The Badge Means You Suck
1980 · Pineapple VRRNP-864-865 · Houston, Texas
- Artist
- AK-47
- Title
- The Badge Means You Suck
- Release
- The Badge Means You Suck
- Year
- 1980
- Label
- Pineapple # VRRNP-864-865
- Format
- Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Houston, Texas, USA
- Genre
- Rock · Punk Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Punk Rock formed in 1979 in Houston, Texas, USA. Members included: Tim Phlegm (vocals), Harry Leverette [aka Raton Pi], Stewart Cannon [aka Neutron Stu] (guitar), Jim Crane [aka James Allstar] (bass), Sleepy (drums). The song "The Badge Means You Suck" is about police violence against minorities, and in this case, the true story of African-American Vietnam veteran, Milton Gover, killed by 8 shots, on 21 March 1976.123 The song started with the veteran back home "black man just back from Nam". He went jogging at night to "calm his nerves" - possible a reference to PTSD - which "to a cop is a nigger crook". So they shot him dead.Sources1VVAW, The Veteran: Police Murder Vet↩2Google Books↩3Ebony, July 1978↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Punk Songs
Punk Rock formed in 1979 in Houston, Texas, USA. Members included: Tim Phlegm (vocals), Harry Leverette [aka Raton Pi], Stewart Cannon [aka Neutron Stu] (guitar), Jim Crane [aka James Allstar] (bass), Sleepy (drums). The song "The Badge Means You Suck" is about police violence against minorities, and in this case, the true story of African-American Vietnam veteran, Milton Gover, killed by 8 shots, on 21 March 1976.123 The song started with the veteran back home "black man just back from Nam". He went jogging at night to "calm his nerves" - possible a reference to PTSD - which "to a cop is a nigger crook". So they shot him dead. Sources1VVAW, The Veteran: Police Murder Vet↩2Google Books↩3Ebony, July 1978↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: A black man just back from Nam / People thought he was a little bit odd / Jogged at night to calm his nerves / Always talking about god / Well a black man running in the evening / To a cop is a nigger crook / They had two loaded revolvers / Milton had just one book / But he didn't had a chance to convert them / Cause they wouldn't take a second look / It took 8 shots to stop Milton Glover / And his goddamn holy book
About the artist
Deliberately anonymous punk band founded in Houston, Texas in 1979 by guitarist Harry Leverette; their lone single 'The Badge Means You Suck' b/w 'Kiss My Machine' (1980), protesting killings by Houston police, drew a threatened $1 million lawsuit from the Houston Police Officers Association that failed because the members could not be identified. [Source: Texas Monthly]
Themes
Vet · Civil Rights · PTSD