A Letter From a Soldier (Dear Mama)
1966 · MGM K13545 · Hollywood, California
- Artist
- Connie Francis
- Title
- A Letter From a Soldier (Dear Mama)
- Release
- A Letter From a Soldier / Somewhere, My Love
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- MGM # K13545
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Hollywood, California, USA
- Songwriter
- Allen, Merrell
- Genre
- Pop · Pop
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation
Connie Francis went on many USO tours, including to Vietnam. She said that "visiting and entertaining the troops in Vietnam was my most rewarding experience".1 Returning from Vietnam in the Christmas of 1967, she made hundreds of phone calls to the families of servicemen. She also toured Vietnam in the spring of 1968. In 1966 she recorded a promotion record for the army: "A Nurse in the US Army". The track "A Letter From a Soldier (Dear Mama)" (MGM Records # MGM 1320) was a heartfelt letter, exchanged between a soldier and his mother, as narrated by the sister. Billboard reported on the song, on 25 June 1966: "Slow building, dramatic lyric ballad is given a warm, emotional reading by Miss Francis for a chart-topping entry".2 It was arranged and conducted by Larry Wilcox, and recorded on 31 May 1966 in New York.3Sources1nj.com: Connie francis↩2Billboard, 25 June 1966↩3Billboard, 31 May 1966↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: Mama just got a letter from Johnny / My brother in Vietnam... / Dear mama, as I lie here in far old Vietnam / I find that I'm thinking of you... / Now I know...how much you mean to me
Notes
MGM K13545 (100,600), black label with the rainbow M-G-M logo, "MGM Records – A Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. – Made in U.S.A."; "A Letter From a Soldier (Dear Mama)" (Allen-Merrell), 2:50, Wanessa Music & Brookings Music, BMI; arranged by Larry Wilcox, produced by Tom Wilson. Issued in a green-and-white MGM Records company sleeve headed "The Greatest Name in Entertainment!", manufactured by MGM Records Division, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
American pop singer, born Concetta Franconero 12 December 1937 in Newark, New Jersey; died 16 July 2025 in Pompano Beach, Florida. [Source: Wikipedia]