It entered the chart on 5 February 1966, at # 87. In the second week it reached # 51, moving up to # 10 in week three. The single took the # 1 spot in the US Billboard Hot 100 on 5 March 1966, staying there for an incredible 5 weeks.4 It also held the # 1 place on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and No. 2 on Billboard's Country chart. The single, combined with the album Ballads of the Green Berets (directly below), sold 9 million! Both album and single were certified for a gold record on 17 February 1966. It ended the decade as # 21 on the Billboard songs of the 60s. It was a top-seller in all cities, from Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago to New Orleans and New York.5
Its first mention in Billboard came on 22 January 1966, which reported in its Top 60 Spotlight: "an unusual left fielder by a sergeant in the US Army's Special Forces that could prove a giant on the charts. Outstanding material with a lyric message that must be heard in its entirety. Well worth watching".6 In the same edition, an article appeared explaining the investment that RCA Victor had put into the record: "The 'Green Berets', a top-selling book by Robin Moore of the Vietnam War, is serving as the inspiration for one of the most extensive record campaigns in RCA Victor's history".7 The label then ran a full-page advert in the green colours of the special forces, saying "here is the glory and heroism of the men who make up the US Army Special Forces".8 Another advert appeared on 5 March 1966, when it hit # 1, with the headline: "The Ballads of the Green Beret have turned Gold: Over 2,000,000 singles shipped! Over 1,000,000 albums shipped!"9 The song is focused on the bravery and dedication of the soldiers - it is both patriotic and concerned with the plight of the soldier. However, the story told ends on a sad note, with the soldier's death.
Ballad of the Green Berets answer records
- The Beach Bums - Ballad of the Yellow Beret (1966)
- Nancy Ames - He Wore the Green Beret (1966)
- Craig Arthur - The Son of a Green Beret (1966)
Selected covers of Ballad of the Green Berets
- Duane Eddy - The Biggest Twang of Them All (1966)
- The Lancastrians - The Ballad of the Green Berets (1966)
- Paul Lavalle - Salute to Our Fighting Men in Vietnam (1966)
- Lonesome Valley Singers - Men in the Green Berets (1966)
- Lloyd Green - Day for Decision (1966)
- The Deputies - The Ballad of the Green Berets (1966)
- Herb Eaton - Ballad of the Green Beret (1966)
- Johnny Mac - Ballad of the Green Beret (1966)
- Crum Brothers - A Ballad of the Green Beret (1967)
- Autry Inman - Ballad of Two Brothers (1968)
The US RCA Victor singles credit SSgt Barry Sadler, U. S. Army Special Forces, "Arranged and conducted by Sid Bass", producer Andy Wiswell, publisher Music, Music, Music, Inc., ASCAP. RCA Victor 47-8739 (45 RPM) couples "The Ballad of the Green Berets" (SSgt Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:27, matrix SPKM-6175, with "Letter From Vietnam" (SSgt Barry Sadler), 2:30, SPKM-6172, each "from the RCA Victor album LPM-3547 'Ballads of the Green Berets'"; its picture sleeve shows Sadler in his green beret with the Special Forces flash, and its back, like that of the single "The 'A' Team" / "An Empty Glass" (47-8804; Whitcup–Fairbanks–Sadler, 2:05, TPKM-2852; sleeve headed "SSGT Barry Sadler of The Green Berets"), reproduces the album cover under "Ask for This New L.P. LPM/LSP-3547" (an RCA Victor Dynagroove recording) with its twelve tracks: The Ballad of the Green Berets / Letter from Vietnam / I'm a Lucky One / Garet Trooper / The Soldier Has Come Home / Salute to the Nurses / I'm Watching the Raindrops Fall / Badge of Courage / Trooper's Lament / Bamiba / Saigon / Lullaby. In Japan, Victor SS-1671 (Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.) issued the coupling as "悲しき戦場〜グリーン・ベレーのバラード" [Sad Battlefield – The Ballad of the Green Berets] / "ベトナムからの手紙" [Letter from Vietnam], sleeve headed "話題の焦点!! 全米ヒット・パレードにも急上昇!!" [The talk of the town!! Shooting up the US hit parade!!]; its gatefold prints Japanese notes saying the song sold 400,000 copies in its first two weeks and that Sadler, a 25-year-old New Mexican with seven years in the Air Force and Special Forces, served in Vietnam from spring 1965 and lives at Fort Bragg with his wife Lavenia and son Thor, together with the English lyrics of both songs (price ¥370). A later SS-1671 pressing subtitles the song as the theme of the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts film "グリーンベレー" (The Green Berets) and comes in a film tie-in sleeve with John Wayne and David Janssen, film credits (directed by John Wayne, produced by Michael Wayne, from the novel by Robin Moore, music by Miklós Rózsa), a synopsis, and notes stating that Sadler joined the Air Force in 1958, went to Vietnam with the Green Berets in 1964, was wounded in the leg by a poisoned bamboo-stake trap on patrol in spring 1965, that the record, released in January 1966, reached No. 1, and that its proceeds went to war-orphan homes (price ¥400); its company sleeve is Reprise-branded, "Manufactured by Victor Record Company Ltd., Japan by agreement with Cosdel Inc." The German RCA Victor 47-9688 sleeve couples the song with "Badge of Courage" under "Original-Aufnahme Nr.1 in Amerikas Hot 100", credited to Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler. The Spanish RCA Victor 3-10152 (RCA Española, S.A., Torre de Madrid; Depósito Legal M. 3702-1966) pairs "The Ballad of the Green Berets (Balada de los boinas verdes)" (Sargento Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:26, 3F6ZW-0001, with "Saigon" (Sargento Barry Sadler), 2:27, 3F6ZW-0002, credited to Sargento Barry Sadler, "Arr. y Dirección: Sid Bass", the back printing a "traducción literal al español" of the lyrics. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)
The US RCA Victor singles credit SSgt Barry Sadler, U. S. Army Special Forces, "Arranged and conducted by Sid Bass", producer Andy Wiswell, publisher Music, Music, Music, Inc., ASCAP. RCA Victor 47-8739 (45 RPM) couples "The Ballad of the Green Berets" (SSgt Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:27, matrix SPKM-6175, with "Letter From Vietnam" (SSgt Barry Sadler), 2:30, SPKM-6172, each "from the RCA Victor album LPM-3547 'Ballads of the Green Berets'"; its picture sleeve shows Sadler in his green beret with the Special Forces flash, and its back, like that of the single "The 'A' Team" / "An Empty Glass" (47-8804; Whitcup–Fairbanks–Sadler, 2:05, TPKM-2852; sleeve headed "SSGT Barry Sadler of The Green Berets"), reproduces the album cover under "Ask for This New L.P. LPM/LSP-3547" (an RCA Victor Dynagroove recording) with its twelve tracks: The Ballad of the Green Berets / Letter from Vietnam / I'm a Lucky One / Garet Trooper / The Soldier Has Come Home / Salute to the Nurses / I'm Watching the Raindrops Fall / Badge of Courage / Trooper's Lament / Bamiba / Saigon / Lullaby. In Japan, Victor SS-1671 (Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.) issued the coupling as "悲しき戦場〜グリーン・ベレーのバラード" [Sad Battlefield – The Ballad of the Green Berets] / "ベトナムからの手紙" [Letter from Vietnam], sleeve headed "話題の焦点!! 全米ヒット・パレードにも急上昇!!" [The talk of the town!! Shooting up the US hit parade!!]; its gatefold prints Japanese notes saying the song sold 400,000 copies in its first two weeks and that Sadler, a 25-year-old New Mexican with seven years in the Air Force and Special Forces, served in Vietnam from spring 1965 and lives at Fort Bragg with his wife Lavenia and son Thor, together with the English lyrics of both songs (price ¥370). A later SS-1671 pressing subtitles the song as the theme of the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts film "グリーンベレー" (The Green Berets) and comes in a film tie-in sleeve with John Wayne and David Janssen, film credits (directed by John Wayne, produced by Michael Wayne, from the novel by Robin Moore, music by Miklós Rózsa), a synopsis, and notes stating that Sadler joined the Air Force in 1958, went to Vietnam with the Green Berets in 1964, was wounded in the leg by a poisoned bamboo-stake trap on patrol in spring 1965, that the record, released in January 1966, reached No. 1, and that its proceeds went to war-orphan homes (price ¥400); its company sleeve is Reprise-branded, "Manufactured by Victor Record Company Ltd., Japan by agreement with Cosdel Inc." The German RCA Victor 47-9688 sleeve couples the song with "Badge of Courage" under "Original-Aufnahme Nr.1 in Amerikas Hot 100", credited to Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler. The Spanish RCA Victor 3-10152 (RCA Española, S.A., Torre de Madrid; Depósito Legal M. 3702-1966) pairs "The Ballad of the Green Berets (Balada de los boinas verdes)" (Sargento Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:26, 3F6ZW-0001, with "Saigon" (Sargento Barry Sadler), 2:27, 3F6ZW-0002, credited to Sargento Barry Sadler, "Arr. y Dirección: Sid Bass", the back printing a "traducción literal al español" of the lyrics. [From the record sleeve and labels]
The US RCA Victor singles credit SSgt Barry Sadler, U. S. Army Special Forces, "Arranged and conducted by Sid Bass", producer Andy Wiswell, publisher Music, Music, Music, Inc., ASCAP. RCA Victor 47-8739 (45 RPM) couples "The Ballad of the Green Berets" (SSgt Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:27, matrix SPKM-6175, with "Letter From Vietnam" (SSgt Barry Sadler), 2:30, SPKM-6172, each "from the RCA Victor album LPM-3547 'Ballads of the Green Berets'"; its picture sleeve shows Sadler in his green beret with the Special Forces flash, and its back, like that of the single "The 'A' Team" / "An Empty Glass" (47-8804; Whitcup–Fairbanks–Sadler, 2:05, TPKM-2852; sleeve headed "SSGT Barry Sadler of The Green Berets"), reproduces the album cover under "Ask for This New L.P. LPM/LSP-3547" (an RCA Victor Dynagroove recording) with its twelve tracks: The Ballad of the Green Berets / Letter from Vietnam / I'm a Lucky One / Garet Trooper / The Soldier Has Come Home / Salute to the Nurses / I'm Watching the Raindrops Fall / Badge of Courage / Trooper's Lament / Bamiba / Saigon / Lullaby. In Japan, Victor SS-1671 (Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.) issued the coupling as "悲しき戦場〜グリーン・ベレーのバラード" [Sad Battlefield – The Ballad of the Green Berets] / "ベトナムからの手紙" [Letter from Vietnam], sleeve headed "話題の焦点!! 全米ヒット・パレードにも急上昇!!" [The talk of the town!! Shooting up the US hit parade!!]; its gatefold prints Japanese notes saying the song sold 400,000 copies in its first two weeks and that Sadler, a 25-year-old New Mexican with seven years in the Air Force and Special Forces, served in Vietnam from spring 1965 and lives at Fort Bragg with his wife Lavenia and son Thor, together with the English lyrics of both songs (price ¥370). A later SS-1671 pressing subtitles the song as the theme of the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts film "グリーンベレー" (The Green Berets) and comes in a film tie-in sleeve with John Wayne and David Janssen, film credits (directed by John Wayne, produced by Michael Wayne, from the novel by Robin Moore, music by Miklós Rózsa), a synopsis, and notes stating that Sadler joined the Air Force in 1958, went to Vietnam with the Green Berets in 1964, was wounded in the leg by a poisoned bamboo-stake trap on patrol in spring 1965, that the record, released in January 1966, reached No. 1, and that its proceeds went to war-orphan homes (price ¥400); its company sleeve is Reprise-branded, "Manufactured by Victor Record Company Ltd., Japan by agreement with Cosdel Inc." The German RCA Victor 47-9688 sleeve couples the song with "Badge of Courage" under "Original-Aufnahme Nr.1 in Amerikas Hot 100", credited to Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler. The Spanish RCA Victor 3-10152 (RCA Española, S.A., Torre de Madrid; Depósito Legal M. 3702-1966) pairs "The Ballad of the Green Berets (Balada de los boinas verdes)" (Sargento Barry Sadler–Robin Moore), 2:26, 3F6ZW-0001, with "Saigon" (Sargento Barry Sadler), 2:27, 3F6ZW-0002, credited to Sargento Barry Sadler, "Arr. y Dirección: Sid Bass", the back printing a "traducción literal al español" of the lyrics. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)
Born Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA (1 November 1940). Died Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA (5 November 1989)