, N.Y.C.; "Bring My Baby Home (What Good Is Christmas Alone)" (Keith… #197 Perry Stovall Soldier's Prayer 1969 · Single · Stronger Than The Hong Kong Flu / Soldier's Prayer · Lucky Lou # LL-1969-S · USA
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7" 45 RPM.A-side 'Stronger Than The Hong Kong Flu' (2:24) written by Joe Hornick, Perry Stovall. Publishers: Mayr Hill Music, Shetoro Music. The YouTube…
#198 Johnnie Taylor I Could Never Be President 1969 · Single · I Could Never Be President / It's Amazing · Stax # 46 · USA
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Johnnie Taylor, primarily known as a southern soul singer, also worked with other genres, such as gospel, blues, and R&B. Born Johnnie Harrison Taylor on 5 May 1938 in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, he started out singing in several Chicago, Illinois based gospel groups - The Five Echoes (1952-54) and The Highway QC's (1953-57) - and later on the Houston, Texas soul scene with The Soul Stirrers (lead tenor vocals, 1956-63). He died in Duncanville, Texas (31 May 2000). In 1969, he released the song "I Could Never Be President" (Stax Records # STA-0046) in which he said that if elected president he would "bring home all the fellows from over in Vietnam" and redeploy them to protect his…Notes
Stax STA-0046 (ST-0191), yellow label with finger-snap logo; "I Could Never Be President" (We Three), 2:33, Pub. East/Memphis Music, BMI, dated June,… #199 R.B. Greaves Home to Stay 1969 · Single · Always Something There to Remind Me / Home to Stay · Atco # 45-6726 · USA
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B-side; produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Marlin Greene; recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Matrix 69-C-17637 SP (B label); BMI. Publishers: Blue Seas,… #200 Brothers and Sisters Chimes of Freedom 1969 · Single · The Mighty Quinn / Chimes of Freedom · Ode # ZS7-121 · USA
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Ode ZS7-121 (ZS7-121-2), side 2, 45 RPM, "Radio station copy – not for sale", distributed by CBS Records, CBS, Inc., 51 West 52 Street, New York City;… #201 Johnny Nash Love and Peace 1969 · Single · Love and Peace / You Got to Change Your Ways · JAD # 8 · USA
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If You Want Peace (Carter, Jean & The Centerpieces)Soul, pop.
Generic Vietnam-era peace song.
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Released in Belgium, Europe. J.A.D. JAD 8, side A, DU 21154, white promotional label marked "Demonstration Sample Not for Sale", "Made by Fonior s.a… #202 Hugh Masekela Mace and Grenades 1969 · Single · Riot / Mace and Grenades · Uni # 55102 · South Africa
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Mace and Grenades (Masekela, Hugh) Jazz, anti-war.
Napalm, bombs, atomic weapon, machine guns.
B-side: "Riots" instrumental
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Uni 55102, multicoloured swirl label, Chisa Productions logo; "Mace and Grenades" (H. Masekela), vocal, (.211), 2:57, and "Riot" (H. Masekela),… #203 Dr. John The Patriotic Flag Waver (Long Version) 1969 · Single · The Patriotic Flag Waver · Atco # 45-6697 · USA
Notes
Patriotic Flag Waver (Dr. John) Blues rock.
Anti-war, reference to Vietnam and draft card burning protests.
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Atco Records 45-6697, 45 RPM, vocal, white label, "CSG Processed Mono Master"; "The Patriotic Flag Waver" (Dr. John Creaux), Pub. Marzique-Joharv, BMI,… #204 Dr. John The Patriotic Flag Waver (Short Version) 1969 · Single · The Patriotic Flag Waver · Atco # 45-6697 · USA
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Patriotic Flag Waver (Dr. John)Blues rock.
Anti-war, reference to Vietnam and draft card burning protests.
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Atco Records 45-6697, 45 RPM, vocal, white label, "CSG Processed Mono Master"; "The Patriotic Flag Waver" (Dr. John Creaux), Pub. Marzique-Joharv, BMI,… #205 Hugh Masekela Riot 1969 · Single · Riot / Mace and Grenades · Uni # 55102 · South Africa
Notes
Mace and Grenades (Masekela, Hugh) Jazz, anti-war.
Napalm, bombs, atomic weapon, machine guns.
B-side: "Riots" instrumental
Notes
Uni 55102, multicoloured swirl label, Chisa Productions logo; "Mace and Grenades" (H. Masekela), vocal, (.211), 2:57, and "Riot" (H. Masekela),…1970
- 21 February: Kissinger talks with Le Duc Tho begin
- 30 April: Nixon announces the incursion into Cambodia
- 1 May: Nixon calls protesters "bums"
- 4 May: 4 Student killed at Kent State Ohio, by National Guardsmen
- 24 June: Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
- 12 November: Trial of Lt. William Calley began
- 22 December: Cooper-Church Amendment
Song Summary.
by Justin A. Brummer
Anti-war songs started to dominate in 1970. Edwin Starr shouted his now famous line, "war, what is it good for?" He shortly followed this up with another single, calling on politicians to "stop the war now". Joe Bataan also asked: "war, what is it for? Nothing". Donald Jenkins said that if people knew what was going on in Vietnam then "there would be no wars". Larry Sanders wanted to know "where did peace go?", noting that the "poor boys been dying" and that the "50,000 men have died in vain". Rev. Oris Mays, who produced a patriotic record in 1966, released another track in which he told of losing his son in Vietnam. He wanted to know: "will Congress do something to right these wrongs?"
A few songs took a more subtle approach, but certainly gave an impression of being opposed to the war, mainly for personal, rather than political, reasons. A woman in the US decided that she was "going on strike until my baby comes back", in a song by The Emotions. Martha and The Vandellas sung about a soldier who died in Vietnam. Although the family "should be proud", they felt that the soldier should not have been sent to Vietnam, thus challenging the traditional view of the patriotic, hero soldier. Freddie Scott took a similar view, as a mother wondered "why did this happen to my son". Jimmy Ellis wanted to try and forget "what the war has done".
Some artists chose to concentrate on the life of the soldier. Mel & Tim sung about "mail call time". A song by Melverine Thomas was about a soldier looking forward to leaving Vietnam: "mama, I'm coming home". William Bell sung about a soldier whose "heart is frozen with fear". A woman in the US sent out "a prayer for my soldier", in the Helen Curry track. In The Chymes' single, a soldier returned from Vietnam, but his "baby's gone away". Johnnie Taylor released the famous "Jody Got Your Girl and Gone" - warning soldiers that a man at home might steal their wife or girlfriend.
Only one track took a patriotic line. In Lynn Coleman's "Vietnam Diary", a soldier was "fighting to keep us free"
1970
#206 Freddie Scott Johnny's Hill 1970 · Single · Sugar on Sunday / Johnny's Hill · Roulette # RO 509 · USA
Annotation
Freddie Scott released the track "Johnny's Hill" (Elephant V Ltd. # 1) in 1970, which told the story of a deceased soldier, whose body was returned to his home in the US. Scott spoke about the song in an interview, saying that "one of my cousins died in the army, and that's what sort of brought that about". He composed it with Tommy Kaye. So the body arrived by train with all the family waiting at the platform. A mother was asking everyone "why did this happen to my son" . The family received a medal, and the captain tells them that "he was the hell of a soldier" . But to the family this "doesn't mean a thing" - so a similar theme to "I Should Be Proud" by Martha and The Vandellas,…Notes
Roulette RO 509 (R 509-B), red and yellow sunburst label with push-out centre, "Manufactured and distributed by Major Minor Records Ltd.", ℗ 1969;… #207 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas I Should Be Proud 1970 · Single · I Should Be Proud / Love, Guess Who · Gordy # 7098 · USA
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The song "I Should Be Proud" (Gordy Records # 7098), written by Henry Cosby, Pam Sawyer and Joe Hinton and recorded by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, is well known as one of the first anti-war songs released by the Motown label - just months before Edwin Starr's "War". Although it must be noted that Motown had released several other political songs related to the Vietnam War prior to this - such as The Valadiers' Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) in 1961, later covered by the The Monitors on the Motown sub-label V.I.P. Records in 1966. And, of course, Motown released the Martin Luther King Jr. speech Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam in 1970 on their sub-label Black Forum…Notes
Gordy G 7098, purple-and-yellow label, © 1970, Jobete–BMI, matrix C-K-M5-722M01, 2:55; "I Should Be Proud" (Cosby–Hinton–Sawyer), arranged by Cosby &… #208 Edwin Starr War 1970 · Single · War / He Who Picks a Rose · Gordy # G 7101 · USA
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"War", a familiar protest song, with its famous line "war, what is it good for?", written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong of the The Temptations, first appeared on their March 1970 album Psychedelic Shack. Starr released the song as a single in June 1970 (Gordy Records # G 7101), a blatant anti-Vietnam war song, although it did not name the conflict directly. It appeared on Starr's 1970 album War & Peace. It hit the Billboard number one spot in August and September 1970, probably the first clearly anti-war song to top the chart. It depicted the anger of the 1960s anti-Vietnam War movement:Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Gordy G 7101 (N-K-N-768M04); "War" (N. Whitfield - B. Strong), 3:12, Jobete - BMI, © 1970; produced by Norman Whitfield; a trademark of Motown Record… #209 Edwin Starr Stop The War Now 1970 · Single · Stop the War Now / Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love · Gordy # G 7104 · USA
Annotation
The track "Stop the War Now" (Gordy Records # 7104), while musically very similar to Edwin Starr's "War", contained more content, calling for people to protest and the politicians to act. Kicking off with the whistle of a bomb dropping, and then an explosion, it told of the draft letter arriving: "there's a letter from the war...greetings, we want you". But the narrator wanted to know "why must I kill against my will". He then asked what do the mothers of dead soldiers get: "a few measly pennies a month, a medal, a grave". Starr strongly criticised the government for claiming that victory was near when "the death list keeps right on growing". Certainly the strongest anti-war…
Notes
Gordy G 7104 (N-T2-N-846M01), purple and yellow label, ℗ © 1970; "Stop the War Now" (N. Whitfield-B. Strong), Jobete-BMI, time 3:35; produced by Norman… #210 Matt Jones Hell No! I Ain't Gonna Go 1970 · Single · Hell No! I Ain't Gonna Go / Supersam · Relevant # RP 1 · USA
Annotation
Matt Jones, an African-American civil rights activist and contemporary folk / blues / R&B cross-over musician, acted as field secretary of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an important Civil Rights organisation in the 1960s, taking part in sit-ins and freedom rides, and organising voter registration.1 In 1964 he joined the The Freedom Singers, who played music to raise money for the SNCC. Their 1965 album The Freedom Singers Sing of Freedom Now! included a couple Vietnam tracks. The song "Hell No! I Ain't Gonna Go" (Relevant # RP 1), written by Matt Jones and Elaine Laron, took the title from the famous slogan and chant often seem at anti-war demonstrations…
Notes
Relevant RP 1-A; "Hell No! I Ain't Gonna Go", 3:22, by Matt Jones and Elaine Laron; Relevant Productions, P.O. Box 81, Lenox Hill Station, New York, N.Y.… #211 Coast Why (A Peace Medley) 1970 · Single · Massive # M-1001 · USA
Annotation
Their are dozens of cover versions of the famous Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song Ohio, the most popular of the songs dealing with the Kent State demonstration / killings. See the list: This included the track "Why (A Peace Medley)" (Massive Records # M-1001), one of the more interesting interpretations. Released by the obscure soul group Coast in New York, in 1971. Produced and directed by Martin Brummer and Gene Busnar. In fact, the medley also featured John Lennon's peace / anti-war anthem Give Peace a Chance (by the Plastic Ono Band), and Neil Young's Helpless. Furthermore, it included spoken-word extracts, such as from Vice-President Spiro Agnew: "Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos,… Notes
Massive Records M-1001 (1001-A-BW), promotion copy; "Why (A Peace Medley)" by "Coast", time 2:41; produced and directed by Martin Brummer and Gene Busnar,… #212 The Chymes My Baby's Gone Away 1970 · Single · My Baby's Gone Away / Where I Come From · Down to Earth # 101 · USA
Annotation
The song "My Baby's Gone Away" (Down to Earth Records # 71) released in 1970 by the Chymes (aka Chimes) - a US soul group from Chicago, featuring the harmonies of the three brothers Victor, David, and James Martin, also known as the Star-Tels. The Chymes were supported on this track by the Soul Crusaders, the house band of the Chicago label Lamarr run by Burgess and Walter Gardner (of which Down to Earth Records was a sub-label).1 This song is concerned with a soldier "out of the army now, back from Vietnam" , who revisits his old neighbourhood, only to discover that his girl has left him. He sadly sings that "she should have never let me go" . Sources
Notes
Down to Earth 101-A, yellow label, "Mfd. by LaMarr Prod. Co. 746 E. 75th St. Chgo., Ill.", with "71" printed; "My Baby's Gone Away" (D. Martin-B.… #213 Donald Jenkins Fighting for My Baby 1970 · Single · A New World Beautiful / Fighting for My Baby · Thomas # TH 806 · USA
Annotation
Donald Jenkins' song "Fighting for My Baby" , released on Chicago soul label Thomas Records (# TH 806), founded by Eddie Thomas and Dick Simon, was a first-person narration from a soldier, who tells the listener that it is "strange out here in the jungle of Vietnam, I'm scared" . He is mainly thinking about his girlfriend, who he is fighting for. The soldier also thinks that if others knew what was going on in Vietnam, then "there would be no wars" . Written by Donald Jenkins, who also co-produced the song with Thomas Ross. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Thomas TH 806 (TH 806B), white label with a star-chart design; "Fighting for My Baby" (Donald Jenkins), Camad & Bismillah Music, BMI, 3:05; produced by… #214 Jimmie Ellis Happy To Be (The Man You Like To See) 1970 · Single · Happy to Be (The Man You Like to See) / Looking Through the Eyes of Love · Century City # CCR-511 · USA
Annotation
Jimmie "Preacher" Ellis came from Foreman, Arkansas, and started his career in 1950 singing for the choir of Mount Baker Baptist Church, in Seattle, Washington. In 1955 Ellis entered military service. By the mid-60s, Ellis was in Los Angeles, recoding as a solo act. He released the track "Happy to Be (The Man You Like to See)" (Century City Records # CCR-511), in which the soldier narrator had ] "been fighting for many long years" . He has returned home to his loved one, and has a very optimistic outlook, pledging to sing a song about "what's right and not what the war has done, with every new sun comes a new day" . It does not specifically mention Vietnam. Produced by Tom Cross, who… #215 Mel & Tim Mail Call Time 1970 · Single · Mail Call Time / Forget It I've Got It · Bamboo [Chicago] # BMB 114 · USA
Annotation
Soul song "Mail Call Time" (Bamboo Records # BMB 114) - another song, like "From Vietnam With Love" by Charles E. Scott that represented the military practice in which soldiers assemble to receive mail, with each soldier's name called out to pick up the mail. Performed by the soul duo Mel Hardin & Tim McPherson, cousins, both born in Mississippi, US, and based in Chicago with Bamboo Records. They later moved to Stax Records in 1972 with the single Starting All Over Again. The song started in a first person narration, with a soldier expressing the desire to receive mail. The narrator then made a plea in the third person: "girls, pick up your pen, and drop your man a line" . Note…
Notes
Bamboo BMB 114 A (50887), "Bamboo Records Inc. © 1969", tropical beach and palm-tree picture label marked "Not for Sale"; "Mail Call Time" (Harding,… #216 Melverine Thomas A Letter From My Son 1970 · Single · A Letter From My Son Part 1 / A Letter From My Son Part 2 · Jay-Walking # JW-004 · USA
Annotation
The song "A Letter From My Son" (parts 1 & 2) by Melverine Thomas - little is known of this artist. Released on the obscure Harrisburg, Pennsylvania label Jay-Walking (# JW-004), a sub-label of the better-known Soulville Records, founded by Bobby Fulton in 1967. In the song Thomas emotionally recalls the moment that a mother "got a letter from Vietnam" with good news, as repeated by the chorus throughout the song: "Mama, I'm coming home" . The soldier requested that his mother meet him at the station, "put soul food on the stove" , and tell his girlfriend to meet him at "our same old hideout" - so showing the soldier dreaming about his old life in the US. Annotation by Justin A.…
Notes
Jay-Walking JW-004, white "D. J. Copy" labels with a walking-boot-and-stave logo; "A Letter From My Son" (Part 1) and (Part 2) (M. Thomas), Playnote Music… #217 William Bell Lonely Soldier 1970 · Single · Lonely Soldier / Let Me Ride · Stax # STA-0070 · USA
Annotation
The song "Lonely Soldier" (Stax Records # STA-0070) by William Bell took the letter format, from a soldier writing to his loved one back home. The soldier asked that she "have a little faith" and wait for him. He explained that his "heart is frozen with fear" . The woman who received the letter told the listener that it "touched the bottom of my soul" and must have been written "on a terrible day" . This is the third William Bell single on a war / Vietnam related topic - "Soldier's Goodbye" (1966) and "Marching Off to War" (1966), both released on Stax. And, as already mentioned, the 1969 single "Soldier's Prayer" by Eddie Billups featured on Bell's record label Peachtree. Annotatio…
Notes
Stax STA-0070 (SM-00409-PL), yellow label with the finger-snap logo, July 1970; "Lonely Soldier" (Calvin Carter), 3:58, Conrad Publishing Co., BMI;… #218 Helen Curry A Prayer for My Soldier 1970 · Single · A Prayer for My Soldier / Sad and Blue · Ja-Wes # J-0110 · USA
Annotation
The song "A Prayer for My Soldier" (Ja-Wes # J-0110) by Helen Curry - is this the same Helen Curry in the Chicago soul group The Independents? This is another track with religious content. A woman in the US prayed each night for "my soldier in Vietnam" , so that god would "guide him, and protect him, and lead him" . Released on the James Shelton group of Chicago labels: Daran, DJO, and Ja-Wes. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Ja-Wes J-0110-A, dark grey label with silver print; Daran Recording Co., 4148 So. King Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60653; "A Prayer for My Soldier" (Robinson… #219 Lynn Coleman Viet Nam Diary 1970 · Single · Viet Nam Diary / Who Is the One · Amigo # RK117-1 · USA
Credited on the record as Lynn Coleman and Bob Moore's Temptations.
Annotation
The song "Viet Nam Diary" (Amigo # RK117-1) took the format of a woman writing in her diary about her sweetheart, who had "volunteered to go away, willing to fight for his country" , which immediately suggested a degree of patriotism. The narrator went a step further, providing an explanation for the war, inline with the US government - the soldiers in Vietnam were "fighting to keep us free" . Aside from these patriotic sentiments, the narrator also thought about how the war had an impact on her life, leaving her alone in the US: "I wish...he was still here...I often feel like crying" . Released under the artist name Lynn Coleman and Bob Moore's Temptations, out of a Philadelphia…Notes
Amigo RK-117-1 (70129), red and white label, 6137 N. 6th St., Phila., Pa. 19120; "Viet Nam Diary" (Coleman - Galbraith), Jean Sawyer Music / Amigo Music… #220 Dr. William Truly, Jr. (The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe 1970 · Single · (The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe / King Is Not Dead · House of the Fox # HOF-2 · USA
Annotation
The monologue gospel / soul track "(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe" (House of the Fox # HOF-2), released on a Nashville, Tennessee label, was another Civil Rights / race relations track connected to the Vietnam War. It told the story of Old Back Joe, an African-American soldier who "had been to Vietnam" , won a Purple Heart medal for bravery, and had slept and ate along with everyone, "like any other infantry man" , no matter white or black. The soldier is killed in Vietnam, and his "flesh and bones" are returned to the US, "his country...his home" - thus highlighting that he was no different to the white soldiers. However, nobody greeted the body on its return, and the white people…Notes
House of the Fox HOF-2 (HO-Fox-5566), "A Subsidiary of Lelan Rogers Enterprises, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., U.S.A."; "(The Two Wars Of) Old Black Joe" (Dr.… #221 Rev Oris Mays Another Christmas Without My Son 1970 · Single · Another Christmas Without My Son / Stand Still · Jewel [Shreveport] # 155 · USA
Annotation
The track "Another Christmas Without My Son" (Jewel Records # 155) is a monologue by Rev. Oris Mays, backed by a gospel choir. Oris Mays, born in Lambert, Mississippi, 1935, moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he worked at the Boston Street Baptist Church. In Memphis he fronted the first African-American TV gospel program. He died in Memphis on 21 April 1996. In 1966, Oris Mays released the patriotic Vietnam record "Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam)". However, by 1970 Rev. Oris Mays' views on Vietnam had taken a radical change, presented here from the perspective of a father who lost his son in the war. He particularly considered the discrepancy between the draft and… Notes
Jewel Records "Devotional Series", Jewel 155, SL 1735; "Another Christmas Without My Son" (Rev. O. Mays-J. Wyatt), Su-Ma, BMI, time 2:45; produced by Rev.… #222 Ramona / Romona Jones (We Break) The Rules Made For Man 1970 · Single · Shows All Over Your Face / (We Break) The Rules Made for Man · Jet Stream # 801 · USA
Credited on the record as Romona Jones.
Annotation
Released on Huey P. Meaux's Texas based label, probably around 1970-1971 (based on the label discography) was the track "(We Break) The Rules Made for Man" (Jet Stream Records # 801) by Ramona Jones. This track made a general criticism of world affairs, complaining about the lack of "brotherly love, every heart made of stone" . It referenced the war, the narrator saying that she is not surprised that "we've been fighting over there in Vietnam" . She called on people to "wake up" because there was "a lot to be done" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Jet Stream Records 801, 45 RPM, RJ-JS-2, D.J. copy; "(We Break) The Rules Made for Man" (Thomas, McRee, Thomas), Crazy Cajun Music, BMI, 2:22; producer… #223 The Temptations Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) 1970 · Single · Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) / It's Summer · Gordy # G 7099 · USA
Annotation
Famous Detroit, Michigan soul group, The Temptations, formed in 1961, and had a string of hits with Motown Records. With a somewhat revolving line-up throughout its history, with its classic line-up featuring David Ruffin, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams. Their March 1970 album "Psychedelic Shack" featured the first version of the protest song "War", written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, made famous by Edwin Starr a few months later, reaching #1 in the Billboard charts. Again, written by Whitefield and Strong, the song "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (Gordy Records # G 7099) was a successful protest song, reaching… Notes
Gordy G 7099 (N-K-N-760M02), purple-and-yellow label; "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (Whitfield, Strong), time 4:04, © 1970 Jobete,… #224 Sylvia Robinson Have You Had Any Lately? 1970 · Single · Have You Had Any Lately / Anytime · Stang # 5015 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Have You Had Any Lately (Robinson, Sylvia) Anti-war, protest. Soul.
Song re-worked in 1971 about William Calley - "Lieutenant" (Had Any Lately?) - by artist called Mother of Three (potential Sylvia Robinson, the tracks sound like the same singer, plus she did have three children).1
Billboard, spotlight single2
Also released on 1973 album Pillow Talk and 1973 single Didn't I / Had Any Lately on Vibration Records
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Stang Records ST 5015-A, "a div. of All Platinum Enterprises", 45 RPM, (170 GM); "Have You Had Any Lately?" (S. Robinson), 3:15, Gambi Music BMI; produced… #225 The Equals Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys 1970 · Single · Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys / Ain't Got Nothing to Give You · President # PT 325 · UK
Annotation
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
President PT 325, side A (1448 x), 45 RPM, ℗ 1970, Made in England; "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" (E. Grant), 2.50, Grant Music/Ed. Kassner Music; produced… #226 Tommy Tate Let Us Be Heard (A Prayer for Peace) 1970 · Single · Let Us Be Heard (A Prayer for Peace) / Peace Is All I Need · Jackson Sound # JS-1005 · USA
Notes
Yellow Jackson Sound label with gramophone-and-sunflower logo, JS-1005, "P.O. Box 1037, Phone 982-4964, Jackson, Miss. 39205"; "Let Us Be Heard (A Prayer… #227 Tommy Tate Peace Is All I Need 1970 · Single · Let Us Be Heard (A Prayer for Peace) / Peace Is All I Need · Jackson Sound # JS-1005 · USA
Annotation: see “Let Us Be Heard (A Prayer for Peace)” above (same release).
#228 Raymond Myles Prayer From a Twelve Year Old Boy 1970 · Single · Prayer From a Twelve Year Old Boy / You Made a Man Out of Me, Baby · Kent # 4541 · USA
Notes
Prayer From a 12 Year Old Boy (Myles, Raymond) Soul, child, religion, anti-war
People fighting all over the world
Pray for god to bring peace
Notes
Kent KS 4541, "The Original Blues Label", white promotional label marked "Promotional Not for Sale", stereo, Side 1; "Prayer From a Twelve Year Old Boy"… #229 The Friends of Distinction This Generation 1970 · Single · This Generation / Love or Let Me Be Lonely · RCA Victor # 74-0319 · USA
Notes
RCA Victor 74-0319 (XPKS-0459), stereo; "This Generation" (Peay), 3:23, Black Artists Pub., BMI, "from the 'Highly Distinct' album"; producer John Florez;… #230 Brothers of Love Make Love, Not War (Love Is What We're Striving For) 1970 · Single · Intrepid # 75026 · USA
Notes
Intrepid 75026 (1-47255), light blue and white label with anchor logo; "Make Love Not War (Love Is What We're Striving For)" (J. James), Jamesboy… #231 The Supremes Bill, When Are You Coming Back 1970 · Album · Right On · Motown # MS 705 · USA
Notes
Bill, When Are You Coming BackMotown
Every morning waiting for the mailman to come.
But again he shook his head and said maybe tomorrow there'll be one.
He…
Notes
Track B5. Album producers (Wikipedia): Frank Wilson, Clay MacMurray, Ivy Jo Hunter. Sleeve: 'Album designed at London Studio'; art direction Curtis… #232 The Supremes Someday We'll Be Together 1970 · Live · Farewell · Motown # MS2-708 · USA
Notes
"Someday We'll Be Together" - live version, Diana Ross says "bring our boys back from Vietnam" #233 Garrett Scott (Mama) Is Uncle Clayton Jackson Sleeping Here Again Tonight? 1970 · Single · (Mama) Is Uncle Clayton Jackson Sleeping Here Again Tonight? (Mono) / (Stereo) · Vanguard # VRS-35119 · USA
Notes
Soul.Dad fought in Korea, uncle sleeping at home.
Father K.I.A., received a medal.
Now I'm at war in Vietnam, missing my son and wife.
Notes
Vanguard VRS-35119 promo, 'Demonstration Copy - Not For Sale', mono/stereo sides. Arranged and conducted by Herb Bernstein; engineer Ed Friedner;… #234 Mark Barkan One World (Part I) 1970 · Single · One World · MGM # K14147 · USA
Notes
Soul, protest, anti-warStop the bombs and tanks, build one world.
Share the land, all members of humanity
Notes
MGM K14147, yellow "Special Disc Jockey Record — Not for Sale" label, "MGM Records — A Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. — Made in U.S.A."; "One World"… #235 Mark Barkan One World (Part II) 1970 · Single · One World · MGM # K14147 · USA
Annotation: see “One World (Part I)” above (same release).
#236 Brenda Starr Soldier Boy (Partial) 1970 · Single · Soldier Boy (My Soldier Boy) / Satan, Let Me Sleep Tonight · Polydor # PD 2-14032 · USA
Notes
Polydor PD 2-14032 (2066 029) (POL 30099), 45 RPM, white "Radio Station Copy – Not for Sale" label marked "Plug Side"; "Soldier Boy (My Soldier Boy)"… #237 Master's Children Watch the Children and Give a Damn 1970 · Single · Watch the Children and Give a Damn / The Soul of Young America · T-A # 198 · USA
Notes
- Generic protest for a better world- Generation gap, both sides
- Soul, Vietnam-era
- T-A 198, white "Promotion Copy" label, mono, "Dist. by Bell Records,…
#238 Master's Children The Soul of Young America 1970 · Single · Watch the Children and Give a Damn / The Soul of Young America · T-A # 198 · USA
Annotation: see “Watch the Children and Give a Damn” above (same release).
#239 The Reflections Get Your Mind Together 1970 · Single · Get Your Mind Together / Peace, Love Or War · Renfro # 32 · USA
Notes
- Soul, protest, anti-war- A-side - need more love
- B-side - in America peace is a dream
- Credits: Arranged by Ronald Rogers; Producer Anthony C. Renfro;…
#240 The Reflections Peace, Love or War 1970 · Single · Get Your Mind Together / Peace, Love Or War · Renfro # 32 · USA
Notes
- Soul, protest, anti-war- A-side - need more love
- B-side - in America peace is a dream
- B-side. Producer Anthony C. Renfro; arranged by Ronald Rogers.…
#241 The Singing Southern Echos of Memphis, Tennessee I Was Brought Up 1970 · Album · Somebody Touched Me · Designer # LP 6829 · USA
Notes
"I Was Brought Up"Gospel
Notes
Track B6 'I Was Brought Up'. Discogs notes: reissue of the album originally released by Designer Records (1960s-70s Memphis custom gospel label). Barcode… #242 Pierson Lake People Are Dying (And We Say We Care) 1970 · Single · People Are Dying (And We Say We Care) / Feel So Good ('Cause I'm in Love) · Sound 80 # S80-24-1373 · USA
Notes
People Are Dying (And We Say We Care) (Lake, Pierson) Soul / funk, anti-war. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Sick of all this killing. Lets get minds…
Notes
Sound 80, 4444 West 76th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55435, S80-24-1373 A, stereo, © 1970; "People Are Dying (And We Say We Care)" (Herb Parker Jr.),… #243 Gil Scott-Heron Comment #1 1970 · Album · Small Talk at 125th and Lenox · Flying Dutchman # FDS 131 · USA
Annotation
In the track "Comment #1" (Flying Dutchman # FDS 131) Scott-Heron talked about the history of America with particularly reference to slavery, false freedoms and false revolution: "Democracy, liberty, and justice were revolutionary code names...in the mother country's crotch and behold a baby girl was born, nurtured by slave holders and whitey racists it grew and grew and grew screwing indiscriminately" . He then turned his attention to the anti-war movement - in particular, white college kids who "vomit up slogans to stay out of Vietnam" - but who, according to Scott-Heron, did not face the struggles that African-Americans did everyday. Thus, a reflection of 1960s Civil Rights and… #244 Mr. Flood's Party Compared to What 1970 · Single · Compared to What / Unbreakable Toy · GM # 714 · USA
#245 The Lumpen Free Bobby Now 1970 · Single · Free Bobby Now / No More · USA
Annotation
Black Panther group formed in 1970 in San Francisco, California, USA, with Bill Calhoun, Clark Bailey, James Mott, and Michael Torrance, which only released this rare 7" single, with the song "Free Bobby Now" (# BPP-4501), composed by Bill Calhoun, in support of Bobby Seale, after his arrest at the Vietnam War demonstration at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and so another Vietnam / Civil Rights song. The top of the single said "Seize the Time" and "Black Panther Party Productions". It featured on the 2012 compilation Listen, Whitey! the Sounds of Black Power 1967-1974, produced by Pat Thomas. It said that Bobby Seale carried a gun because "for four hundred… #246 Eugene McDaniels Silent Majority 1970 · Album · Outlaw · Atlantic # SD 8259 · USA
Annotation
Anti-Nixon, anti-war track "Silent Majority" (Atlantic # SD 8259), a reference to Nixon's Vietnam War speech on 3 November 1969: "and so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support".1 The lyrics contained a minor anti-war Christmas reference: "war in, war out, they peddle Christmas trees, gaggin' on their own hypocrisies" . Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#247 The Superbs So Glad You're Home 1970 · Single · Dawning of Love / So Glad You're Home · Colossus # C-126 · USA
Credited on the record as Devotion.
Notes
Colossus C-126 (C-1104 B), yellow label; "So Glad You're Home" (Paul L. Kyser), credited to Devotion, Legacy-Micro-Mini (BMI), 3:10; arranged by Paul L.… #248 Betty Wright Soldier Boy 1970 · Single · Soldier Boy / A Woman Was Made for One Man · Alston # 45-4581 · USA
Notes
Alston 45-4581 (AL-18095 SP), white promotional label marked "Plug Side", vocal; "Soldier Boy" (L. Dixon-F. Green), Pub. Ludix Music, BMI, time 3:15;… #249 The Temptations War 1970 · Album · Psychedelic Shack · Gordy # GS947 · USA
1971
- 30 January: Operation Lam Son - Laos incursion
- 29 March: Lt. Calley found guilty of My Lai murders
- 29 April: US death toll in Vietnam reaches 45,000
- May: Gallup reports 68% support for withdrawal from Vietnam
- 13 June: New York Times publishes Pentagon Papers
- 15 June: Nixon takes legal action against the NYT
- 18 June: Washington Post starts publishing Pentagon Papers
- 30 June: Supreme Court votes 6-3 in favour of NYT and WP
- 15 July: Nixon announces that he will visit China
- 17 July: Nixon established 'Plumbers' unit to stop leaks
- 18 August: Australia and New Zealand announce withdrawal from Vietnam
- 22 September: Captain Medina acquitted over My Lai massacre
- 31 December: US troop numbers drop to 156,000
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
In soul records, opinion certainly turned against the Vietnam War in 1971. Freda Payne called on the politicians to "bring the boys home..lay your weapons down". Change of Pace followed on with "bring my buddies back", and criticised the "lack of doctors" in Vietnam. Roy C. asked the president to "stop the fighting" and that he should "see all the protesters in the street". Chairmen of the Board shouted out "protest, get us out of this mess", because the "men are getting scarce". The Isley Brothers focused their attention on the Kent State killings with the medley "Ohio-Machine Gun". Marvin Gaye sung that "war is not the answer". Bobby Powell complained that "boys are dying, Vietnam". Both Swamp Dogg & Jackie Ross thought that children should not have to grow up "to fight another war".
Several songs continued to look at relationships. Two more Jody songs appeared. Bobby Patterson warned "you fellows over in Vietnam - watch out for Jody". Sonny Green told of a Vietnam veteran who was chasing a jody "with his gun" in hand. .. sung about a soldier who asked his sweetheart to "hang on a little bit longer".
A couple tracks looked at the returning soldier, themes usually found in the post-war era. Marvin Gaye's famous album What's Going On spoke about the difficulty in adjusting. A veteran "can't find no work, can't find no job". Delia Gartrell covered the drug perspective, as a mother moaned that the army sent her son "back to me a stoned junkie". In one of the most interesting and different tracks, Gloria Edwards sung about a soldier who returned home. His girlfriend / wife discovered that he fathered a Vietnamese child: "found that picture" of "some slant-eyed woman".
Finally, The Dynamic Hughes Gospel Singers called for "no more segregation in this land", as in the army African-Americans fought side-by-side with white soldiers.
1971
#250 Skip Jackson and The Shantels Promise That You'll Wait 1971 · Single · I'm On to You Girl / Promise That You'll Wait · Dot-Mar # YE-324 -325 · USA
Annotation
Skip Jackson, born Tommy Brown, from New Jersey, backed by vocal group The Shantons, released the song "Promise That You'll Wait" (Dot-Mar Records # YE 324). The track was covered by Michael Lizzmore in 1972 - Promise That You'll Wait. It is narrated from the soldier's perspective, who has been at the war a while "since my note from Uncle Sam" - so obviously drafted into the conflict. He asked his loved one to "hang on a little bit longer baby" , and he looked forward to running to her "the second that I'm home" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#251 Joe Bataan Cry 1971 · Single · Cry / If I Were King · Fania # 611 · USA
Annotation
The song "Cry" (Fania Records # SLP 407) looked at a soldier whose girlfriend left him while fighting in Vietnam. Sung by Joe Bataan, a Latin Soul artist from New York. This album version was 7 minutes long. A shorter 3.50 minute version featured on the 1971 single Cry (Fania Records # 611). So it started with a spoken-word narration, in which a soldier said that "here I am in Vietnam, in a foxhole" . His friend Sam received a "dear john...here in stinky Vietnam" . The soldier encouraged his friend to "go right on man and cry" because it would make him "feel better" . The song included a minor anti-war message as well. The narrator raised the question "war, what is it for?" He… #252 Freda Payne Bring the Boys Home 1971 · Single · Bring the Boys Home / I Shall Not Be Moved · Invictus # 9092 · USA
Annotation
In the song "Bring the Boys Home" (Invictus # 9092), Freda Payne (born in Detroit, Michigan) emotionally pleaded with the politicians to end the war and send back the soldiers, noting the fathers and mothers left on the home front. It referenced the draft / call of Uncle Sam: "You marched them away...on ships and planes" , and strongly attacked the purpose of the war, calling it "senseless" and "death in vain" . Finally, Payne declared that "enough men have already been...killed" . Influenced by the Philly Soul sound, with strings, the song had an upbeat tone, despite the serious and depressing lyrics, and it reached # 3 on the Billboard R&B charts, and # 12 on the pop charts.…Notes
Invictus Is 9092 (45-10305PA), "Produced & Mixed for Greater & Sharper Sound Reproduction on the Air", mfd. by Invictus Records, Inc.; "Bring the Boys… #253 Change of Pace Bring My Buddies Back 1971 · Single · Bring My Buddies Back / Blood's Much Thicker Than Water · Stone Lady # 6 · USA
Annotation
Soul song called "Bring My Buddies Back" (Stone Lady # SL-006), which had a very similar sound and theme to Freda Payne's Bring the Boys Home - except in this case the plea came from a war veteran, asking the government to end the war and send his friends home. The very first line actually referenced Payne, saying: "Hey Freda, maybe you were right" . The song went on to recall one of his friends dying in Vietnam because of the "lack of doctors" . Not much is know of this group. They probably came from the East Coast - their label Stone Lady was based in New Jersey, founded by David L. Sheffield, who composed this and most of the songs on their album. The members of the group were…Notes
Stone Lady Recording Company SL-006-A, blue label with gold figure logo; "Bring My Buddies Back" (David Sheffield), 3:33; produced by Holmes, Wilson,… #254 Roy C Open Letter to the President 1971 · Single · Got to Get Enough / Open Letter to the President · Alaga # 1006 · USA
Annotation
Soul singer Roy C., born Roy Charles Hammond in Georgia, 1939, pleaded with the US president to end the war in Vietnam, in the protest song "Open Letter to the President" - released in 1971 on the New York label Alaga Records (# 1006) which he founded a year before in 1970. Thus, he presumably addressed his open letter to Richard Nixon, in the White House since January 1969. Roy C. recorded under the name The Honey Drippers, releasing the 1973 single Impeach the President, about Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Earlier in his career he performed in the 1950s group The Genies. In the first two verses of the song Roy C. imagined a world in which there would be "no more fighting in… Notes
Alaga Records AL 1006-B, 45 RPM, compatible stereo, Box 118, Central Station, Jamaica, N.Y. 11345; "Open Letter to the President" (R. Hammond-J. Hines),… #255 Chairmen Of The Board Men Are Getting Scarce 1971 · Single · Men Are Getting Scarce / Bravo, Hooray · Invictus # IS 9103 · USA
Annotation
The song "Men Are Getting Scarce" (Invictus # IS 9103), a hard hitting soul / funk anti-war track by the Detroit group Chairmen of the Board, the first flag-ship band of Invictus - as mentioned above, Holland-Dozier-Holland founded this label after they left Motown Records in 1967. The track started with a spoken-word intro, in which the narrator asked the woman of the world to speak out against the war in order to save the men, otherwise "sons and fathers soon won't exist" . The single featured on the 1972 album Bittersweet (Invictus # ST-9801). On release Billboard included the single in its pop spotlight, noting its "timely material" (6 November 1971).1 A few weeks later, on 27…Notes
Invictus IS 9103 (45-10416PA); "Men Are Getting Scarce" (G. Johnson, G. Perry), total 3:13, Gold Forever Music, Incorporated, BMI; Holland-Dozier-Holland… #256 The Isley Brothers Ohio / Machine Gun 1971 · Album · Givin' It Back · T-Neck # TNS 3008 · USA
Annotation
A lengthy 8-minute social medley of two famous political / social songs of the 60s by two major rock artists - the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song Ohio, about the Kent State demonstrations / killings, and the Jimi Hendrix track Machine Gun. The Isley Brother called the track "Ohio - Machine Gun" (T-Neck Records # TNS 3008). This album of covers included tracks by several white song-writers, and is thus considered important in crossing over racial barriers, appealing to both their established black audience and new white audiences. The "Ohio" part of the song partly covered the lyrics written by Neil Young, the most famous song about the Kent State shootings: "tin soldier I hear… #257 Marvin Gaye What's Happening Brother 1971 · Album · What's Going On · Tamla # STML 11190 · USA
Annotation
Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. In 1962 Gaye had released the single Soldier's Plea, which contained a patriotic message, with the soldier saying that "I'm over here fighting to keep us free" and "we all must do our share" . These… #258 Marvin Gaye What's Going On 1971 · Single · What's Going On / God Is Love · Tamla # T 54201 · USA
Annotation
As discussed above, Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. Note that Gaye also released the Vietnam-related songs Soldier's Plea (1962) and "I Want to Come Home for Christmas" (1972). The song "What's Going On" (Tamla Records # T 54201),… Notes
Tamla T 54201, matrix Q-S5-M5-S6-831M05; "What's Going On" (A. Cleveland-M. Gaye-R. Benson), 3:40, © 1970 Jobete, BMI; Marvin Gaye; "Produced by Marvin… #259–261 Swamp Dogg Rat On 1971 · Album · Elektra # EKS 74089 · USA
All 3 songs from this album in the archive are in this collection
Annotation
Artist background
Soul singer Swamp Dogg, born Jerry Williams, Jr. in 1942 in Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk - a navy seaside town in which the 'Norfolk Sound' soul music developed in the early 1960s. He also recorded under the name Little Jerry Williams. He adopted the name Swamp Dogg in 1970: "I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties" - from the linear notes of the 2005 compilation The Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg. Note that in 1972…Show the full entries ▾ · Release page →
#259 Swamp Dogg Do You Believe 1971 · Album · Rat On · Elektra # EKS 74089 · USA
Annotation
Artist background
Soul singer Swamp Dogg, born Jerry Williams, Jr. in 1942 in Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk - a navy seaside town in which the 'Norfolk Sound' soul music developed in the early 1960s. He also recorded under the name Little Jerry Williams. He adopted the name Swamp Dogg in 1970: "I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties" - from the linear notes of the 2005 compilation The Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg. Note that in 1972… #260 Swamp Dogg God Bless America for What 1971 · Album · Rat On · Elektra # EKS 74089 · USA
Annotation: see “Do You Believe” above (same release).
#261 Swamp Dogg Remember I Said Tomorrow 1971 · Album · Rat On · Elektra # EKS 74089 · USA
Annotation: see “Do You Believe” above (same release).
#262 Jackie Ross Doctor Slap's Man Is Born 1971 · Single · Doctor Slap's Man Is Born / Need Your Love So Bad · USA [Chicago] # 103 · USA
Annotation
The song "Doctor Slap's Man Is Born" (U.S.A. Records # 103), released in 1971, took an anti-war perspective. It told of children been born into a "world twisted and torn...divided, struggling to exist" . The child is taught to love and not kill, yet they are sent "off to war" . It ended with a mother crying "cause her son is dying, killed in a land" . Jackie Ross, born in St. Louis, Missouri (30 January 1946), where she started out as a gospel singer, moved to Chicago, Illinois, in the early 1950s. Ross signed to the famous Chicago blues label Chess Records scoring a hit in 1964 with the single Selfish One.1Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
U.S.A. Records USA 103, also numbered C3005A, stereo, "Produced by U.S.A. Records - Chicago 5, Illinois", with a stars-and-stripes label and a map of the… #263 Delia Gartrell See What You Done Done (Hymn No. 9) 1971 · Single · See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9) / Fight Fire With Fire · Demin-Kalo # JS-2 - JS-3 · USA
Annotation
The 1971 track "See What You Done, Done (Hymn No. 9)" , a raw angry cry against the army and government that sent her son "back to me a stoned junkie… my son died from an overdose... while he was fighting in your war" , an early representative of a Vietnam veteran who became a drug addict. Through highlighting the negative impact of the war, it leans towards the anti-war side.Composed by Atlanta, Georgian soul singer Delia Gartrell and her husband James T. Shaw, otherwise known as The Mighty Hannibal (he also released a Vietnam War song in 1966 with a similar name, but different theme - Hymn No. 5). This Delia Gartrell single, originally released on the obscure Atlanta label Demin-K…
Notes
Original pressing Demin-Kalo JS-2 / JS-3 (1971). Reissued on Right-On Records RRO-109 (RRO 109 A), "A Division of Farem Productions, Inc."; "See What You… #264 Gloria Edwards Something You Couldn't Write About 1971 · Single · Enough of a Woman / Something You Couldn't Write About · Jet Stream # 814 · USA
Annotation
The song "Something You Couldn't Write About" by soul singer Gloria Edwards, released on Huey P. Meaux's Texan label Jet Stream Records (# 814) takes on a very different theme from all the other songs on this list - it tells of a US soldier who had an affair with a Vietnamese woman, producing a child. It is narrated from the soldier's partner in the US, who tells the listener that she "found that picture" of "some slant-eyed woman" and the soldier "holding that darling boy" . This was a similar theme to the Ginger & Jean country song "What's Been Going on in Viet Nam". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Jet Stream Records 814, 45 RPM, matrix JS-GE-4; "Something You Couldn't Write About" (Thomas–McRee–Thomas), 2:39, Crazy Cajun Music, BMI; produced by Huey… #265 Bobby Powell Peace Begins Within 1971 · Single · Peace Begins Within / Question · Whit # W-6908 · USA
Annotation
"Peace Begins Within" (Whit # W-6908), a short mid-tempo R&B song, made a small reference to the conflict: "boys are dying, Vietnam" . The narrator commented that the "folks back home don't give a damn" . Powell, born 1941, came from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Starting out as a gospel singer in the 1950s, he switched to a more R&B / funk sound in the 60s, releasing some moderately successful singles, such as C.C. Rider which topped the R&B charts in 1965. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Whit W-6908 (SL-1837), Side 1, pink label with alphabet-block logo; "Peace Begins Within" (LeFevre - Vanable - Bailey - Burrell - Daughtry), time 2:32,… #266 Sonny Green Jody's on the Run 1971 · Single · Jody's on the Run / If You Want Me to Keep on Loving You · Hill # H-777 · USA
Annotation
The blues/jazz influenced soul track "Jody's on the Run" (Hill Records # H-777) by Sonny Green, obviously took on the Jody theme - in which a man stole the wife / girlfriend of a soldier - as discussed with Johnnie Taylor's "Jody Got Your Girl and Gone". Unlike the Taylor track, this one actually referenced the war, with the narrator telling the listener that a "fellow is back from 'Nam" . The soldier knew what was going on, and so now the narrator tells "Jody" that "he's looking for you with his gun" , and so "you better run home Jody" . The song was released on Matt Hill's Californian label Hill. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Hill Records H-777 A, blue label with silver print, 4224 E. Rosecrans, Compton, Calif.; "Jody's on the Run" (Miles Grayson; Bobby Lexing), Respect Music… #267 Bobby Patterson Right On Jody 1971 · Single · Right On Jody / If You Took A Survey · Paula # 352 · USA
Annotation
Texan soul singer / producer Bobby Patterson also released a Jody themed track, "Right on Jody" (Paula Records # 352). In this one the narrator has been doing a lot of overtime at work, as requested by his foreman, and so he starts to get suspicious that "Jody's been sleeping in my back door" , and that it might be the case that "the foreman is Jody" . The narrator then sends out a warning to everybody, that Jody is "in your town...on your street" , and that it might be your neighbour or friend. The song concluded with a warning to the soldiers in South-East Asia: "you fellows over in Vietnam - watch out for Jody" . Bobby Patterson produced many R&B singers, such as Chuck Jackson, Ted…Notes
Paula 352 (SL-1855), Side One; "Right On, Jody" (J. Strickland, J. Beach, R. Bell), 3:12, Rogan-Jetstar, BMI; produced by Bobby Patterson; engineer George… #268 The Gospelettes Tribute in Prayer 1971 · Single · Tribute in Prayer / Lift the Savior Up · Designer # 45-6922 · USA
Credited on the record as The Gospelettes featuring Leroy Wadlington.
Annotation
The Gospelettes released the song "Tribute in Prayer" (Designer # 45-6922), sung by Leroy Wodlington (who also received the writing credit) - born in Oxford, Mississippi in 1951. He started out as a musician and deacon, and is currently the Pastor of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Indiana.1 This song actually has identical lyrics to "Tribute in Prayer (From a Soldier in Viet Nam)" by Rev. Oris Mays, who got the writing credit on that record - so there is a discrepancy over who wrote the song. Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Designer 45-6922 (SW71-6170 / A4KM-6170), yellow label; "Tribute in Prayer" (Leroy Wadlington), Pretty Girl Music Co., B.M.I., 2:08; The Gospelettes… #269 The Dynamic Hughes Gospel Singers Viet Nam 1971 · Single · Beautiful City / Viet Nam · Designer # 6913 · USA
Credited on the record as The Dynamic Hughes Gospel Singers featuring Jerry Hughes.
Annotation
Another Civil Rights / Vietnam track, "Viet Nam" (Designer # 6913) by the Dynamic Hughes Gospel Singers, which came out of Memphis, Tennessee, noted that "in Vietnam" people were "fighting together to save the nation" , whether black or white. Therefore, why was there continued racial conflict in the US? The narrator cried out at the end of the song: "no more segregation in this land" . Interesting to note that it contained patriotic sentiment: "fighting together to save the nation" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Designer 45/6913 (SW71-5978, A4KM-5979), gold label; "Viet Nam" (Hughes & Griffin), 2:37, Pretty Girl Music Co., B.M.I.; produced by Style Wooten &… #270 Count Rockin' Sidney Bury the Hatchet 1971 · Single · Bury the Hatchet / Back Door Man · Bold [Lake Charles] # 1006 · USA
Annotation
The song "Bury the Hatchet" (Bold # 1006) took an anti-war stance. The narrator said that it was time to "shake hands" and that the country needed to "make peace today" . He described the conflict as a "cruel war" and wondered "how long" it would last. It was sung by Rockin' Sidney - born Sidney J. Simien, in Louisianna, in 1938, he also went under the name Count Rockin' Sidney. Many of his songs fitted into the Zydeco genre of southwest Louisiana that mixed R&B with jazz and blues, often using an accordion. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Bold 1006 (LH-8441), 45 RPM, 2112 Elder St., Lake Charles, La. 70601; "Bury the Hatchet" (Sidney J. Simien), Tek Pub., BMI, 3:05; "A Sid Sim Production".… #271 Sylvia Robinson Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?) 1971 · Single · "Lieutenant" (Had Any Lately?) · Stang # ST-5027 · USA
Credited on the record as Mother of Three.
Annotation
The soulful track "Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?)" (Stang Records # ST-5027), out of New Jersey, took an anti-war line and condemned Calley - one of the few to do so. This record is performed by Sylvia Robinson. A year earlier she released the single "Have You Had Any Lately" (Stang # 5015) - the same melody and with almost identical lyrics, without the Calley references, written by Robinson.1 Robinson did in fact have three children.2 The song later appeared on the 1973 album Pillow Talk (Vibration Records # VI-126). The structure of the verses, formed by repeating questions ('how long' and 'how many') took a similarly effective approach to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" - the… Notes
Stang Records, "a div. of All Platinum Enterprises", ST-5027-A (ST-12011-GM-RE), 45 rpm; "'Lieutenant' (Had Any Lately?)" (Mother), 2:58, published by… #272 Lou Jackson Peace to You Brother 1971 · Single · Spring # SPR 110 · USA
Notes
- Soul, peace song, Civil Rights message- Vietnam-era - forget about the war and greed
- Spring Records SPR 110 (SPR 110 B), 45 RPM stereo, "DJ Copy – Not…
#273 Laurel Canyon Stand and Be Counted 1971 · Single · Stand and Be Counted / Don't Let the Morning Pass · New Design # ZS7 1001 · USA
Notes
Stand and Be Counted (Laurel Canyon) Soul / funk. Anti-war, protest, civil rights.
Send our men to war so they get richer and we get poorer.
So stand and…
Notes
New Design Records ZS7 1001 (JZS7 1001-1), white label with pink triangle, marked "Promotional Copy"; "Stand and Be Counted" (A. Miles - B. Mardones - G.… #274 Chambers Brothers New Generation 1971 · Single · New Generation / When the Evening Comes · Columbia # 4-45394 · USA
Credited on the record as Chamber Brothers.
Notes
Columbia 4-45394 (JZSP 154877), 45 rpm promotional pressing marked "Not for resale – Radio station copy"; "New Generation" (J. Chambers – C. LaMarr),… #275 William Garvin Bring Them Home 1971 · Single · Bring Them Home / Set My Spirit Free · Will # Will 003 · USA
Notes
Soul, anti-war, home front / soldier's perspective.Some of our loved ones have not come home.
Remember the boys who are still there.
Appeal to Congress and…
Notes
Aka: Rev. Will Garvin Will Records 003, Side 1, P.O. Box 3272, Hollywood, Calif. 90028, blue and red label; "Bring Them Home" (William Garvin), 3:05,… #276 The Sensational Saints My Brother 1971 · Single · My Brother / Walk Through the Valley · Bos # B-015 · USA
Notes
Bos Records B-015-A (B-7150-A), 1966 E. 55th St. Cleveland, O., tan label; "My Brother" (M. Kenniebrew), Outwaite Pub. BMI 1971, 2:45; arranger Melvin… #277 The Five Blind Boys of Alabama The War In Viet Nam 1971 · Album · The Five Blind Boys of Alabama · HOB # HBX 2136 · USA
#278 Zuma The High Life of Death 1971 · Single · Hot Pants / The High Life Of Death · Maridene # M-108 · USA
Notes
High Life of Death, The (Zuma) Teen pop, soul from Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
Soldier boy type song - sweetheart hears of soldier's death.
He was in Vietnam…
Notes
7" 45 RPM. Published By – Softcharay Music. Label Maridene Records is a 1960s-1970s label from Fort Worth, Texas (P.O. Box 10088 Ft. Worth, Texas 76114;… #279 Alex Bradford Letter to the U.N. (Make the World Safe Again) 1971 · Single · Letter to the U.N. (Make the World Safe Again) / Sunday Mo'Nin · Cotillion # 7600 · USA
Notes
Cotillion 7600 (CO-20829-PL), "Religious Series", vocal; "Letter to the U.N. (Make the World Safe Again)" (Alex Bradford), 3:20, Pub. Brad-Pathway,… #280 The Rock (Charlie, Brother) We Got to Love One Another 1971 · Single · Charlie, Brother, We Got to Love One Another / (Don't Abuse) Your Faithful Love · Scorpio # S-101 · USA
Notes
The Rock - (Charlie, Brother) We Got to Love One AnotherSoul / funk
Notes
Scorpio Records S-101, 45 RPM, green label with scorpion logo; "(Charlie, Brother) We Got to Love One Another" (Andre Williams-D. Malone), Don Music Co.,… #281 Marvin Gaye Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) 1971 · Single · Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) / Wholy Holy · Tamla # T 54209 F · USA
Notes
"send that boy off to die" .Also poverty, inflation, crime, police violence.
Shorter version than album
Motown
Notes
Tamla T 54209F, © 1971, matrix 905M10; "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (M. Gaye, J. Nyx), Jobete Music Co. Inc., BMI, time 2:58; produced by… #282 Eugene McDaniels Tell Me Mr. President 1971 · Single · Atlantic # 45-2805 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Tell Me Mr. President (McDaniels) Soul - political themes:
civil rights, war and peace, demonstrations, poverty, pollution.
References the death of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), and Robert F. Kennedy (RFK).
Born 12 February 1935, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
Died 29 July 2011, Kittery Point, Maine, USA
Member of The Admirals & The Sultans in 1950s, a Omaha, Nebraska group.1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Atlantic 45-2805, matrix A-21821 SP, mono, 45 R.P.M., vocal; "Tell Me Mr. President" (G. Lewis), time 3:17, Pub. Cotillion, BMI; Eugene McDaniels,… #283 Gil Scott-Heron & Pretty Purdie Artificialness 1971 · Single · Funky Mozart / Artificialness · Mega # 615-0065 · USA
Credited on the record as Pretty Purdie and the Playboys, narration: Gil Scott-Heron.
Notes
Artificialness (Purdie, Pretty & Gil Scott-Heron) Jazz funk, protest, Nixon
Dear Nixon - wife has left me. I am a victim of the Vietnam War.
In the DM…
Notes
Mega 615-0065 (M2PM-1472), mono "Promo Copy"; "Artificialness" (Scott-Heron-Purdie), 3:05 (intro time 0:02), credited to Pretty Purdie and the Playboys… #284 The Stairsteps Peace Is Gonna Come 1971 · Single · Peace Is Gonna Come / Didn't It Look So Easy · Buddah # BDA 213 · USA
Notes
Peace Is Gonna Come (Stairsteps, The) "You've got to push, pray, stick up for what you might believe"
Notes
Buddah Records BDA 213 (BUD 5439), multicoloured psychedelic label; "Peace Is Gonna Come" (Stan Vincent), time 3:18, Sleeping Sun/Kama Sutra, BMI;… #285 Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band Express Yourself II 1971 · Album · You're So Beautiful · Warner Bros. # WS 1904 · USA
Notes
Express Yourself II (Wright, Charles & The Watts) Let's Make Love Not War (Wright, Charles & The Watts)
#286 Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band Let's Make Love Not War 1971 · Album · You're So Beautiful · Warner Bros. # WS 1904 · USA
Annotation: see “Express Yourself II” above (same release).
#287 The Relatives Speak to Me 1971 · Single · Walking On / Speak to Me · Lewis # L2805 · USA
#288 The Dixie Drifter Let the Soul Roll On Pt. I 1971 · Single · Let the Soul Roll On · Archives # AR 1-68 · USA
Credited on the record as The Dixie Drifter with Black River Junction.
Notes
Let the Soul Roll On Pt. I (Dixie Drifter, The) (Part II an instrumental).
Born Enoch Hawthorne Gregory (13 December 1936 - April 2000) in Hertford,…
Notes
White "For the Archives Recording Co." scroll-logo label, record no. AR 1-68 A / B, "A Black River Production", Black River Music BMI; "Let the Soul Roll… #289 The Dixie Drifter Let the Soul Roll On Pt. II 1971 · Single · Let the Soul Roll On · Archives # AR 1-68 · USA
Credited on the record as The Dixie Drifter with Black River Junction.
Annotation: see “Let the Soul Roll On Pt. I” above (same release).
#290 The Naturals Young Generation 1971 · Single · I Can't Share You / Young Generation · Calla # C-181 · USA
Notes
Calla Records, 17 West 60th St., New York, C-181 (side C-181-B); "Young Generation", 2:45, Jamf Mus. Corp. & Nardaq Publ. Co., BMI; arranged by William… #291 Tom Clay The Victors 1971 · Single · What the World Needs Now Is Love · MoWest # MW5002F · USA
Notes
What the World Needs Now Is Love / Abraham, Martin and John (Clay, Tom) Victor (Clay, Tom)
Soul. Motown sub-label MoWest - Los Angeles, California, USA.
…
Notes
MoWest MW 5002 F, sunset-over-the-sea label, "A trademark of Motown Record Corporation", © 1971; both sides "In Album MW-103L 'What the World Needs Now'"… #292 Tom Clay What the World Needs Now Is Love - Abraham, Martin and John 1971 · Single · What the World Needs Now Is Love · MoWest # MW5002F · USA
Annotation: see “The Victors” above (same release).
#293 Helen Hollins Singers Sad Sad (War Is) 1971 · Single · Sad Sad (War Is) / Deliverance · HOB # 1355 · USA
Notes
HOB 1355 (S 71232 A), "HOB Is Gospel" sunburst label; "Sad Sad (War Is)" (Milton Hollins), 3:08, Our Children's Music/BMI; produced by John Bowden;… #294 The Soul Full Garner Singers When This War Is Over 1971 · Single · When This War Is Over / I Can't Hold My Peace · Public # APP-V-A5 · USA
Notes
Pressed by Precision Record Pressing, Inc. Label matrix: PRP-31311 (A) / PRP-31312 (B). #295 The Undisputed Truth Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) 1971 · Single · Ball of Confusion / You Make Your Own Heaven · Gordy # G 7112F · USA
Notes
Gordy G 7112F (N-01-N-851805), purple-and-yellow label; "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" (N. Whitfield, B. Strong), time 7:03, © 1970… #296 Jesse Anderson Women's Liberation 1971 · Single · Women's Liberation / Ow, Wow Man · Outta Cyte # GB 100-71 · USA
Notes
Women's Liberation (Anderson, Jesse) Soul / funk, Chicago Illinois, USA
I support equality, let then have freedom
Like to see a captain of a ship to the…
Notes
Red Outta Cyte Records label, Chicago, Ill., GB 100-71 (TM 5099); "Women's Liberation" (G. Barge - J. Anderson), 2:47, Sabarco Music, B.M.I.; Gene Barge… #297 Love Generation Love for Everybody 1971 · Single · Mega # 615-0087 · Germany
Notes
- Formed 1969, München, Bayern, Germany. Disbanded 1978- West Germany
- US issue on MEGA in 1972, original released in Germany in 1971
- Generic peace…
#298 The Fourth Room Vote 1971 · Single · Vote / You Better Do Right · McQ # 1100 · USA
Notes
Expansion of the franchse for the 1972 election for 18 year olds McQ MCQ 1100 (McQ 1100 A), 45 RPM stereo; "Vote" (Ed Labunski), 3:14, Bunko Music, ASCAP;… #299 Troy Keyes If I Had My Way 1971 · Single · If I Had My Way / If I Had My Way (Instrumental) · VMP # VMP 109 · USA
Notes
- Soul, peace, anti-war, Civil Rights- Why so many men go far away to die?
- People should live as one
- Brothers and sisters under one sun
- VMP 109/110…
#300 The Violinaires Groovin' With Jesus 1971 · Album · Checker # CK 10067 · USA
Notes
Checker CK 10067, stereo LP, Chess Producing Corp., Chicago, 1971; A1 "Grooving With Jesus" (Benny Swartz, Gene Barge; Heavy Music Inc. / Sabarco Pub.,…1972
- 10 March: 101st Airbourne division withdrawn from Vietnam.
- March: North Vietnamese launch Eastertide Offensive.
- 4 April: "Freedom Train" begins - major US bombing of North Vietnam.
- 15 April: US Bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong harbor.
- 9 May: Beginning of Operation Linebacker: mass bombing of North Vietnam.
- 22 May: Nixon meets Brezhnev in Russia.
- 17 June: Watergate break-in.
- 14 July: George McGovern becomes Democratic presidential nominee.
- 7 November: Richard Nixon re-elected US president.
- 23 August: Last US combat troops leave Vietnam.
- 18 December: Operation Linebacker II ("Christmas Bombings").
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
In the election year 1972 the majority of Vietnam War soul records expressed a strong desire for peace, as mentioned in the track titles by Curtis Mayfield ("We Got to Have Peace") and The O'Jays ("Peace"). The Impressions not only wanted to "stop the war", but also wished to "get Nixon out of office". Lou Rawls also focused on Nixon, saying that "the politician..I don't believe him" when he "tells me peace is near". Likewise Parliament looked at contradictory statements by politicians, singing that the "president’s talkin' 'bout change", yet the war continued to make "widows of the sweethearts". Gil Scott-Heron, reflecting on all the death, thought that "this can't be real". Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul viewed Vietnam as a "whole lot of trouble". Terry Callier criticised all the "children dying in their daddy's war", while Ernie Hines said that "this killing's gotta cease". Marvin Gaye's unissued Christmas song made a small anti-war remark, calling on people to "stop this fight".
A couple more jody tracks appeared, from Ann Sexton ("You've Been Gone Too Long") and Bobby Newsome ("Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes"), both dealing with the wives and girlfriends of soldiers back home.
A few songs turned their attention to the veterans, home from Vietnam. In the song by Charles Smith and Jeff Cooper, the soldier, "home from Vietnam", recalled the horrors of war. Swamp Dogg told of a veteran who turned to drugs: "morphine eased his pain". Winfield Parker sung about a veteran who was searching hard for a lady, because "there ain't no soul sisters over in Vietnam". But the soldier in the Barbara Stant song "That Man of Mine" did not return, as "on Hamburger he died". His wife "was so proud" to receive the medals.
Finally, Marvin Gaye narrated a Christmas song from a "prisoner of war" - a topic which appeared more frequently in the early 1970s as the war drew to a close.
1972
#301 Ann Sexton You've Been Gone Too Long 1972 · Single · You've Been Gone Too Long / You're Letting Me Down · Seventy 7 # 77-104 · USA
Credited on the record as Ann Sexton and the Soul Masters.
Annotation
The song "You've Been Gone Too Long" (Seventy 7 Records # 77-104), a highly sought-after record by Northern Soul collectors - this issue usually sells for around $100. Even more collectible is the original issue on Impel (# SS-AS-103), which sells for around $500-$1000, as of late 2012 - see "You've Been Gone Too Long" . Ann Sexton, born Mary Burton in 1950, in Greenville, South Carolina, fronted a soul group called both "The Masters of Soul" and "The Soul Masters". In 1971 she met soul producer / singer-songwriter David Lee, who also owned a record shop in Shelby, NC, called Washington Sound. Out of this shop, was based Lee's label Impel, which released this song. It gained…Notes
Seventy 7 Records, Record No. 77-104 (SS 108), "Division of J R Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 6128, Nashville, Tennessee 37212"; "You've Been Gone Too Long"… #302 Curtis Mayfield We Got to Have Peace 1972 · Single · We Got to Have Peace / Love to Keep You in My Mind · Curtom # CR 1968 · USA
Annotation
Mayfield released the song "We Got to Have Peace" (Curtom Records # CR 1968) on his own record label Curtom, which he founded with Eddie Thomas in 1967. It reached # 32 in the Billboard R&B chart on 4 March 1972.1 Like the The Impressions song "Don't Cry My Love", this also contained several possible references to Civil Rights, such as "meet and shake the other's hand...give us all an equal chance" . As suggested in the title, the main theme centred on bringing the war to an end, with the narrator noting the dead soldiers, and wishing that "we could bring back one" of them. The song also emphasized the importance of peace. Sources
Annotation by Justin A.…
Notes
Curtom CR 1968 (CR 1968 A), yellow "We're a Winner" label; "We Got to Have Peace" (Curtis Mayfield), 3:33, Curtom Pub., BMI, from the LP "Roots" CRS 8009;… #303 The O'Jays Peace 1972 · Single · Don't You Know a True Love / Peace · Astroscope # AS-110 · USA
Credited on the record as Ojay's.
Annotation
From Canton, Ohio, the group formed in 1958, with all the original members still teenagers at school, under the age of seventeen. The core of the group featured Eddie Levert (vocals - born Bessemer, Alabama) and Walter Williams (vocals - born in Canton, OH). Also in the group at various times: Bill Isles (vocals, 1958-65), Bobby Massey (vocals, 1958-71), William Powell (vocals, 1958-76), Sam Strain (vocals, 1977-93), Nathaniel Best (vocals, 1993-97), and Eric Nolan Grant (vocals, 1997-present). They developed a Philly soul sound - string and horn instrumental arrangements, and funk influences. The spent much of their career on the Cleveland, OH soul scene.1 The song "Peace" (Astros…Notes
Astroscope AS-110B (AS-112), label with zodiac sign names round the rim; "Peace" (Bradford Craig, H. B. Barnum), time 4:55, Hidle, BMI; credited to… #304 The Impressions Stop the War 1972 · Album · Times Have Changed · Curtom # CRS 8012 · USA
Annotation
The track "Stop the War" (Curtom Records # CRS 8012) featured on this 1972 album, another Vietnam song by the Impressions, composed by Mayfield. As suggested by the title, this took a blatant anti-war perspective. The group sung that it is hard to fight the war "when we are wrong" . About mid way through the song, they started repeating (over and over) the mantra: "hell no we won't go, stop the war" - a powerful statement resisting the draft and demanding action from the politicians, often chanted at demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s. At the end of the song, a male vocalist whispered that he wanted to "change the Administration" and that "we got to get Nixon out of office" -… #305 Lou Rawls The Politician 1972 · Single · Walk on In / The Politician · MGM # K 14428 · USA
Annotation
Lou Rawls, born in Chicago, Illinois (1 December 1933), he grew up on Chicago's South Side. Son of a minister, he started out as a gospel singer, featuring in the group the The Highway QC's (1951-53). He had a teenage association with Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, and The Dells. In the 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, California, joining the gospel group The Pilgrim Travelers. He later developed a smooth soul vocal sound. He annually ran a telethon, from 1979, for the United Negro College Fund raising millions for former African-American universities and colleges. He died in Los Angeles (6 January 2006).12 The song "The Politician" (MGM Records # K 14428), released as a single in… Notes
MGM Records K 14428 (72 L 4101); "The Politician" (Mac Davis), Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Inc., BMI, 3:13; "From the forthcoming MGM Album SE 4861 'A Man… #306 Ernie Hines Our Generation 1972 · Album · Electrified · We Produce # XPS-1902 · USA
Annotation
Ernie Hines, a southern soul singer born in Mississippi in 1938, started out in the gospel field. He moved to Chicago, were he played his songs with an electric guitar and featured on local radio stations and Soul Train, a television program.1 He released the song "Our Generation" (We Produce Records # XPS-1902) which opposed the war in Vietnam. In the chorus he sung the overall theme of the song: "hope of the world is in our generation, it's all left up to us to change this present situation" . He then went on to call for an end to the war, and specifically mentioned Vietnam in the final line. Hines did not have much crossover success, although this album did receive a mention in B… #307 Parliament Come in Out of the Rain 1972 · Single · Come in Out of the Rain / Little Ole Country Boy · Invictus # IS-9123 · USA
Annotation
The song "Come in Out of the Rain" (Invictus # 9123), the first of several Vietnam songs by George Clinton - with Funkadelic he released March to the Witch's Castle (1973) and The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981). This track looked at the contradictions between the statements of politicians and the reality. Richard Nixon, in the White House from January 1969, said that he wanted to end the Vietnam War in the 1968 election campaign, but by his November 1972 re-election, the war continued, at the cost of another 30,000 lives. As the narrator tells the listener, the "president’s talkin' 'bout change", however, the government / army were still "makin' widows of the sweethearts…Notes
Label credits 'C. Wilson, R. Copeland'; produced by George Clinton and Ruth Copeland. Label text: 'Produced & Mixed for Greater & Sharper Sound… #308 Gil Scott-Heron Did You Hear What They Said? 1972 · Album · Free Will · Flying Dutchman # FD-10153 · USA
Annotation
In the song "Did You Hear What They Said?" , released on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label (# FD-10153), Scott-Heron focused on the impact of the war on the families of soldiers fighting the war. The narrator told of hearing about a soldier "shot in his head" , and that someone said it was in order to "save his country" . But a mother cried "cause her only son was dead" . So Scott-Heron, horrified by this scenario, said "come on, this can't be real" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#309 Barbara Stant That Man of Mine 1972 · Single · That Man of Mine / Shadow in Your Footsteps · Shiptown # 203275-6 · USA
Annotation
Barbara Stant, a soul and gospel singer from Norfolk, Virginia recorded a bunch of 45s in the 1960s/70s on the local label Shiptown, founded by Noah Biggs. In the song "That Man of Mine" (Shiptown # 203275), the narrator told of her husband who went to fight in Vietnam but "on Hamburger he died" - a reference to 'The Battle of Hamburger Hill', that took place in May 1969 between the US / South Vietnamese forces against the North Vietnamese. 72 Americans were killed in action (KIA), and 372 wounded in action (WIA). The US claimed 630 North Vietnamese died.1 A film was made about this battle in 1987 - Hamburger Hill.The theme of this song is very similar to the well-known 1970…
Notes
Shiptown 203,275, 45 RPM, orange label with ship's-wheel design; "That Man of Mine" (Jessie Jones), 2:59, publishing NimBig, BMI; Barbara Stant; A. & R.… #310 Charles Smith and Jeff Cooper Glad to Be Home 1972 · Single · My Great Loss (Ashes to Ashes) / Glad to Be Home · Seventy 7 # 106 · USA
Annotation
The song "Glad to Be Home" told the story of a veteran "just home from Vietnam" . Composed by Charles Smith, and performed by Smith and Jeff Cooper on the Nashville, Tennessee label Seventy 7 Records (# 106). It was actually recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, produced by Dewey Vandiver, Warren Pratt, & Oscar Frank. The soldier told of "sitting in my foxhole, on a dark and rainy night" . Meanwhile, "bullets and shells were falling" . The soldier knew "somebody's son had died" , and so he was grateful "to be home again" . This song represented both war conditions and its impact on a veteran. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Seventy 7 Records 106 (JR 112), yellow label; "Glad to Be Home" (C. William Smith 100%), 2:56, Cape Ann Music, BMI & Blue Dawn Music, BMI; produced at… #311 Winfield Parker Starvin' 1972 · Single · Starvin' / 28 Ways (She Loves Me) · Spring # SPR 126 · USA
Annotation
The song "Starvin" (Spring Records # SPR 126) by Winfield Parker (born 21 June 1942, Cooksville, Maryland), is a funk / soul song about a man returning to the US from Vietnam. He is desperately seeking a woman's love because "there ain't no soul sisters over in Vietnam" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Spring Records SPR 126 (SPR 126 A) (1119), 2066 212, green and white label; "Starvin'" (Phill Hurtt-Bunny Sigler), Assorted Music (BMI), time 2:52;… #312 Bobby Newsome Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes 1972 · Single · Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes / Post Office · Spring # SPR 125 · USA
Annotation
Another "Jody" track - "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" (Spring Records # SPR 125) - this one also does not mention war or soldiers, only that a man has "been gone for a month" , during which time Jody stole his wife. This drove the husband slightly crazy, whose been going around "with a 38 in his hand" . The song sent out a warning that "you never know who Jody is...could be the milkman...the mailman too" and even "your very best friend" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Spring Records SPR 125 (SPR-125 A), 2066 201 (1117), green and white label; "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" (Bobby Newsome), Groovesville Music, BMI,… #313 Joe Quarterman (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind Pt. 1 1972 · Single · (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2) · GSF # 6879 · USA
Credited on the record as Joe Quarterman and Free Soul.
Annotation
American funk and soul singer Sir Joe Quarterman, from Washington D.C., released the song "(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind (Parts 1 & 2)" (GSF Records # 6879) - one of those troubles was the Vietnam War: "there is evolution, much confusion...Vietnam War...trouble in my mind" . The other issues concerning the narrator were drug addiction in schools, and his girlfriend was pregnant. At the end of song he noted those overseas "fighting over in Vietnam" , who have a "whole lot of trouble" . The song also appeared on the 1973 album Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul (GSF Records # GSF-S-1009). The song peaked at # 30 on the Billboard R&B chart on 6 January 1973. Annotation by Justin A.…
Notes
GSF Records 6879, "A subsidiary of G S F Inc.", GSF Records Inc., New York, N.Y. 10019, made in USA, ℗ 1972 GSF Records, Inc.; Side A "(I Got) So Much… #314 Joe Quarterman (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind Pt. 2 1972 · Single · (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2) · GSF # 6879 · USA
Credited on the record as Joe Quarterman and Free Soul.
Annotation: see “(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind Pt. 1” above (same release).
#315 Terry Callier Ho Tsing Mee (A Song Of The Sun) 1972 · Album · What Color Is Love · Cadet # CA 50019 · USA
Annotation
Terry Callier released the genre crossing album What Color is Love (Cadet Records # CA 50019) in 1972, a fusion of soul, jazz, blues, and folk. Produced by Charles Stepney of the Chess / Cadet labels, he developed a psychedelic orchestral soul sound, employed on this album. There is a spiritual undertone to this album, along with love ballads and many social / political references, such as poverty, ghettos, war, and junkies. Callier recorded the album at the RCA studios in Chicago, Illinois - the city of Callier's birth (1945-2012), and where he lived. He had a childhood association with Curtis Mayfield, wrote a song for The Dells, and toured with Gil Scott-Heron and George Benson… #316 Swamp Dogg Sam Stone 1972 · Single · Sam Stone / Knowing I'm Pleasing Me and You · Cream # 1021 · USA
Annotation
Soul singer Swamp Dogg, born Jerry Williams, Jr. in 1942 in Portsmouth, Virginia, across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk - a navy seaside town in which the 'Norfolk Sound' soul music developed in the early 1960s. He also recorded under the name Little Jerry Williams. He adopted the name Swamp Dogg in 1970: "I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties" - from the linear notes of the 2005 compilation The Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg.1 In 1971 he released the politically…Notes
Cream 1021 (CR-131-S), stereo, Bennett Ent. Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.; "Sam Stone" (J. Prine), Walden Music/Sourgrapes Music (ASCAP), 3:57; produced and… #317 Marvin Gaye I Want to Come Home for Christmas 1972 · Archival · Unreleased · Not On Label · USA
Annotation
As discussed above, Marvin Gaye, born in Washington D.C. (2 April 1939), helped shape the sound of the Detroit-based Motown Records in the 1960s, and thus he became one of the most influential soul singers of the era. In the early 1970s with the album What's Going On, which included the Vietnam War songs "What's Happening Brother" and "What's Going On" , he worked on his own production, breaking away from the Motown team. It introduced the concept album to R&B, while it contained innovative music, using gospel, jazz, soul, and classical orchestration, as the songs flowed seamlessly together. Note that Gaye also released the Vietnam-related song Soldier's Plea (1962).In 1972 Marvin…
#318 Edwin Starr Who Is the Leader of the People 1972 · Single · Who Is the Leader of the People / Don't Tell Me I'm Crazy · Soul # S 35100 · USA
Notes
Soul protest against politicians, 1972 election, Vietnam-eraMotown subsidiary
Notes
Producers and arrangers: Dino Fekaris, Nick Zesses; horns arranged by David Van DePitte. Published by Jobete Music Co., Inc. (ASCAP). Label: Side A (c)… #319 Beaufort Express Here I Come 1972 · Single · Here I Come / You Got to Do Your Best · Priscilla # SPR 1001 · USA
Notes
"Here I Come" Notes
Priscilla SPR 1001 (side SPR 1001 B), green label; "Here I Come" (Pazant Bros.), 3:16, Beaufort Exp. Music Pub. Corp. BMI; produced by George Davis;… #320 Gary Grande We've Got the Vote Now 1972 · Single · We've Got the Vote Now / You're Still His Woman · Jamie # 1401 · USA
Credited on the record as Gary Grande and the New Brass Revolution.
Notes
Jamie Records 1401 (J-GGR-1), red and black label marked "Plug Side", "Promotion Copy" and "Not For Sale"; "We've Got the Vote Now" (Gary Grande), 2:11,… #321 Swamp Dogg Sam Stone 1972 · Single · Sam Stone / Knowing I'm Pleasing Me and You · Cream # 1021 · USA
Notes
Cream 1021 (CR-131-S), stereo, Bennett Ent. Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.; "Sam Stone" (J. Prine), Walden Music/Sourgrapes Music (ASCAP), 3:57; produced and… #322 The Rance Allen Group See What You Have Done 1972 · Truth Is Where It's At · Gospel Truth # GTS-2709 · USA
Notes
See What You Done (Rance Allen Group, The) #323 Royal Jesters Sing a Song for Peace 1972 · Single · Sing a Song for Peace / Manning Ave · Optimum # OP-106 · USA
Annotation
From San Antonio, Texas, USA, the Royal Jesters were a Mexican-American group combining doo-wop, pop, and soul, led by Oscar Lawson and Henry Hernandez, which they founded when in high school at the age of 15. They later founded the record label Optimum Records in San Antonio, to release their music. The organist, Luvine Elias Jr., said that the group "were the first Hispanics that actually did doo-wop".123 The track "Sing a Song of Peace" (Optimum Records # OP-106) was a generic Vietnam-era peace song, with an additional Civil Rights message, calling on people to live together, and that a "change is gonna come" . Sources
Notes
Optimum Records OP-106-A, 162 Marlena Dr., San Antonio, Tex.; "Sing a Song for Peace" (Al Garcia), Neptune Music, 2:59; Royal Jesters, violins by Tieber… #324 Arthur Alexander Mr. John 1972 · Single · Mr. John / You Got Me Knockin' · Warner Bros. # WB 7633 · USA
Notes
Soul, home front perspective, K.I.A.Here to tell your daughter her man was shot down in the war.
Here's the ring you wouldn't let him give her.
Can I see…
Notes
Producer Tommy Cogbill; engineer Jim Williamson. 'A Kondo Production'. ℗ 1972 Warner Bros. Records Inc. Discogs 5006694 is the promo ('Promotion Not For… #325 The Eight Minutes Time for a Change 1972 · Single · Oh Yes I Do / Time For A Change · Jay Pee # 125 · USA
Notes
7" 45 RPM mono. Conductor, Arranged By – Jim Porter; Producer – 'Jay Pee' (Jim Porter); Written-By – J. Porter. Recorded at P.S. Recording Studios.… #326 Godfrey Daniel Woodstock 1972 · Single · Woodstock / Dance to the Music · Atlantic # 45-2881 · USA
Notes
Soul version of Joni Mitchel song. Peace.Notes
Atlantic 45-2881 (A-23558 SP), 45 R.P.M., vocal, "Plug Side" promotional label; "Woodstock" (Joni Mitchell), 3:02, Pub. Siquomb, BMI; arranged by Andy… #327 Carl Carlton The Generation Gap 1972 · Single · Where Have You Been (All of My Life) / The Generation Gap · Back Beat # 624 · USA
Notes
Soul, new generation, trying to be understood.Need better communication.
Generic 60s Vietnam-era
Notes
B-side credited 'D. Malone', produced by Jay Wellington. A-side by Sigler, Dozier, Hurtt, produced by Gene Dozier. Publishers: Assorted Music, Don Music… #328 Loyce Cotton Everybody Wants to Be the President 1972 · Single · Try It, You'll Like It / Everybody Wants to Be the President · Aquarius # 1003 · USA
Notes
Soul protest, Civil Rights, anti-warCan you stop the war and bring peace into the world?
Will you hear the cry of the ghetto?
Will you bring inflation under…
Notes
B-side.Label text: 'Prod. & Dist. By Pope Records'; 'Recorded At Nashville Sound, 9717 Jensen Dr., Houston, Tex. 77016'. Published by HouTex Pub. Co.…
#329 Angels of Joy Mr. President 1972 · Single · Mr. President / Don't Let the Devil Fool You · Gospel Corner # GC-45-149 · USA
Notes
Mr. PresidentSoul / gospel - plea to the president, "don't need world war three".
Mothers crying across the world - how long?
Also says jobs are so hard to…
Notes
Gospel Corner Records GC-45-149. A promo/reissue pressing (Discogs 18322159) shows distribution by Kent Gospel Records, publisher Lil-Etta Music (BMI).… #330 Lucky Peterson Daddy Come Home for Christmas 1972 · Single · Daddy Come Home For Christmas / Florene · Today # T-1517 · USA
Notes
- Soul, Christmas, Child- please come home daddy
- 3 years since you went away
- My mama don't understand, doing best she can
- It does not mention war,…
#331 Bill Perry Things Have Got to Change 1972 · Single · Things Have Got to Change / Got to Make Her Mine · Enrica # 1022 · USA
Notes
- Released in New York, USA. Soul- Draft, Civil Rights, protest
- Fought in a hard war
- Many brothers died, but not treated how we should be
- Not free in…
#332 Calvary Spiritual Singers Power 1972 · Single · Power / Joy Of My Life · National Progressive Sounds # 101 · USA
Notes
Power (Calvary Spiritual Singers)Notes
Label: National Progressive Sounds, Inc. Rights society BMI. Label matrix 101-A / 101-B; runout NPS-101-A 5-22-72 / NPS-101-B 5-22-72. No writer or… #333 Michael Lizzmore Promise That You'll Wait 1972 · Single · Try a Little Tenderness / Promise That You'll Wait · Capitol # 3480 · USA
Notes
Capitol 3480 (S45-79245), stereo, red label, ℗ 1972 Capitol Records, Inc.; "Promise That You'll Wait" (Skip Jackson), 2:40, Skip J. Music, ASCAP; arranged… #334 Billy Watkins We Need to Be Governed by McGovern 1972 · Single · We Need to Be Governed by McGovern / We Need You to Register and Vote · Kinsman # BW 001 · USA
Notes
- We Need to Be Governed by McGovern (Watkins, Billy)- We Need You to Register and Vote (Watkins, Billy)
- Soul. Los Angeles, CA. McGovern, anti-war.
-…
#335 Billy Watkins We Need You to Register and Vote 1972 · Single · We Need to Be Governed by McGovern / We Need You to Register and Vote · Kinsman # BW 001 · USA
Notes
- We Need to Be Governed by McGovern (Watkins, Billy)- We Need You to Register and Vote (Watkins, Billy)
- Soul. Los Angeles, CA. McGovern, anti-war.
-…
1973-1975: Paris Peace Accords to the Fall of Saigon
- 23 January 1973: Nixon announces peace agreement: 'peace with honor'.
- 27 January 1973: Paris Peace Accords signed.
- 27 January 1973: Draft official ended in favour of voluntary enlistment.
- 12 February 1973: Operation Homecoming.
- 29 March 1973: Final US troops leave Vietnam.
- 30 April 1973: Halderman and Ehrlichman resign over Watergate.
- 19 June 1973: Case-Church Amendment.
- 14 August 1973: Cambodia bombing halted, in compliance with Congressional ban.
- 7 November 1973: Congress passed War Powers Act.
- 9 August 1974: Richard Nixon's resigns as president. Gerald Ford takes over.
- 13 December 1974: North Vietnam violates peace agreement.
- 10 March 1975: North Vietnamese offensive on South.
- 30 April 1975: US Embassy in Saigon fully evacuated.
Song Summary
by Justin A. Brummer
With the winding down of US involvement in Vietnam, and the eventually collapse of the South, song-writers turned their attention to the soldiers returning home. Bill Moss & The Celestials wanted everybody to "welcome the boys back home". The Nu Page said that there would be "happy days..when the brothers come marching home". The Auditions told of a soldier happy to be "returning home from Vietnam" to see his sweetheart. Wayne Spence & Smiling Faces expressed relief with the ending of the war: "thank god for peace". Gospel singers The Sensational Saints also thanked god "the war is over, my brother". Funkadelic noted that the "prayers of thousands" had been answered as the "war was over", while Bill Withers mentioned that finally the war had "been declared over". Sammy Brown sung about a soldier, who cried out that he was "back home, I'm free at last".
The plight of veterans, returning home and re-integrating into society became a major topic. This view point was typified by Curtis Mayfield, who sung about a soldier "back to the world", who "ain’t got no job" and was struggling. Funkadelic sung about the "nightmare of readjustment". Bill Moss & The Celestials noted that some soldiers were "coming crippled, some coming lame". In the Bill Withers' song a soldier said that "I can't write left-handed" because he had been shot in Vietnam. Jon Lucien also mentioned "the leg you lost..to humanity". Sammy Brown's soldier said that Vietnam "messed up my happy home", as he lost his sweetheart.
Finally, a few songs focused on the plight of P.O.W.s. The Whispers wailed: "release the P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s", and thought that the government should do more to "bring then home". The Bitter & the Sweet wanted the North Vietnamese to "free the man today" and that people should "salute..the P.O.W.". Funkadelic also noted that "the first of the prisoners returned" following the peace agreement.
1973
#336 Curtis Mayfield Back to the World 1973 · Single · Back to the World / The Other Side of Town · Buddah # 2011 187 · USA
Annotation
Curtis Mayfield's concept album (Curtom Records # CRS 8015) dealing with American GIs returning back from Vietnam to America ("The World"), and a social commentary on early 70s America. It's one of the first, and most important, albums to deal with soldiers coming home from the war, released in 1973. It is a particularly bleak perspective. The title song "Back to the World" is dealt with immediately below, which specifically referred to a Vietnam veteran returning home. In the song "Future Shock" , a black man is faced with poverty: "We got to stop all men from messing up the land. Everybody, it's a future shock" . While the track "If I Were Only a Child Again" , Mayfield reflected…Notes
Buddah 2011 187, purple label, A side, 45, "Made in England"; "Back to the World" (Mayfield), Ivan Mogull Music, produced by Curtis Mayfield, "From the LP… #337 Curtis Mayfield Back to the World 1973 · Single · Back to the World / The Other Side of Town · Buddah # 2011 187 · USA
Annotation
So the track "Back to the World" (Buddah Records # 2011 187), taken from the album above, opens with cockpit conversations in a helicopter, and telling the story of an American GI returning to the US after six years in Vietnam. It actually started with the soldier over there: "stuck in the mud, fightin' this damn war" , and wondering "what it's for" . On returning home, the "soldier boy ain’t got no job" and has lost his woman, because the "war just lasted too long" . The soldier concluded that "people don’t give a damn" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Buddah 2011 187, purple label, A side, 45, "Made in England"; "Back to the World" (Mayfield), Ivan Mogull Music, produced by Curtis Mayfield, "From the LP… #338 Bill Moss & The Celestials Welcome the Boys Back Home 1973 · Single · I'm Moving On / Welcome the Boys Back Home · Westbound # W-40 · USA
Annotation
The gospel song "Welcome the Boys Back Home" (Westbound Records # 040) celebrated the end of the war. The narrator thought that "they've been away too long" , and sent out a prayer to "the mother who had a son over there" , as well as the wives of the soldiers. The song also noted that some would return with serious injuries: "some coming crippled, some coming lame" , but the singer was just pleased that "its come to an end" . Bill Moss (1931-2007) came from Selma, Alabama, and moved to Detroit, Michigan in the 60s where he formed the Celestials with his wife Essie Moss. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Westbound Records W 40 (W 2365), stereo, psychedelic swirl label; "Welcome the Boys Back Home" (W. Moss), 3:25, Bridgeport Music, Inc., BMI, ℗ 1973… #339 The Nu Page When the Brothers Come Marching Home (Mono) 1973 · Single · When the Brothers Come Marching Home · MoWest # MW 5037F · USA
Annotation
The only single by the group The Nu Page - a studio one-off construction - was the track "When the Brothers Come Marching Home" (MoWest # MW 5037F) about the ending of major US involvement in Vietnam. It was released on the Los Angeles, Californian MoWest, a subsidiary of Motown Records formed by Berry Gordy. It existed between 1971 and 1973. The song was co-written, co-arranged, and sung by Marilyn McLeod (sister of Alice Coltrane) - in addition, she played the keyboard on the track. Melton Bolton played the guitar, and co-wrote the song. Horace Jones also contributed to the songwriting. Gene Page added the strings.1Billboard included the song in their soul picks on 3 March 1973…Notes
MoWest MW 5037F, promotional copy not for sale, issued with mono (61432-M) and stereo (61432-S) sides; "When the Brothers Come Marching Home" (M.… #340 The Auditions Returning Home From Vietnam 1973 · Single · Returning Home From Vietnam / Get Set, Be Ready · Freckles # A010T · USA
Annotation
The beautiful soul track "Returning Home From Vietnam" (Freckles Records # A010T) focused on a soldier's excitement about receiving his discharge from the army, as he told the listener: "my fighting days are finally over" . Furthermore, he looked forward to seeing his sweetheart: "I'm marching...home baby, step by step" . The group released the record on the small Chicago label Freckles, associated to the Crowntown Record Corporation, founded by Sidney Foster (convicted of murder a few years later, in 1977). The group appeared on the American television program _Soul Train_ in March 1973, at which the label promoted the single as "a political and social statement in music about the…Notes
Freckles Records (A010T)-A, ℗ 1973 Crowntown Record Corp., 8125 S. Bishop, Chgo, Ill. 60620; "Returning Home From Vietnam" (L. Hampton–M. Cox–R.… #341 Sammy Brown Vietnam (You Son of a Gun) 1973 · Single · Vietnam (You Son of a Gun) / Vietnam (Instrumental) · Grassroots # GR-1031 · USA
Annotation
The song "Vietnam (You Son of a Gun)" (Grassroots Records # GR-1031) - a great sounding funk / soul anti-War song. The narrator, back at home and "free at last" , curses "cold blooded Vietnam" , which led to him loosing his woman, and that "no good came from all that killing" . Little is known of this artist - the record was released on a New York based label, which has the motto "music of the people, by the people, and for the people". The song was written and produced by Ernie Tucker, and arranged by Joe Panama. The B-side song was an instrumental version. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Grassroots Records GR-1031, "Music of the people by the people and for the people", 45-RPM, ℗ 1973 Div. of Grassroots, Inc., 1674 B'way, N.Y.C.; Dollar… #342 Sammy Brown Vietnam (Instrumental) 1973 · Single · Vietnam (You Son of a Gun) / Vietnam (Instrumental) · Grassroots # GR-1031 · USA
Credited on the record as The Sammy Brown Band.
Annotation: see “Vietnam (You Son of a Gun)” above (same release).
#343 James Armstrong Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black 1973 · Single · Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black / Big Four · CMC # CM-1013-1015 · USA
Annotation
The song "Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black" (CMC # CM-1015) was a fascinating track that combined the issues of race / Civil Rights and Vietnam. Sung by an African-American bluesy / soul artist, James Armstrong, the track defended Calley - "we are fighting here to kill or be killed" - and the narrator suggested that if Calley was black then his situation could be a lot worse than just house arrest - so this is also a reflection of 1960s / 70s race relations, as well as a Vietnam War song.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
CMC CM-1015, teal label, 1119 E. Broadway, West Memphis, Ark.; "'Thank God, Calley Wasn't Black'" (Clide Fleming), E and M Publishing Co., BMI, time 2:43;… #344 The Whispers P.O.W - M.I.A. 1973 · Single · P.O.W.-M.I.A. / Does She Care · Janus # J-212 · USA
Annotation
The smooth soul group The Whispers formed in Watts, Los Angeles in 1964, by the twin brothers Walter and Wallace Scott, along with Nicholas Caldwell, Gordy Harmon, and Marcus Hutson. They released the track "P.O.W.-M.I.A." (Janus Records # J-212), which centred on the issue of those missing in action and prisoners of war, as stated in the title. The narrator of this song felt that "we have to do better...to bring then home...anyway we can" , an attack on the government's lack of progress on the P.O.W. / M.I.A. issue. The narrator thought that people displayed apathy for the issue because it did not involve themselves or somebody that they knew: "give the hero part to some other… Notes
Janus Records J 212 (J 2794-E); "P.O.W. - M.I.A." (Prisoners of War - Missing in Action), credit "(Hillard Street)", Hillard Street Pub. Co. (BMI), time… #345 The Bitter & the Sweet P.O.W. 1973 · Single · I Won't Have Any Babies for You / P.O.W. · The Anything, Everything # BS 764T10 · USA
Annotation
The song "P.O.W." (The Anything, Everything Records # BS 764T10) by the obscure soul group, The Bitter & the Sweet, dealt with the prisoner of war issue, which frequently appeared in 1970s songs after the Paris Peace Accords. The narration included a series of patriotic sentiments, such as wanting to "salute the past, present and future service men and woman of this country" for their bravery and fighting for the country. At the end of the song the narrator posed a series of questions about the whereabouts of a soldier, representing the type of questions that families and friends of a P.O.W. would ask. Released in Detroit, Michigan. Floyd Johnson wrote and produced, while the Moto… #346 Funkadelic March To The Witch's Castle 1973 · Album · Cosmic Slop · Westbound # WB 2022 · USA
Annotation
The song "March to the Witch's Castle" (Westbound Records # WB 2022) is another important representation of P.O.W.s and veterans after the Paris Peace Accords, looking at their adjustment to the US non-wartime society. The narrator started by noting the date 12 February 1973 as the "happiest day" in thirteen years - the beginning of Operation Homecoming, returning American prisoners of war (P.O.W.s) to the US, held by North Vietnam, and thus answering the "prayers of thousands" . However, the narrator soon turned his attention to "the nightmare of readjustment" . It recalled the veteran's war time struggles, with the lines "death waited in the shadows...his enemies were many" , as… #347 Leo Price I've Been a Prisoner 1973 · Single · The Bullet / I've Been a Prisoner · Faces # 3-1 · USA
Annotation
The obscure soul artist "Little" Leo Price, born 9 January 1935, in New Orleans, Louisiana, co-wrote "Send Me Some Lovin'", a song covered by many soul artists, such as Sam Cooke. His older brother, the R&B singer Lloyd Price had a very successful career.1234 It seems that at some point he moved to Houston, Texas - it is referenced on this single, and he recorded some tracks on the Houston based label Palladium (under the artist name "Leo Price and His Band"). The song "I've Been a Prisoner" (Faces Records # 3-1), written by Price and Don Logan (who also produced the record) and released in 1973, took the perspective of a former prisoner of war back in the US: "I used to be a… #348 Bill Withers I Can't Write Left Handed (Live) 1973 · Live · Live at Carnegie Hall · Sussex # SXBS 7025-2 · USA
Annotation
Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, the song "I Can't Write Left Handed" (Sussex Records # SXBS 7025-2) is one of the first songs released after the official end to US direct involvement. In the introduction, Withers noted that the war had "been declared over" and that the conflict had been "one big drag" . He then spoke about young guys who had no idea "about government or political things" . Yet they were law-abiding, and so they went to war without asking questions. It talked specifically about a soldier who "just got back" from Vietnam and had lost an arm. Withers recalled a conversation with the veteran: "the war has been declared over. If you're like me you'll remember it...as one… #349 Jon Lucien The War Song 1973 · Rashida · RCA # AYL1-3820 · USA
Annotation
Jon Lucien (1942-2007), from the Virgin Islands, released the soul-jazz track "The War Song" (RCA Records # APL1-0161), which took an anti-war position. It was written by Lucien, with the orchestra arranged by Dave Grusin. He mainly focused on children / young people been sent to war by the government: "when your son comes of age, they tell him, pack his sack" . He noted their deaths, with "mothers crying, young boys dying" , while some returned to the US with disabilities: "the leg you lost...to humanity" . The song's central message was to "save the children, stop the killin'" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#350 Wayne Spence Thank God for Peace 1973 · Single · Thank God for Peace / Love's Stronger Than Hate · Peace [Cleveland] # 304334 · USA
Credited on the record as Wayne Spence & Smiling Faces.
Annotation
The heavy funk track "Thank God for Peace" (Peace Records # 304334), which based on the lyrics could easily have been done by a gospel group, does not actually mention Vietnam. However, the B-Side song "Love Is Stronger Than Hate" was originally released in 1971 by the group Love Generation (see "Love's Stronger Than Hate" ), actually written by Wayne Spence, which called for an end to the Vietnam War and wished for future peace. By January 1973, the US signed a ceasefire agreement with the North Vietnamese, and thus this song can be seen as a tribute to that. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Peace, black and silver label, "WFS" Exclusive Records, Cleveland, Ohio, 45 RPM; "Thank God for Peace" (W. Spence), 2:57, 304334A, and "Love's Stronger… #351 Wayne Spence Love's Stronger Than Hate 1973 · Single · Thank God for Peace / Love's Stronger Than Hate · Peace [Cleveland] # 304334 · USA
Credited on the record as Wayne Spence & Smiling Faces.
Annotation: see “Thank God for Peace” above (same release).
#352 The Sensational Saints The War Is Over (My Brother) 1973 · Single · The War Is Over (My Brother) / He's Done More · Bos # B-024 · USA
Annotation
The track "The War Is Over (My Brother)" (Bos Records # B-024) by the Sensational Saints, an Ohio, Cleveland soul / gospel group, is sung from the perspective of a soldier's brother. He recalled a conversation between the soldier, "calling from Vietnam" , and his family. The song featured several religious references. The group released another version of this in 1971, called "Brother". Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
BOS Records, 1966 E. 55th St., Cleveland, O.; B-024-A; "The War Is Over (My Brother)" (M. Kennibrew), 2:58, Outwait Pub., BMI, ℗ 1973; arranger Melvin… #353 The Charades You Better Believe It 1973 · Single · Darling Believe Him / You Better Believe It · Harlem Hit Parade # HHP-5009 · USA
Notes
You Better Believe It (Charades, The) Produced by Horace Ott and written by Rose McCoy
Released in 1973 on single - but probably recorded in mid to late…
#354 Barbara Mason World War Three 1973 · Album · Lady Love · Buddah # BDS 5140 · USA
Notes
World War Three (Mason, Barbara) Soul.
Mainly a civil-rights song, it contained specific reference to Vietnam at end of track and criticised Richard…
Notes
Buddah BDA 405, promotional "Dual '45'" marked "Not for Sale", with mono (BDA 405 A) and stereo (BDAS 405 A) sides; "World War Three" (B. Mason), 3:42,… #355 O.C. Smith La La Peace Song 1973 · Single · La La Peace Song / When Morning Comes · Columbia # 3-10031 · USA
Notes
La La Peace Song (Smith, O.C.) Soul, Vietnam-era.
Peace / anti-war song.
Civil rights.
"Why can't we get along" .
Notes
Columbia 3-10031 (ZSS 157602), stereo, 45 RPM, orange-gradient label, ℗ 1973 CBS Inc.; "La La Peace Song" (J. Bristol - L. Martin), 3:27 (intro :10);… #356 Stevie Wonder Higher Ground 1973 · Single · Higher Ground / Too High · Tamla # T 54235F · USA
Notes
People keep on learnin'Soldiers keep on warnin'
World keep on turnin'
'Cause it won't be too long
Powers keep on lyin', yeah
While your people keep on dyin'
Wor…
Notes
Producer, Arranged By – Stevie Wonder. Published By – Stein & Van Stock, Inc.; Black Bull Music, Inc. (ASCAP). ℗ Motown Record Corporation. Label matrix A… #357 The Goodtimers End the War (My Prayers Were Answered) 1973 · Single · End the War (My Prayers Were Answered) / Say No More · Command Performance # CP 141 · USA
Notes
End the War (My Prayers Were Answered) (Goodtimers, The) Song-poem.
Soul.
Hollywood, California.
Notes
Command Performance Records CP 141 B, green label, 45 RPM, 6000 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 209, Hollywood, California 90028; "End the War [My Prayers Were… #358 We the People Forgotten Man (Sweetstick's Theme from Sweet Jesus Preacher Man) 1973 · Single · Forgotten Man (Sweetstick's Theme from Sweet Jesus Preacher Man) / Left in the Lost & Found · Lion # LION 148 · USA
Annotation
P.O.W.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Label note under title: "Sweetstick's Theme from the Motion Picture 'Sweet Jesus Preacher Man'". Written, produced and directed by Landy McNeal; arranged… #359 Clarence Coulter Ride On (Keep on Riding) 1973 · Single · Ride On (Keep on Riding) / I Been Saved · Hit Track # BW 2001 · USA
Notes
- Soul, Detroit, Michigan- Anti-war, peace
- We don't want to fight no more
- Mono. Label text: 'Black World Records' / 'Brown/Covington Productions'.…
#360 Joey Morant Peace at Last 1973 · Single · Peace at Last / Peace at Last · Progress # JL 7273 · USA
Notes
- soul, peace, religion, homecoming- artist from Charleston, South Carolina
- thanks for peace in Vietnam
- salute to those returning home
- families are…
#361 Sylvia Robinson Had Any Lately 1973 · Single · Didn't I / Had Any Lately · Vibration # VI-524 · USA
Credited on the record as Sylvia.
Notes
Vibration VI-524-B, "a div. of All Platinum Enterprises", 45 RPM, matrix VI-264-GM SP; "Had Any Lately" (S. Robinson), 2:55, Gambi BMI; credited to… #362 Hope Parker P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A. 1973 · Single · P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A. / Self · Mainstream # MRL 5537 · USA
Annotation
Sources
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Mainstream Records MRL 5537 (master no. MRL 5537 A-S), stereo, 45 RPM, vocal, "A Red Lion Production"; "P.O.W.'s of the U.S.A." (Hope Parker), time 2:40,… #363 Curtis Mayfield If I Were Only a Child Again 1973 · Album · Back to the World · Curtom # CRS 8015 · USA
Notes
Curtom CRS 8015, LP. [From Discogs]1974
#364 Vernon Garrett Jody Can Ease the Pain 1974 · Single · Jody Can Ease the Pain / Think People · Gator # G 1201 · USA
Notes
Soul, both sides.A-side: Jody theme - girl lonely, Jody will help.
B-side: think about the soldiers
Younger generation looking for a better way.
Civil…
Notes
Gator G 1201. Produced by Miles Grayson. Runouts: A 'X-39954 G1201AA D-3', B 'G1201-B DCT-3 X-3995'. B-side Think People (2:41) written by Earl Foster;… #365 Vernon Garrett Think People 1974 · Single · Jody Can Ease The Pain / Think People · Gator # G 1201 · USA
Notes
Soul, both sides.A-side: Jody theme - girl lonely, Jody will help.
B-side: think about the soldiers
Younger generation looking for a better way.
Civil…
Notes
Producer Miles Grayson. A-side 'Jody Can Ease The Pain' (2:40) written by B. Lexing, E. Foster, M. Grayson; B-side 'Think People' written by Earl Foster.… #366 J.P. Robinson Our Day Is Here 1974 · Single · Our Day Is Here / Keep Me Satisfied · Blue Candle # 1504 · USA
Annotation
In the track "Our Day Is Here" (Blue Candle # 1504) the narrator, a soldier, welcomed the end of the war, so that he could return to his loved one: "the storm is past, the war is over...I'm so glad we can start" . The soldier had been gone for "5 long years" , and had thought about his girl "every minute in Vietnam" . This track was by J.P. Robinson (aka John Pooderue Robinson), based in West Palm Beach, Florida during his recording years (c.1968-1974).12 It was released by Blue Candle - an R&B subsidiary of Henry Stone's T.K. Records (Hialeah, Florida).3 Earlier, he had been a member of doo-wop group The Chanteers formed at the Roosevelt Senior High School.4 He also released an… #367 Stu Gardner Leave Him Alone 1974 · Stu Gardner and the Sanctified · Volt # VOS 9503 · USA
Annotation
Released in 1974, after US troops had left Vietnam, the track "Leave Him Alone" (Volt Records # VOS 9503) by Stu Gardner recalled the draft and its impact on families. The narrator told the story of a 21 year old who "got a call to go fight a war" in order "to save us all" . The soldier's mother cried when she heard that her son had been drafted, and she wondered "why did they choose him" . Gardner had been a session keyboardist, working with Bill Cosby, among others. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia, USA. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#368 Lou Bond Why Must Our Eyes Always Be Turned Backwards 1974 · Album · Lou Bond · We Produce # XPS-1904 · USA
Notes
"Why Must Our Eyes Always Be Turned Backwards" (We Produce Records # XPS-1904) soul record. reference to south and north Vietnam
Why our eyes must…
#369 The Staple Singers Washington We're Watching You 1974 · Single · Washington We're Watching You / My Main Man / There Is a God · Stax # SS-01559 · USA
Notes
Washington We're Watching YouReference to war
Notes
Track A3. Producer Al Bell. Published by East/Memphis Music (BMI). Silver foil cover original; North Avalon address on labels.Matrix: STXS-0924-2 SS-0643…
#370 The Chi-Lites There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table) 1974 · Single · There Will Never Be Any Peace / Too Good to Be Forgotten · Brunswick # B 55512 · USA
Annotation
The song There Will Never Be Any Peace (Chil-Lites, The) General peace song, Vietnam not mentioned. Religion.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Brunswick B 55512 (7-660), stereo; "There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At The Conference Table)" (Eugene Record), 3:29, Julio-Brian Music,… #371 Love Committee One Day of Peace 1974 · Single · Golden Fleece # ZS8 3256 · USA
Notes
One Day of Peace (Love Committee) Soul, Vietnam-era. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Peace, anti-war.
Poverty in the US.
Notes
Golden Fleece ZS8 3256 (AA-AF, ZS8 3256-1), mono, "Demonstration Not for Sale"; "One Day of Peace" (A. Felder, R. Tyson, T. Conway), 2:50, published by… #372 Bobby Newton When the World's at Peace (Stereo) 1974 · Single · When the World's at Peace · Atlantic # 45-2992 · USA
Notes
Soul / funk, anti-war. Reference to demonstrations.
When will the bombs stop?
Lets learn to love like we kill
Notes
Atlantic 45-2992, vocal, issued with mono (A-27581-PL) and stereo (ST-A-27581-PL) sides; "When the World's at Peace" (K. Gamble, P. Hurtt & B. Sigler),… #373 Vernon Garrett Something Went Wrong 1974 · Single · Going To My Baby's Place / Something Went Wrong · Grenade # GR 1003 · USA
Notes
- Soul Vietnam, veteran's experience- Just back from the war, life and society changed
- I was gone too long
- B-side. Stereo. A promo (Single, Promo,…
#374 Al Wilson La La Peace Song 1974 · Single · La La Peace Song / Keep on Lovin' You · Rocky Road # 30,200 · USA
Notes
Rocky Road Records 30,200 (2025-BW), orange label, "Exclusively distributed by Bell Records, a division of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. NYC", ℗ 1974… #375 Barbara Mason World War Three (Mono) 1974 · Single · World War Three · Buddah # BDA 405 · USA
Notes
Buddah Records BDA 405 promotional "Dual '45'" marked "Not for Sale", mono on one side (BDA 405 A) and stereo on the other (BDAS 405 A); "World War Three"… #376 Barbara Mason World War Three (Stereo) 1974 · Single · World War Three · Buddah # BDA 405 · USA
Notes
Buddah Records BDA 405 promotional "Dual '45'" marked "Not for Sale", mono on one side (BDA 405 A) and stereo on the other (BDAS 405 A); "World War Three"…1975
#377 Carla Whitney War 1975 · Album · Carla Whitney · Attic # 1005 · USA
Annotation
Obscure Canadian soul singer Carla Whitney released only one album, self-titled Carla Whitney (Attic Records # LAT 1005), backed by Choker Campbell and the "Super Sounds". It contained the track "War" - Campbell arranged, produced, and co-wrote the song (with Horace Williams). Whitney sung that although the "killing and dying" is over, there needed to be "no more cheating and lying" . Whitney called on people to "show me the love" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#378 Joe Hinton Where Do We Go From Here! 1975 · Single · Where Do We Go From Here! / We've Got Each Other · Hotlanta # HL DJ 308 · USA
Notes
Where Do We Go From Here! (Hinton, Joe) Hotlanta # HL 308
1975, soul music - reference to widows of the soldiers.
Hinton (Born: 15 November 1929,…
Notes
Hotlanta HL DJ 308 [4965], "A Michael Thevis Enterprise", mono, Side A, "For Promotional Use Only", "Mixed for Air Play"; "Where Do We Go From Here!" (Joe… #379 Willie Dixon Our Nation PT-I 1975 · Single · Our Nation · MIL-SMi # MS 103 · USA
Notes
Our Nation PT-I (Dixon, Willie) Soul singer, Mobile, Alabama (different from the famous blues musician).
Political track - references to inflation,…
Notes
Mil-Smi Records MS 103, stereo, orange and brown labels, "Mil-Smi Record, 1207 Michigan Ave., Mobile, Ala. 36605". "Our Nation Pt-I" (Robert Rudolph), MS… #380 Willie Dixon Our Nation PT-II 1975 · Single · Our Nation · MIL-SMi # MS 103 · USA
Annotation: see “Our Nation PT-I” above (same release).
#381 Gil Scott-Heron We Beg Your Pardon America (Promo) 1975 · Single · We Beg Your Pardon America / Superman (Ain't No Such Thing As) · Arista # AS-0117 · USA
Notes
We Beg Your Pardon America (Scott-Heron, Gil) Political commentary, mainly about Watergate.
Reference to My Lai and Lt. William Calley.
Vietnam War: My…
Notes
Arista Records AS-0117-DJB (2118-S-BW), stereo, white label marked "Promotional Copy"; "We Beg Your Pardon America" (Scott-Heron-B. Jackson), 5:17,… #382 Ray T. Jones Cause You're Coming Home 1975 · Single · That Norfolk Sound / Cause You're Coming Home · Wee-Too! # DM4566 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Cause You're Coming HomeSoul
1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#383 James Carr Let's Face Facts 1975 · Archival · Freedom Train · Vivid Sound # VG 3006 · Japan
Annotation
James Carr recorded a wonderful version of the heartfelt song "Let's Face Facts" about a soldier drafted to war - originally written and released by The Masqueraders in 1967 ( "Let's Face Facts" : Wand Records # WND 1168). The Carr version was probably recorded in the same year, or 1968, but bizarrely sat on the shelves and did not appear until the Japanese only LP Freedom Train (Vivid Sound Corporation # VG 3006), ten years later in 1977.1 On this LP, the song was actually re-titled as "I've Gotta Go (Let's Face Facts)" . To re-cap, this song focused on the draft. The soldier, narrating, said that he "don't wanna go" to the war. Yet, he displayed loyalty to his country: "I've got to… #384 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon) 1975 · Album · The First Minute Of New Day (Midnight Band) · Arista # A 4030 · USA
Annotation
The Scott-Heron track "Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon)" (Arista Records # A 4030), featuring his long-term collaborator Brian Jackson, attacked President Ford for pardoning Nixon after his resignation in 1974. While those who "get caught with a nickel bag...will do big Ben" (i.e. those caught with cannabis will go to jail for ten years), the politician who "tried to fix America" received no prison sentence. He then went on to list others, who Scott-Hero thought were unjustifiably pardoned: "they pardoned William Calley, 22 dead, and America in shock" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#385 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson South Carolina (Barnwell) 1975 · Album · From South Africa to South Carolina · Arista # AL 4044 · USA
Credited on the record as Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson.
Notes
South Carolina (Scott-Heron, Gil & Brian Jackson) Notes
Arista AL 4044; produced by Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron and The Midnight Band. On the planned nuclear plant at Barnwell, South Carolina.Post-Vietnam War: 1976-present
The 1980s especially saw a revival of interest in the Vietnam War, which had subsided in the mid to late 70s following the US withdrawal. Both films and music sought to reflect on the impact the war had on American society and to ask "why did the North win?" A Reagan-era trend of nationalism grew, an attempt to overcome the "Vietnam Syndrome" - the perception that domestic controversies over the war led to the US taking a less interventionist position in US foreign affairs. This term also applied to veterans, who may have felt guilt or shame about the war, influenced by the domestic climate they returned to in the US.1
Ronald Reagan spoke about this on 18 August 1980: "for too long, we have lived with the Vietnam Syndrome..As the years dragged on, we were told that peace would come if we would simply stop interfering and go home..We dishonor the memory of 50,000 young Americans who died..we give way to feelings of guilt as if we were doing something shameful, and we have been shabby in our treatment of those who returned. They fought as well and as bravely as any Americans have ever fought in any war. They deserve our gratitude, our respect, and our continuing concern".2 Many war films of the period fitted into this climate of trying to overcome the Vietnam Syndrome, such as First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984).
1976
#386 Ray T. Jones Take Me Back to Norfolk Town 1976 · Single · Beat the Knees / Take Me Back to Norfolk Town · Wee-Too! # DM 4683 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Take Me Back to Norfold TownSoul
1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#387 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson Bicentennial Blues 1976 · Album · It's Your World · Arista # AL 5001 · USA
Annotation
The song "Bicentennial Blues" referred to Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor (1969-1974) and Secretary of State (1973/74), and the various wars in which he took part in the decision making. He received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Vietnam War. Kissinger remained the Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, until the 1976 election.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
1977
#388 Mike Pearson Amnesty 1977 · Single · Ragged Jeans / Amnesty · Capri # CP-51177 · USA
Notes
Capri Recording Co. CP-51177B, stereo, orange label, ℗ 1977 (BMI); "Amnesty" (Mike Pearson-Rufus Pearson), Inner City Trade/Jermarbe Pub., time 2:58;… #389 Ed Townsend Take a Vow for Peace 1977 · Single · If a Peanut Farmer Can Do It (So Can I) / Take a Vow of Peace · EGA # TR-101 · USA
Notes
Take a Vow for Peace (Townsend, Ed) Soul, anti-war. A-side Jimmy Carter-related.
B-side: "war is over in Vietnam" - but we should not stop caring.
Need…
Notes
EGA Records TR-101, Side 2, white label, ℗ 1977 EGA Communications, Inc.; "Take a Vow for Peace" (Ed Townsend), publisher Cherritown Music, BMI, 3:02;…1980
#390 Gil Scott-Heron Waiting For the Axe to Fall 1980 · Album · Real Eyes · Arista # AL 9540 · USA
Annotation
Another Gil Scott-Heron track, "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" (Arista Records # AL 9540), in which he told the listener about a "brother" who "served in Vietnam" . The song suggested that after the war the government / the military / people no longer cared about the welfare of the veterans. Note the reference to agent orange - the defoliant/herbicide used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Arista ARIST 527, 45, B side, blue label, Made in England; "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" (Gil Scott-Heron), Brouhaha Music Ltd. (Leosongs); produced by… #391 Bernie Hamilton The Brave 52 (Part I) 1980 · Single · The Brave 52 (Part I) / The Brave 52 (Part II) · Inculcation # 47695 · USA
Notes
- Soul, about Iranian hostage crisis- Dedicated to the veteran's of Vietnam
- Still asking for help, mistreatment of veterans
- Inculcation 47695 (181),…
#392 Bernie Hamilton The Brave 52 (Part II) 1980 · Single · The Brave 52 (Part I) / The Brave 52 (Part II) · Inculcation # 47695 · USA
Notes
Inculcation 47695 (181), ASCAP, Sweet Bippy Music Publishing Co. Inc., P.O. Box #19916, Los Angeles, CA 90019; side one "The Brave 52 (Part I)" (Bernie…1981
#393 Funkadelic Electric Spanking Of War Babies 1981 · Album · The Electric Spanking of War Babies · Warner Bros. # BSK 3482 · USA
Annotation
Another entry by Funkadelic / George Clinton, the song "The Electric Spanking of War Babies" (Warner Bros. Records # WBS 49667), which also featured on the 1981 album of the same name (The Electric Spanking of War Babies: Warner Bros. Records # BSK 3482) made a reference to "the bomb, Vietnam, LSD...the moon live on TV" and other symbols of the baby boomer 60-70s era. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Warner Bros. WBS 49667 (YMI 1071 VI DJ), cream promotional label marked "Promotion — Not for Sale", mono, "From the Warner Bros. Album BSK 3482 The… #394 Funkadelic The Electric Spanking of War Babies (Edit) 1981 · Single · The Electric Spanking of War Babies (Edit) · Warner Bros. # WBS 49667 · USA
Notes
Warner Bros. WBS 49667 (YMI 1071 VI DJ), cream promotional label marked "Promotion — Not for Sale", mono, "From the Warner Bros. Album BSK 3482 The…1983
#395 Stevie Wonder Front Line 1983 · Single · Front Line / Front Line (Instrumental) · Motown # TMG 1289 · USA
Annotation
Stevie Wonder's track "Front Line" (Motown Records # TMG 1289) contained typical themes found in post-war songs that focus on veterans. Wonder and Gary Byrd composed the song, and it featured on the 1982 compilation Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I (Tamla Records # 6002TL2) as a previously unreleased song. It is a first person narration from a Vietnam veteran who "volunteered for Vietnam" in 1964 at the age of 16, because "I had to be a man" . Seriously wounded in Vietnam ( "got my leg shot off" ) he returned to the US: "back in the world" . He told the listener that he went from being on the front line to being relegated to "the back of the line" . The song criticised the impact… Notes
UK Motown TMG 1289 picture sleeve (sleeve © 1983 RCA Ltd.); A-side "Front Line (Vocal)", B-side "Front Line (Instrumental)" 6:01; stereo; ℗ 1982 Motown…1989
#396 Johnny Usry Chu-Lai Charlie 1989 · Album · Healing · Uscan Phonographics # USC 4006 · Canada
Notes
Johnny Usry, a.k.a. Stratavarious. Also on Ichiban Records. [From the Museum of Canadian Music] #397 Johnny Usry Forgotten Heroes 1989 · Album · Healing · Uscan Phonographics # USC 4006 · Canada
Notes
Johnny Usry, a.k.a. Stratavarious. Also on Ichiban Records. [From the Museum of Canadian Music]1999
#398 Bobby Womack Cousin Henry 1999 · Album · Back to My Roots · The Right Stuff # 72434-98584-2-8 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Cousin Henry - Bobby Womack Soul. Post-war 1990s. Impact of war on the veteran.
Based on the true story of his cousin Henry who went to Vietnam.
He returned home an alcoholic, and his wife left him.1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
2004
#399 Various Artists G.I. Funk (14 Vietnam Wartime Funky Club Hits) 2004
2007
#400 Various Artists Power to the Motown People: Civil Rights Anthems and Political Soul 1968-1975 2007 · Compilation · Motown # 980 090-1 · USA
2011
#401 Stone Coal White Peoples 2011 · Archival · Stone Coal White · Cali-Tex # CT-010 · USA
Annotation
Notes
Peoples (Stone Coal White) Soul/funk, early 1970s. Not released at the time - archival.12
Dayton, Ohio.
Anti-war.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
2013
#402 Dan Greer When Will It All End 2013 · Archival · Beale Street Soul Man: The Sounds Of Memphis Sessions · Kent [London] # CDKEND 396 · USA
Notes
When Will It All EndNotes
Kent Soul / Ace Records, CD, UK & Europe, barcode 029667239622. Track 20. Compiled with liner notes by Dean Rudland. Discogs notes tracks 1, 5, 9, 11, 21…2020
#403 R. Dean Taylor What in the World's Goin' On 2020 · Archival · A Cellarful of Motown! Volume 5 · Caroline # CAROLR090CD · Canada
Notes
R. Dean Taylor "What in the World's Goin' on"Notes
Disc 1 track 13, titled 'What In The World's Going On' on the release. Produced by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier. 2CD in three-panel Digipak, Made in the…2021
#404 Various Artists Stop the War (Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1965-1974) 2021 · Compilation
Notes
Third volume of Kent soul comp.Unknown date
#405 The Blue Grass P.O.W. - Part I Single · P.O.W. - Part I / P.O.W. - Part II · B.N.M. # 2 · USA
Annotation
A double-sided funk track released in the early 1970s, distributed by Burke Records, 1013 Rutland Road, Brooklyn, New York. The two tracks "P.O.W. - Part I & Part II" (B.N.W. Records # 002) were largely instrumental, apart from someone shouting out "a prisoner of war, oh no, prisoner of war, not going to stop a good time, baby, baby" . Arranged and produced by G. Adams, R. Frater, and C. Moses. Performing Rights: BMI.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#406 The Blue Grass P.O.W. - Part II Single · P.O.W. - Part I / P.O.W. - Part II · B.N.M. # 2 · USA
Annotation: see “P.O.W. - Part I” above (same release).
#407 Cleve Francis Reflections on the Wall USA
Annotation
Smooth soul song "Reflections on the Wall" , recorded in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee, possibly on an album called Reflection, although have not tracked this down yet.1 It was composed with Arthur Lisi in 1986. His website said that "JanScruggs, the organizer of the memorial, was so moved by the composition that he asked Cleve to perform the song on Memorial Day, 1987, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial."23 The song appeared on the various artist cassette-only compilation Songs of the Wall (1992). Jet magazine referenced the song on 18 January 1988, saying that the album: "was applauded because of his ode to the Vietnam veterans, Reflections on the Wall".4 The album also contained a…Notes
YouTube upload (channel Nancy Lisi Musicalhossgal): song written by Cleve Francis in 1987 and performed 25 May at the Vietnam Wall; audio produced by… #408 Patricia Denson & the Soul Expressions Home From Vietnam EP · Home From Vietnam / I Thought I Heard You Moan · Achillean # 502 · USA
Annotation
The track "Home From Vietnam" (Achillean # 502), with a slow tempo, church organs and trumpets, by the obscure Washington D.C. soul singer Patricia Denson, focused on a soldier returning home. Taking the opposite perspective of the The Chymes's "My Baby's Gone Away", it is narrated from the girl left on the home front, rather than the returning soldier. The girl is hoping that the soldier, recently "home from Vietnam" , still wants her, pleading at the end "tell me you are still mine" . This track has some similarities to The Fawns's track "Wish You Were Here With Me", in that they are both narrated from the girl in the US, and the question of whether the couple will be back…Notes
Achillean – The Unconquerable Sound 502 (M-1429-LME), blue label with silver print; Barner/Claiborne Music, BMI, time 2:30; written by C. Barner and M.… #409 Al Grannum Why Is It? Single · When I Come Home / Why Is It? · A & G # AG 2040 · USA
Credited on the record as Al Grannum and His Granulated Souls.
Annotation
Double-sided anti-Vietnam War single, with the tracks "Why Is It?" and "When I Come Home" (A & G Records # AG 2041) - this label was almost certainly based in New York, with A & G standing for Al Grannum, a radio DJ for WLIB. His program in the late 1960s and early 1970s focused on R&B groups. This record was released under the name "Al Grannum & the Granulated Souls". There is a picture of Grannum in a 1971 article from the The Daily Register, based in Red Bank, New Jersey, in which Grannum was helping out at a community party. Is there a connection to Hugh Grannum, the Detroit based photographer? The record was also released in Jamaica - Why Is It? / When I Come Home (Dynamic…
Notes
A & G Records, green labels, 45 RPM, Manaster Music BMI; Al Grannum and His Granulated Souls. "When I Come Home" (Forman & L. Ortiz), AG 2041, 2:55; "Why… #410 Al Grannum When I Come Home Single · When I Come Home / Why Is It? · A & G # AG 2040 · USA
Credited on the record as Al Grannum and His Granulated Souls.
Annotation
The second track "When I Come Home" was narrated from the perspective of "a soldier serving my country" . He wondered why he had to kill other people. He hoped that when he returned to the US there would be a "lasting peace" in honour of those that had died. Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
A & G Records, green labels, 45 RPM, Manaster Music BMI; Al Grannum and His Granulated Souls. "When I Come Home" (Forman & L. Ortiz), AG 2041, 2:55; "Why… #411 Buelah Palmer My Man in Vietnam Single · My Man in Vietnam / Cried Daddy Daddy · Bem Sole # 1005 · USA
Credited on the record as Buelah Palmer with 3rd Avenue.
Annotation
The song "My Man in Vietnam" (A Bem Sole Record # 1005), by an obscure deep soul/funk singer Beulah Palmer, signed to a Los Angeles, California based record label, asked "Mr. President, Mr. Congressman" to "please stop the war from going on" . Her man was in Vietnam, and she wanted him to return to the US safely. She also called for less "hatred and envy" and greater respect for the "races on this earth" - and so another Vietnam / Civil Rights / race relations track in the soul genre. She also warned against those with the "means to destroy the world" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
"A Bem Sole Record", Bem Music Inc., 8900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles; 1005, Side 2; "My Man in Vietnam" (Willie Harris), Bem Music, BMI, 2:03; Buelah… #412 Henry Scott Jr Bye, Bye, Baby, Hello Vietnam Single · Bye, Bye, Baby, Hello Vietnam / Shing-Ga-Ling · Shatter # 2317 · USA
Annotation
The track "Bye, Bye, Baby, Hello Vietnam" (Shatter Records # 2317) by Henry Scott Jr. - released on a Nashville, Tennessee based label - was mainly a love song, in which a soldier reassured his sweetheart that "I'll make it back to you one day" . It did not take a clear position on the war, but the narrator expressed either a sense of duty or fear of the law, as going to Vietnam was "something that I must do" . Was the soldier reluctantly drafted, or proudly fighting for his country? The narrator tells his sweetheart at the end of the track that he wanted to avoid "just to be in love and not being free" - once again, is that a reference to prison (for avoiding the draft) or… #413 Timmy Norman I'm Coming Home Single · I'm Coming Home / I Owe My Loving to You · Bronze # 106 · USA
Annotation
The song "I'm Coming Home" (Bronze Records # 106) by Timmy Norman - nothing known about the label, artist, or year of release. This melancholic soul track does not specifically mention Vietnam. But the narrator tells the listener that "I'm out here in this hole and rain" , as he sadly wondered how a man can make it in the world "when the army calls you" . He really missed his sweetheart, asking her to "keep on waiting for me" because he will be home soon. It ended on a peace note, with the soldier hoping for day when "they'll be no war, no more" . Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
#414 Vicki Williams You're in the Army But I Wish You Were Here Single · Best of Luck to You / You're in the Army But I Wish You Were Here · Big Beat # BB-133-1287 · USA
Annotation
This is another obscure release, by the largely unknown Vicki Williams. As the title of the song suggested, "You're in the Army, But I Wish You Were Here" (Big Beat Records # BB-133-1287), it is narrated from the perspective of a soldier's sweetheart back home. The label was distributed by Lynn's Records, based in Greenville, Mississippi, owned by Henry Reginald Hines - apparently Vicki Williams' husband. He co-wrote the song with her.1 So the sweetheart in the US wrote a letter to the soldier, telling him that she cries "all night long" and has started to "talk to your pictures" . She pleaded with him: "don't forget the girl back home" . Sources
Notes
Big Beat Records BB-133-1287-B; "You're in the Army But I Wish You Were Here" (R. Hines, V. Williams), Reginald Music, BMI; produced by Lynn's Prod's for… #415 George Jay Greetings - This Is Uncle Sam Single · Another Lonely Night / Greetings - This Is Uncle Sam · ARV # A-5012 · USA
Annotation
The track "Greetings - This Is Uncle Sam" (ARV International # A-5012) was a cover of The Valadiers' Vietnam draft song Greeting (This Is Uncle Sam) (1961), also recorded by The Monitors in 1966 (Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam), both on the Motown Records label. Unlike those other versions, this one actually specified the conflict: "I need you boy, to fight in Vietnam" . George Jay was part of the Texas-Mexican music scene - referred to as Tejano Music, a hybrid of conjunto and Norteño music, performed by Mexican-Americans and influenced by Mexican folk music. On this track it contained strong soul influences.1 On 25 November 1972, Billboard reported on the explosion of Tex-Mex… #416 Daz' Rene The Back Street Single · The Back Street / Letter From My Darling · Try-Hard # 107 · USA
Annotation
The funk-soul song "The Back Street" (Try-Hard Records # 107), by Daz Rene, out of California, looked at Vietnam and the drug issue. Written by Howard Caldwell, it also appeared on the album Discover (Try-Hard # LP 108). The lyrics started with a Vietnam veteran, called Sergent Miller, who "just got home from the war" . He encountered difficulties in finding a job. So the narrator of the song warned him not to turn to drugs from the back streets in order to "relieve the pressure" . Thus, this dealt with post-war issues of soldiers returning home - probably released in the mid-1970s.The B-side featured the track "Letter From My Soldier" , presumably also related to the conflict. No…
Notes
Try-Hard Records 107, blue label, 866 Rosalind St., Rialto, Calif.; 107-1 "The Back Street" (Howard Caldwell), time 3:40, and 107-2 "Letter From My… #417 Daz' Rene Letter From My Darling Single · The Back Street / Letter From My Darling · Try-Hard # 107 · USA
Annotation: see “The Back Street” above (same release).
#418 Phil Barr His Homework's Done (Give Your Son a Gun) Single · When I Hear My Children's Prayer / His Homework's Done (Give Your Son a Gun) · Bab-Roc # 7 · USA
Annotation
The R&B song "His Homework's Done (Give Your Son a Gun)" (Bab-Roc Records # 007) by Phil Barr - once again, a totally obscure artist, and undated record. It was released on Rosco Gordon's New York label Bab-Roc, formed in 1969 (considering the catalogue number, this record may have been released 1969-70). The narrator said that people were complaining about "violence and hate, how the world's gonna change" . Yet, they allowed children to play with toy guns and soldiers, and games like cowboys & Indians, cops & robbers. The narrator warned "give you son a gun and teach him...maybe his time will come" .Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Bab-Roc Records 007-B, red label, 70 Lenox Avenue, N.Y., N.Y. 10026, Suite 2K, 45 rpm, "A Les Paul Production"; "His Homework's Done (Give Your Son a… #419 Lillian Lopez Every Mother's Son Single · Every Mother's Son / Wish I Could Be Back There · Camco # 1972 · USA
Notes
Soul, home front perspective, PTSD, leans anti-war, religion. Released around 1972-73.
Son home from the war for 6 months now but I don't know him.
What…
Notes
Camco Enterprises #1972 A, green label, 45 RPM; "Every Mother's Son" (Lillian Lopez), time 3:03, Camco Enterprises (ASCAP); arranged and conducted by Gary… #420 The Infernos Air Mail Special Single · Air Mail Special / Lost Love · Ten High # 102 · USA
Notes
Air Mail Special (Infernos, The) Soul, soldier's perspective, religion.
Send me a letter, tell me you that you love me.
I'm doing my job for Uncle Sam…
Notes
Ten High Recording Co. 102 A, purple label; "Air Mail Special", Penways Pub., BMI, time 2:29; produced by H. Murray & Q. Kimble, arranged by E. Murray.… #421 Rouse Brothers Going to Vietnam, Pray for Me Single · Going to Vietnam, Pray for Me / If It Wasn't for the Lord · Solid Rock # SS 124 · USA
Notes
Solid Rock SS 124-A, 45 RPM, "Division of MJMJ Inc.", microphone-and-stars logo; "Going to Vietnam, Pray for Me" (The Rouse Brothers), 2:10, BMI. [From… #422 Otis Brown Will You Wait Single · Will You Wait / What Would You Do · Olé # O-102 · USA
Credited on the record as Otis Brown & Band.
Notes
Red Ole' Records label with matador drawing, O-102-A; "Will You Wait" (Otis Brown) by Otis Brown & Band, time 2:45, Brovillot, BMI; produced by Browley… #423 The Lavells In a Crowded Station Single · Share Him / In a Crowded Station · C.T.B. # C-700 · USA
Notes
C.T.B. C-700 (M-1401-LME), black label with silver print, New Sound Dist., 930 F St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004; "In a Crowded Station" (H. Bethea), Den… #424 Joycelyn Soldier in Saigon Part One Single · Soldier in Saigon Part One / Soldier in Saigon Part Two · Knite Life # 1 · USA
Notes
Knite Life, blue label with silver "KLP" shield: #001 Side One "Soldier in Saigon" Part One and #002 Side Two "Soldier in Saigon" Part Two, both (George… #425 Joycelyn Soldier in Saigon Part Two Single · Soldier in Saigon Part One / Soldier in Saigon Part Two · Knite Life # 1 · USA
Annotation: see “Soldier in Saigon Part One” above (same release).
#426 Alphonso Hamilton I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal) Single · I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal) / I Came Back (I Just Want Peace) · Gatewood # AH 203 · USA
Notes
I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal) - Vietnam, civil rights songs Notes
Gatewood Record 203, yellow label, Flint, Mich. (313) 78-51683; Part 1 (AH 203 A) "I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal)", 3:30; Part 2 (AH 203 B) "I Came Back… #427 Alphonso Hamilton I Came Back (I Just Want Peace) Single · I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal) / I Came Back (I Just Want Peace) · Gatewood # AH 203 · USA
Annotation: see “I Came Back (I Know I Am Equal)” above (same release).
#428 Swinging Soulsters Lonely Soldier (Partial) Single · A Lonely Soldier / I've Just Been Feeling Bad · Gateway # 67-741 · USA
Notes
Lonely Soldier, A (Swinging Soulster, The) Cover of William Bell song Lonely Soldier written by Calvin Carter. Different intro.
Jacksonville, Florida. Gat…
#429 Rev. R. D. Holloway Echoes From Viet Nam Single · Echoes From Viet Nam / Hill 875 · Salvation # OM 21483 -84 · USA
Credited on the record as Rev. R. D. Holloway and the Friendly Five.
Notes
Salvation Records, yellow label, 45 RPM, Holloway Prod.; "Echoes From Viet Nam" (OM 21483) b/w "Hill 875" (OM 21484), both credited to Rev. R. D. Holloway… #430 Rev. R. D. Holloway Hill 875 Single · Echoes From Viet Nam / Hill 875 · Salvation # OM 21483 -84 · USA
Credited on the record as Rev. R. D. Holloway and the Friendly Five.
Annotation: see “Echoes From Viet Nam” above (same release).
#431 Highway Travelers Prayer for Vietnam Single · Prayer for Vietnam / I'm Satisfied · J. Lee # L-78 · USA
Notes
Prayer for Vietnam (Highway Travelers) Gospel / soul. Raleigh, North Carolina.
Soldier K.I.A. in Vietnam
Religion.
Impact of death on mother of soldier.
#432 Sound-Of-Experience Theme From Welcome-Home (From the War) Single · Theme From Welcome-Home (From the War) / Easy Come, Easy Go · Community # C-300 · USA
Notes
Theme From Welcome-Home (From the War) (Sound-Of-Experience) Soul. Around early-1970s. Hollis, New York.
Welcome home from the war - many wounded and…
Notes
Community Record Productions C-300B, 45 RPM, Hollis, L.I., N.Y.; "Theme From Welcome-Home (From the War)" (Robinson-Smalls), 2:37, marked "Music",… #433 Toussaint McCall Saigon to San Francisco (Partial) Single · Saigon to San Francisco · Nu-Sound # NS-102 · USA
#434 Phyllis Smith Let Freedom Ring Single · Let Freedom Ring / Rose · Mel-Par # 45-1111 · USA
Notes
Let Freedom Ring (Smith, Phyllis) Soul / teen pop. Maplewood, New Jersey, USA
Civil rights, patriotic
We answered the country's call to fight, many have…
Notes
Cream Mel-Par label: "Mel-Par Productions Presents the Theme for Freedom Marchers 'Let Freedom Ring'", marked "August 28th Washington March Issue",… #435 Johnny Gilliam Peace on Earth Single · Peace on Earth / Tell Your Friend (It's Over) · Cancer # 2372 · USA
Credited on the record as Johnny Gilliam and Everything Nice.
Notes
Peace on Earth (Gilliam, Johnny) Soul, anti-war / peace. Civil rights.
Treat people equally
There's a war going on that we can't stop
Men on the fighting…
Notes
Cancer Records No. 2372 (LH-8089), red label; "Peace on Earth" (Gilliam), 3:30, Swope Music, BMI; credited to Johnny Gilliam and Everything Nice; arranged… #436 Artie Fullilove Santa Claus Please Listen to Me Single · Santa Claus Please Listen to Me / Reindeer Walk · Marlu # MA-1001 · USA
#437 Wade Bryant Fighting Children Single · Fighting Children / Birthday For A Soldier · Em-Jay # EJS 116 · USA
Notes
7" 45 RPM. Discogs note: 'Wade Bryant sings over an arpeggiated piano accompaniment in a style similar to "Unchained Melody".' Em-Jay Records is a… #438 Wade Bryant Birthday for a Soldier Single · Fighting Children / Birthday for a Soldier · Em-Jay # EJS 116 · USA
Notes
Em-Jay Records: 1960s-1970s label from Augusta, Georgia (Discogs label profile). Discogs note: 'Wade Bryant sings over an arpeggiated piano accompaniment… #439 Danny Cox Red, White and Blue Single · Christmas Medley / Red, White and Blue · Cowtown # CR-002 · USA
Notes
Soul, anti-warSons and daughters crossed borders, into Vietnam.
Being shot down. Dreaming of coming home
Notes
Discogs lists two Cowtown Records singles with this B-side: Christmas Medley (The Little Drummer Boy / Joy To The World) / Red, White And Blue (release… #440 Ray Sharp Many a Man Single · Many a Man / I'm Gonna Stay · Avis # 1002 · USA
Notes
Soul, anti-war, My LaiStarts with 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' theme
Man gave life for cause, for war - but I don't want to go
My Lai blew my mind.…
Notes
Avis 1001 (The Ebonys) is dated 1968, so c. 1969-71. Producer Lou Tubman. Avis Records 1002-A, orange label with an open-mouth drawing, Avis Records, 1291… #441 Ron Murry What If They Gave a War Single · What If They Gave a War / Love Train · Genna # 1001 · USA
Notes
Soul, anti-war. Corrupt leaders, we must refuse to fight
Notes
Genna Records 1001. A-side written and produced by J. Moore (Johnny Moore); B-side Love Train written by D. Mancha (Don Juan Mancha). Published by Muriel… #442 Arvetra Jones Soldier From Vietnam Album · Revival Time · Savoy # MG-14208 · USA
Notes
Soldier From Vietnam Back In Old Camp Meeting Gospel
Notes
Credited as Rev. Arvetra Jones. Track A3 titled on Discogs 'Soldier From Vietnam Back In Old Camp Meeting'. Label Savoy Records, Inc.; manufactured by… #443 The Parkays Another Mother's Baby Single · Another Mother's Baby / Only A Fool · Gateway # 4640 · USA
Notes
A-side. Discogs genre Funk / Soul, style Rhythm & Blues. Discogs links the label to Gateway Records (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; founded 1961 by Robert W.… #444 Norman Brooks Let Lay the Weapons Down & Join Hands Single · Let Lay The Weapons Down & Join Hands / That Freedom Plane · Aycee # AR 1284 · USA
Credited on the record as Norman Brooks and the Aycee Bilbrew Singers.
Notes
Soul / gospel, anti-warA-side: lay weapons down, march forward together
B-side: step onboard soldiers, coming home.
President held a conference (Paris…
Notes
Aycee Records AR 1284, Side 1, yellow label; publishers Rogers & Van Buren (BMI), time 3:05; writer and director Aycee Bilbrew. [From the record label] #445 Maudie Bilbrew That Freedom Plane Single · Let Lay the Weapons Down & Join Hands / That Freedom Plane · Aycee # AR 1284 · USA
Credited on the record as Maudie Bilbrew and the Aycee Bilbrew Singers.
Notes
Soul / gospel, anti-warA-side: lay weapons down, march forward together
B-side: step onboard soldiers, coming home.
President held a conference (Paris…
Notes
Aycee Records AR 1284, Side 2, yellow label; publishers Rogers & Van Buren (BMI), time 2:10; writer and director Aycee Bilbrew. Side 1 "Let Lay the… #446 Billy Thunder Surely (Partial) Single · Surely / All That I Own · Dip # 8618 · USA
Notes
Soul, soldier's perspective, leans anti-war.Why have I been sent to Vietnam?
Why do I have to kill another man?
Notes
Dip Records (8618), black label; "Surely" (B. Moses), Green Cheese Publ. Co., BMI, 3:45; produced by Bragg & Iscoe; Farewell Productions, 1751 Piedmont… #447 Barbara Davis World Peace Single · World Peace / Rated "R." Why Is It a Sin · Cared # 101 · USA
Notes
World Peace (Davis, Barbara)Rare soul single. Vietnam-era generic peace / anti-war song.
Rialto, California.
"You know, there's been so much fighting in our…
Notes
Writers and arrangers: Wilson, Caldwell, Robinson; producers E. Wilson, H. Caldwell, R. Robinson. Published by Cared Music. B-side 2:50. YouTube upload… #448 Tommy Dorster I'll Be So Glad When We Won't Have to Fight Single · I'll Be So Glad When We Won't Have to Fight / Hello USA, Goodbye Vietnam · MalPass # 7-8161 · USA
Credited on the record as Sgt. Tommy Dorster.
Notes
MalPass Records 7-8161, red label, 45 RPM, Tomaria Music (BMI); side A 7-8161A "I'll Be So Glad When We Won't Have to Fight" (T. Dorster), 3:17; side B… #449 Tommy Dorster Hello USA, Goodbye Vietnam Single · I'll Be So Glad When We Won't Have to Fight / Hello USA, Goodbye Vietnam · MalPass # 7-8161 · USA
Credited on the record as Sgt. Tommy Dorster.
Annotation: see “I'll Be So Glad When We Won't Have to Fight” above (same release).
#450 The Marvells Forget About That Mess Single · Forget About That Mess Part 1 / Forget About That Mess Part 2 · Sensation # UCH 007 · USA
Notes
Soul jazz, anti-war, protest. Early 70s?Shooting, riots, rich, poor, let's get together, no war
Notes
Discogs credits artist as 'The Marvels (13)'. Label Sensation Records. Label note: 'Produced by U. Lee, C. Wills, and H. Davis'. Herman Davis: Written-By,… #451 Rev. William White & The Fabulous White Singers Peace Album · Rev. William White & The Fabulous White Singers · True Joy # 104 · USA
Notes
Gospel. "Peace" - reference to WW2, Korea, Vietnam. ReligionNotes
'Peace' is track A4. Producer Hoyt Sullivan. No writer credits on Discogs. Discogs genre Funk / Soul; styles Gospel, Soul. #452 Larry Dismond The Canaan Land Single · Carry On My Brothers / The Caanan Land · Orbit Record Corporation # LD-302 · USA
Notes
"The Caanan Land" - reference to men in Vietnam. Civil RightsA-side tribute to JFK, MLK, RFK.
Released New York.
Soul
Notes
Discogs title 'A Tribute To Our Fallen Leaders'. Cat. LD 301 / LD-302.B-side spelled 'The Caanan Land'. Lyrics By – J. Dorsette, S. Baton (release-wide).…
#453 Johnny Peoples and the Exciting Gospel Crowns of Brooklyn, NY I Want to Be Free Single · When Jesus Come / I Want to Be Free · Rae Cox # S-143 · USA
Notes
Gospel, soul.Vietnam, Civil Rights
Notes
B-side. Organ: Robert Banks. Rae Cox Records Inc.; published by Enrica Music, Inc.; BMI. A-side 2:35. Justin owns a copy (bought Aug 2024, $35). Rae Cox… #454 The Little Shadows Mr. Nixon Hear My Prayer Single · Mr. Nixon Hear My Prayer / A Prayer for Our Soldiers · Lesley # 003 · USA
Notes
- soul, gospel, maybe Florida-based- Nixon, anti-war, peace, religion, home front perspective
- A-side:
- A good president doing best he can
- Get my son out…
#455 The Little Shadows A Prayer for Our Soldiers Single · Mr. Nixon Hear My Prayer / A Prayer for Our Soldiers · Lesley # 003 · USA
Notes
- soul, gospel, maybe Florida-based- Nixon, anti-war, peace, religion, home front perspective
- A-side:
- A good president doing best he can
- Get my son out…
#456 Sensational Angels Trouble in This World Single · Trouble In This World / He'll Make A Way · Angel [Durham] # 6053-29 · USA
Notes
- Soul / gospel- too much fighting, too much killing
- generic protest, maybe Civil Rights
- Label and catalogue number from the copy in the collection…
#457 Triumphant Echoes Lord, Help Viet Nam Single · I Saw The Light / Lord Help Viet Nam · Gospel Sound # 1010 · USA
Notes
- gospel, religion- Seeing the job done in Vietnam
- But how do they sleep at night with the threat of death
- Pray that god will help these people in…
#458 The Love Machine Brother Show a Little Love Single · Brother Show A Little Love / Love Machine · Na-Cat # 211 · USA
Notes
- "Brother Show a Little Love"- Soul, Civil Rights, Vietnam, peace, anti-war
- 7" 45 RPM. Producer – Cathy Strand, Nate Strand. Published By – Brynor…
#459 The Jackson Southernaires The Bible Will Be Fulfilled Single · The Bible Will Be Fulfilled / Waiting on Jesus · Songbird # 1111 · USA
Notes
- Gospel, religion- 1000 dying in Vietnam
- Released in Houston, Texas
- Label credit 'The Jackson Southernairs'. Matrix LRS 11236 (A) / LRS 11237 (B).…
#460 Edie Walker Don't Cry Soldier Single · Don't Cry Soldier / I Don't Need You Anymore · MEW # 102 · USA
Notes
- Soul, teen pop- From Miami, Florida area
- Soldier boy theme, I'll be there for you
- Home front perspective
- MEW 102-A (pink label), 45 RPM; "Don't Cry…
#461 Lloyd Woodard When There Is Peace Among the Nations Single · When There Is Peace Among the Nations / Everytime I Feel the Spirit · Donte # SA-2072 · USA
Notes
- Gospel, peace / anti-war- VN-era, peace among nations
- Guns and bombs taken away
- Study war no more
- Member of the group The Five Blind Boys of…
#462 Dan Henderson Dear Son Single · Puppets / Dear Son · Dynamic # DY-119 · USA
Notes
Dear Son (Henderson, Dan)Soldier's perspective - leans towards anti-war, but also contained patriotic sentiment
Christmas Vietnam.
From San Antonia, Texas
Notes
Dynamic Records DY-119-2, Epp's Music, BMI; "Dear Son" (Henderson, Vasquez); producer Abe Epstein Studios; "Made in USA by Epstein Enterprises, San… #463 Joe Williams Jr. Don't Let Me Catcha Jody Single · Triode # 119 · USA
Annotation
1972, blues
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Triode Records 119-1, 45 rpm, 1697 Broadway, N.Y.C. — Suite 603; "Don't Let Me Catcha Jody" (Joe Williams Jr. & Otis Harley), 2:17, Baso Music & Styletone… #464 The Inclines The Hippie Single · The Hippie / The Hustler · Gil # G-102-0615 · USA
Credited on the record as The Inclines (Vocalist: Marvin Dewitt).
Notes
Gil Records G-102-0615A (5262), red label, Gil Recording Corp., 3404 Berkley Dr., Chattanooga, Tenn.; "The Hippie" by The Inclines, vocalist Marvin… #465 The Gospel Conveyors A Letter From Vietnam (Partial) Single · A Letter From Vietnam / You Can Make It · Alpha # 2074 · USA
Notes
Letter From Vietnam, A (Gospel Conveyors, The) #466 Dixie Hummingbirds Our Prayer for Peace Single · Our Prayer for Peace / Come Ye Disconsolate · Peacock # 3012 · USA
#467 Jake Williams Reach Out and Touch You Single · Reach Out and Touch You / Sweet and Gentle · Exodus # EX-2011 · USA
Notes
"Reach Out and Touch You" . No date on record. From 1965 or 1966 according to label history: Exodus Records. Includes the line: "Down in this foxhole when… #468 The Souvenirs Sailor Boy Single · Sailor Boy / Never Camp Alone, Joe · PRO # 3 · USA
Notes
PRO Records PRO 3 A, yellow label; "Sailor Boy", 2:10; The Souvenirs, "Plus Productions". No writer or publisher printed. [From the record sleeve and… #469 Johnny Norwood Vietnam Single · Vietnam / We Had a Ball Last Night · Rock # 7677 · USA
Notes
Vietnam (Norwood, Johnny)Notes
Rock No. 7677 (SO 12220), white label, side one, 45 RPM; "Vietnam", BMI; no writer or time printed. [From the record sleeve and labels] #470 Bill Cook Vietnam Soldier and a Deck of Cards Single · Vietnam Soldier and a Deck of Cards / Because My Skin Is Brown · Anthem [New York] # A-111 · USA
Notes
Vietnam Soldier and a Deck of Cards (Bill Cook)Notes
Label: Anthem Records A-111, Side B, yellow label; title printed as Vietnam Soldier and a "Deck of Cards" (Tyler), time 3:56; Vogue Music, Inc.; produced… #471 The Extentions Your Heart Belongs to Me Single · Your Heart Belongs to Me / Variations on a Theme · Nickel # N-113 · USA
Notes
Nickel N-113-A; "Your Heart Belongs to Me" (W. Robinson), 3:15, Jobete Music, BMI; arranged and produced by Richard Pegue for Pat-Ann Productions. [From… #472 Rev. C. M. King Requiem to Lt. Calley Single · I Am So Glad I Am Here / Requiem to Lt. Calley · Mark I # 45-111 · USA
Notes
Gospel, My Lai / Pro-Calley. PatrioticDry Branch, Georgia, USA
Notes
B-side; the flip "I Am So Glad I Am Here" (3:29) is credited to Rev. C. M. King, the Requiem carries no writer credit. Jupace Music (BMI), pressed by… #473 Big Bill Schaeffer Draft Call Single · Draft Call / I Hate, But I Like Popcorn · Four Winds # F-1008 · USA
Notes
Phone call from draft board, I can't go. Reference to Berlin. I'm a lover not a fighter. Draft. Does not mention Vietnam. #474 Vince Sanders A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Single · M and M # MM 26 · USA
Notes
M and M MM 26, single-sided; published by Josehe Pub.Label: M & M Record Co., MM 26, 45 RPM, time 5:36; "Voice: Vince Sanders"; written by Mrs. Kathryn…
#475 Brenda Duncan The Vietnam Vet Who Cries Album · He Opened My Eyes · Hosanna # NOD-1353-LP · USA
Notes
The Vietnam Vet Who Cries (Brenda Duncan) [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM] #476 Lil' Lennix Soul Searchers Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) Single · Women of Today / Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) · Clique # CLA 1004 · USA
Notes
Orphan Child (Vietnam Song) (Lil' Lennix Soul Singers) Soul / gospel [From Justin A. Brummer notes from RYM] Clique CLA 1004; Vinyl 7" (45 rpm); United…Compilations
1993
#477 Various Artists Soul of Vietnam 1993 · Compilation
Annotation
The first compilation dedicated specifically to Vietnam War soul music. Released in 1993 by Risky Business (# AK 53917), a label dedicated to budget compilations. It contained a basic selection of tracks by well-known artists, such as "Marching of to War" by William Bell, "I Should Be Proud" by Martha and The Vandellas, and "I Believe I'm Gonna Make It" by Joe Tex. Oddly, it contained the song "Choice of Colors" by The Impressions about civil rights, which makes no reference to war at all. The booklet contained a small article by Leo Sacks, which said that: "this is a monument...These are sacred songs, individual offerings. There are songs of faith, messages to the fallen,…2003
#478 Various Artists A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1966-73 2003 · Compilation
Annotation
Ten years after the Soul of Vietnam release Kent brought out a 24 track compilation (# CDKEND 226), looking at "Vietnam Through the eyes of Back America 1966-73", with a second volume planned for 2005. It included the The Monitors' "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)", Emanuel Laskey's "A Letter From Vietnam", and the title track, by Tiny Watkins, "A Soldier's Sad Story". The songs are presented in chronological order, with an extensive booklet, with images of the records and informative notes. Approximately 30% of qualified black people were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War compared to approx. 18% of whites - a major disproportion. Another disproportionate figure is that of the…
2004
#479 Various Artists A Soldier's Plea 2004 · Compilation
Annotation
A year later another extensive collection of songs, from 1962 to 1973, appeared, featuring "classic soul dedicated to the life of a soldier", and mainly about the Vietnam War. Californian label FTR Records released this lot. It included more obscure, rare tracks, such as "Home From Vietnam" by Patricia Denson & the Soul Expressions, "Returning Home From Vietnam" by the Auditions, "Wish You Were Here With Me" by The Fawns, and "Bring My Buddies Back" by Change of Pace.Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
2005
#480 Various Artists Does Anybody Know I'm Here? Vietnam Through the Eyes of Black America 1962-1972 2005 · Compilation
Annotation
Kent followed up A Soldier's Sad Story with another 23 tracks of soul and funk music (# CDKEND 245), including Marvin Gaye's "Soldier's Plea" and "I Should Be Proud" by Martha and The Vandellas. The inside front cover of the compilation shows a photograph of a North Vietnamese propaganda plaque somewhere in the jungle, which read: "Negro soldiers: You are committing the same ignominious crimes in South Vietnam that the KKK clique is perpetrating against your family at home". It jumped around chronologically, and once again contained an extensive booklet with notes on the songs and pictures of the original 7"s and artists. The archival research was conducted by Tony Rouse. The…Lyric theme data
Lyric content themes tagged on the songs in this collection — parent themes with their sub-themes (number of records). Click a theme for its definition and all records carrying it.
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471 songs · 439 releases · 388 artists · 311 labels · 1960–2020 · 9 more list entries have no record page yet and are not counted here
Time period
- 1971 is the peak year, with 51 songs.
- 1968–71 holds 170 of the 396 dated songs — nearly one in three in four years.
- 452 were released during the war years (to 1975); 19 came after.
- 75 records are undated.
Artists
- 388 artists for 471 songs. The most represented is Marvin Gaye, with five.
- 100 of the artists are still unidentified beyond the record: no line-up, no biography.
- One is credited to various artists — compilations and cast recordings.
Songwriters
- Songwriter gender is recorded for 248 of the 471 songs: 223 by men, 16 by women and nine by mixed teams — women wrote 6% of those.
- By performer: 338 men, 106 women, 23 mixed groups and four not identified (recorded for 471).
- 527 named songwriters. The most often credited is Gil Scott-Heron, with six.
Labels
- 220 of the 311 labels appear exactly once; Atlantic has the most, with nine.
- 111 sit on a major or well-known imprint — Atlantic, Scepter, Tamla, Arista, Buddah, Capitol, MGM, Motown. The other 360 are on independent, regional or private labels.
- One is a private pressing with no label at all.
- 20 45s put both of their sides into this list.
Locations
- 461 of the 471 are American. New York leads with 66, then California 43 and Illinois 23.
- New York City accounts for 61 records, more than any other city; Chicago has 23, Los Angeles 21.
- Ten come from outside the US: three Canadian, two South African, two British, one German, one Japanese, one Spanish.
Themes
- By perspective: 240 home front or soldier's perspective; 186 peace, protest and anti-war; 26 patriotic, pro-government or anti-protest; 19 post-war.
- 139 distinct sub-themes across 471 songs.
- Soldier's Perspective is the single biggest subject — 224 songs, nearly one in three.
- Next come Anti-War (170), Civil Rights (63), Home Front Perspective (60) and Soldier Boy (47).
- Two are answer records to “Eve of Destruction”.