Plea for Calley
Boss SPS-231 · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Artist
- Beverly Bixler
- Title
- Plea for Calley
- Release
- A Plea for Calley / Welcome to My World
- Label
- Boss # SPS-231
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Songwriter
- Beverly Bixler
- Genre
- Pop · Adult Contemporary · Easy Listening · Pop
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation
Beverly Bixler, another obscure country artist, recorded the song "A Plea for Calley" (Boss Records # SPS-231) at the Benson Sound Studio, in Oklahoma City, OK (founded in 1968 by Larry Benson, and still running today). (1) The narrator took a sympathetic view towards the plight of Calley, arguing that soldiers should not be judged for their actions in war: "who are we to judge a man's action under the stress and strain of battle". The track also said that all of society should share the guilt for training and sending US troops to fight in Vietnam (a similar point made by Pete Seeger in the anti-war song "Last Train to Nuremburg"): "if there is a guilt, we must all share". So this track did not take an anti-war or pro-government / patriotic stance, but pro-soldier, and provided a representation of the US domestic scene, post-Calley trial. No date is on record, but it referred to the Calley trial and his imprisonment, so probably released around or after 1971.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Unknown - no citable documentation of 'Plea for Calley' found on Discogs, 45cat, trade archives, or the My Lai song surveys; no label or year could be established.
Themes
My Lai · Pro-Calley · Patriotic · Calley-Order · Calley-Chaos
In collections
My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs