How Will It Be?

Annotation

Eve Plumb, born on 29 April 1958, in Burbank, California, a childhood star of the TV program The Brady Bunch (playing the role of middle sister Jan Brady) released the song "How Will It Be" (RCA Records # 0409) at the age of 12. Her father Neely Plumb (a jazz saxophonist) arranged, conducted, produced and co-wrote the record. On 20 February 1971 Billboard reported on the new single below a picture of Plumb: "KMPC's Jim Lange introduced new RCA artist, Eve Plumb, on a remote broadcast from Universal Studios in Hollywood, with the young performer coming out to talk about her single, 'How Will It Be' and her role in the TV series The Brady Bunch".1 The single took an anti-war position. The narrator, who had just turned twelve, imagined what the world would look like when she entered her twenties, including the possibility of being recruited to fight in a war: "by 22 I could be a soldier, when they run out of boys I guess they'll have to start taking girls too" - which reflected the high number of US deaths in Vietnam by the time of this record in 1971. She then recalled seeing her sister's friend on TV protesting the war: "I saw...Carrie...on TV once carrying a big sign, it said 'give peace a chance'". Unfortunately Carrie died, killed in a protest, a parallel to the Kent State demonstrations: "why didn't they give Carrie a chance, in six days she would have been 22". She concluded by questioning whether she wanted to bring children into the world because of all the violence and hate.Sources1Billboard, 20 February 1971↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Children on Record

Eve Plumb, born on 29 April 1958, in Burbank, California, a childhood star of the TV program The Brady Bunch (playing the role of middle sister Jan Brady) released the single "How Will It Be" (RCA Records # 0409) at the age of 12. Her father Neely Plumb (a jazz saxophonist) arranged, conducted, produced and co-wrote the record. On 20 February 1971 Billboard reported on the new single below a picture of Plumb: "KMPC's Jim Lange introduced new RCA artist, Eve Plumb, on a remote broadcast from Universal Studios in Hollywood, with the young performer coming out to talk about her single, 'How Will It Be' and her role in the TV series The Brady Bunch".1The single took an anti-war position. The narrator, who had just turned twelve, imagined what the world would look like when she entered her twenties, including the possibility of being recruited to fight in a war: "by 22 I could be a soldier, when they run out of boys I guess they'll have to start taking girls too" - which reflected the high number of US deaths in Vietnam by the time of this record in 1971. She then recalled seeing her sister's friend on TV protesting the war: "I saw...Carrie...on TV once carrying a big sign, it said 'give peace a chance'". Unfortunately Carrie died, killed in a protest, a parallel to the Kent State demonstrations: "why didn't they give Carrie a chance, in six days she would have been 22". She concluded by questioning whether she wanted to bring children into the world because of all the violence and hate. Sources1Billboard, 20 February 1971↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Kent / Jackson State Songs

Eve Plumb, born on 29 April 1958, in Burbank, California, a childhood star of the TV program The Brady Bunch (playing the role of middle sister Jan Brady) released the single "How Will It Be" (RCA Records # 0409) at the age of 12. Her father Neely Plumb (a jazz saxophonist) arranged, conducted, produced and co-wrote the record. On 20 February 1971 Billboard reported on the new single below a picture of Plumb: "KMPC's Jim Lange introduced new RCA artist, Eve Plumb, on a remote broadcast from Universal Studios in Hollywood, with the young performer coming out to talk about her single, 'How Will It Be' and her role in the TV series The Brady Bunch".1 The single took an anti-war position. The narrator, who had just turned twelve, imagined what the world would look like when she entered her twenties, including the possibility of being recruited to fight in a war: "by 22 I could be a soldier, when they run out of boys I guess they'll have to start taking girls too" - which reflected the high number of US deaths in Vietnam by the time of this record in 1971. She then recalled seeing her sister's friend on TV protesting the war: "I saw...Carrie...on TV once carrying a big sign, it said 'give peace a chance'". Unfortunately Carrie died, killed in a protest, a parallel to the Kent State demonstrations: "why didn't they give Carrie a chance, in six days she would have been 22". She concluded by questioning whether she wanted to bring children into the world because of all the violence and hate.Sources1Billboard, 20 February 1971↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I had a birthday the other day, I'm 12 years old / Julie, Diane and I, they're my best friends / We made a secret promise that on my 21st birthday we would all get together right here on this very spot / No matter how far we had to travel, boy a lot can happen... / How will it be when I'm 21, what will the future bring / Will everybody love everybody or will it be a ? dream / Will I be any fun when I'm 21 / How about when I'm 22 / By 22 I could be a soldier / When they run out of boys I guess they'll have to start taking girls too / Of course, then again, I might be in college when I'm 22 / My sister's friend Carrie was in college until last year / I saw her on TV once carrying a big sign, it said 'Give peace a chance' / Why didn't they give Carrie a chance / In six days she would have been 22 / How will it be when I'm 23 / What will the years reveal / Will there be flowers and summer shadows... / And then I'll be 24, boy that is nearly middle-aged / I could have ten children by then, well, two at least / Of course right now I wouldn't want to have any children / There's too much bad in the world for children to see / But maybe when I'm 24 people will be friends again / They better be friends, they better learn to share as well... / How will it be when I'm 25, will anyone still be alive?

Notes

childhood star of the TV program The Brady Bunch (playing the role of middle sister Jan Brady) RCA 74-0409 (ZPKS-9140), stereo, yellow "Not For Sale — Plug" promotional label; "How Will It Be?" (Kramer-Plumb), 3:25, intro :06, end: cold, E. H. Morris & Company Inc., ASCAP; arranged, conducted and produced by Neely Plumb; IMC Productions, Inc.; "RCA Corporation — Made in U.S.A." [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born Burbank, California.

Themes

Child · Anti-War · Demonstration · Kent State

In collections

Children on Record · Kent / Jackson State Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]