Paul Lavalle & The Band Of America
Badge Of Courage
1966 · RCA Victor LSP-3600 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Paul Lavalle & The Band Of America
- Title
- Badge Of Courage
- Release
- Salute To Our Fighting Men In Vietnam
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- RCA Victor # LSP-3600
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Songwriter
- SSgt. Barry Sadler
- Genre
- Traditional Pop · Traditional Pop
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation
Paul Lavallle became the conductor of the Band of America in 1948, performing a weekly radion program on NBC for eight years. From 1964 the band toured extensively and started playing the Barry Sadler song "The Ballad of the Green Beret" and other pro-Vietnam, military style marches. On 4 June 1965 Paul Lavalle received a citation from Major Daniel Baldwin of the U.S. Army Special Forces for being the first non-military band to perform the "Green Beret" march. Lavalle followed up the citation by releasing this collection of 12 Vietnam-related patriotic and pro-government songs (RCA Victor # LSP-3600). Billboard reviewed the album on 23 April 1966: "hinged on the current craze for heroic causes and tunes, this album could provide excellent sales" - although it seems to have failed commercially. (1) Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, NY. (2)
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Paul Lavalle (born Joseph Usifer, 6 September 1908, Beacon, New York; died 24 June 1997, Harrisonburg, Virginia), American conductor and composer, led the Band of America from 1948, incl. NBC radio/TV broadcasts and the 'Salute to Our Fighting Men in Vietnam' recording. [Source: Wikipedia / JMU Lavalle Collection]