I Should Be Proud
1970 · Gordy 7098 · USA
- Artist
- Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
- Title
- I Should Be Proud
- Release
- I Should Be Proud / Love, Guess Who
- Year
- 1970
- Label
- Gordy # 7098
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
The song "I Should Be Proud" (Gordy Records # 7098), written by Henry Cosby, Pam Sawyer and Joe Hinton and recorded by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas, is well known as one of the first anti-war songs released by the Motown label - just months before Edwin Starr's "War". Although it must be noted that Motown had released several other political songs related to the Vietnam War prior to this - such as The Valadiers' Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) in 1961, later covered by the The Monitors on the Motown sub-label V.I.P. Records in 1966. And, of course, Motown released the Martin Luther King Jr. speech Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam in 1970 on their sub-label Black Forum Records. Billboard predicted on 28 February 1970 that the song would reach the top 60 of the Billboard Hot 100. The magazine described the song as a "blockbuster rocker with a compelling lyric line that will put her back on the charts in short order - pop and soul. Wild vocal workout". In the end it only reached # 80 (and # 45 on the R&B chart). (1) "I Should Be Proud" featured on the 1970 album Natural Resources (Gordy # HS-1747-2). Martha Reeves took on the song because she lost her brother in Vietnam.…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American Motown vocal group formed 1957 in Detroit, Michigan ('I Should Be Proud'). [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
Anti-War · Purple Heart · Medals · M.I.A.
In collections
Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs