corrido de Ricardo Campos

Annotation — Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs

The song "El corrido de Ricardo Campos" (Hurricane Records # 45-6982), released on a Mexican-American label in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As discussed immediately above, the group Los Reyes de Albuquerque ("The Kings of Albuquerque") was led by Roberto Martinez, who composed this song, very active in the 60s and 70s, blending the Mexican-American genres mariachi, ranchera, Tex–Mex, and corridos.1 Martinez's son was also a musician - Lorenzo Martinez, featured on this list with A Sigh for My Lai. This song told the story of Sgt. Richard Compos, K.I.A. in Vietnam at the age of 26 in 1966. His body was shipped to the US, but nobody claimed it. It turned out that he was an orphan in California. Another song about this story, which become a well-known anti-war song was Richard Campos by Daniel Valdez, which also went by the name "Corrido de Ricardo Campos". It appeared in the Vietnam War Songbook, published in 1969 by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber, which contained 100 Vietnam War songs.2345 Dane recorded a version of the song on the album FTA!: Songs of the GI Resistance (Paredon Records # P-1003) called "Ballad of Richard Campos". Also see the record below: El soldado huerfanito (Homenaje al Sgt. Richard Campos) by Los Conquistadores.Sources1Smithsonian Folkways: Lo mejor↩2The Vietnam Songbook: About the Book↩3digitalrepository.unm.edu↩4Raza Si, Guerra No (Lorena Oropeza, 2005)↩5Bodies at War (Belinda Linn Rincón, 2017)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Hurricane 45-6982, produced by Al Hurricane; label shows a wind-bent palm tree over the Hurricane script logo; "El Corrido de Ricardo Campos" (Robert Martinez), Striking Music Pub., BMI, 3:27; Los Reyes de Albuquerque. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Led by Roberto Martinez, father of Lorenzo Martinez

Themes

K.I.A.

In collections

Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs