Monday In May (The Kent State Tragedy)

Annotation

Third Condition were a garage rock band from Daytona Beach, Florida, popular on the local garage scene, featuring Charles "Chuck" Robinette (lead singer), Ralph Citrullo (bass), Chris Drake (vocals, guitar), Allen Dresser (guitar), Max Easom (drums, vocals), and Neil Haney (vocals, organ). They released one of the first songs about the Kent State shootings on a Tampa label, with the original promo copy under the title Monday in May (A May Day of Hell), composed by Chuck Robinette. The label said "rush release" with a date stamp: "10 June 1970". It received decent airplay and started to rise in the charts until the release of Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (below). We know that "Ohio", composed by Neil Young, was recorded 21 May 1970, and it is reviewed as early as 20 June 1970 in Billboard, on p.54, described as rushed out with a "timely message" - that's 10 days after the Third Condition record.1 "Ohio" charted on 27 June 1970, entering at # 58.2 Therefore, the Third Condition record would have got to stations before or at the same time as Neil Young’s "Ohio". The song later appeared under the name "Monday in May (The Kent State Tragedy)" (Sundi Records # SR-6815). Third Condition’s record label promoted it heavily in Billboard in August. Billboard reported on 15 August 1970, p. 80, that Sundi had established a university scholarship in Tampa (called M.I.M - Monday in May), funded by 10% of net royalties earned on the single3 They followed this up with a full page advertisement on 29 August 1970, on p. 27 of Billboard.4 But the song had no further commercial impact. Distributed by Transglobal Distributing Corporation. Publisher: Candius Music. Performing Rights: BMI. The song called the event a "shame for the nation" and that "the screams of the dying are burned in their mind".Sources1Billboard 1970-06-20↩2Billboard 1970-06-27↩3Billboard 1970-08-15↩4Billboard 1970-08-29↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Kent / Jackson State Songs

Third Condition were a garage rock band from Daytona Beach, Florida, popular on the local garage scene, featuring Charles "Chuck" Robinette (lead singer), Ralph Citrullo (bass), Chris Drake (vocals, guitar), Allen Dresser (guitar), Max Easom (drums, vocals), and Neil Haney (vocals, organ). They released one of the first songs about the Kent State shootings on a Tampa label, with the original promo copy under the title Monday in May (A May Day of Hell), composed by Chuck Robinette. The label said "rush release" with a date stamp: "10 June 1970". It received decent airplay and started to rise in the charts until the release of Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (below). We know that "Ohio", composed by Neil Young, was recorded 21 May 1970, and it is reviewed as early as 20 June 1970 in Billboard, on p.54, described as rushed out with a "timely message" - that's 10 days after the Third Condition record.1 "Ohio" charted on 27 June 1970, entering at # 58.2 Therefore, the Third Condition record would have got to stations before or at the same time as Neil Young’s "Ohio". The song later appeared under the name "Monday in May (The Kent State Tragedy)" (Sundi Records # SR-6815). Third Condition’s record label promoted it heavily in Billboard in August. Billboard reported on 15 August 1970, p. 80, that Sundi had established a university scholarship in Tampa (called M.I.M - Monday in May), funded by 10% of net royalties earned on the single3 They followed this up with a full page advertisement on 29 August 1970, on p. 27 of Billboard.4 But the song had no further commercial impact. Distributed by Transglobal Distributing Corporation. Publisher: Candius Music. Performing Rights: BMI. The song called the event a "shame for the nation" and that "the screams of the dying are burned in their mind". Sources1Billboard 1970-06-20↩2Billboard 1970-06-27↩3Billboard 1970-08-15↩4Billboard 1970-08-29↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: With humiliation and shame for the nation / We shared bitter tears for the deed that was done / When student dissension brought armed intervention / To Kent State Ohio with tear gas and guns... / Blood and confusion, dispelling illusion, Monday in May, a May day of hell / No longer concealing the anger they're feeling / They turn on the guardsmen with rocks in their hand... / Bullets were flying, students were crying... / Screams of the dying were burned in their mind... / A May Day in hell

Notes

original promo copy under the title Monday in May (A May Day of Hell) - title then changed to "Monday in May (The Kent State Tragedy)" Sundi Records SR-6815, "A Gil Cabot Enterprises, Inc. Release", P.O. Box 7229, Tampa, Florida 33603. The first promotional pressing (white label, "Promotion Copy Not for Sale", stamped "Rush Release") titles the song "Monday in May" (A May Day of Hell) (C. Robinette), Candius Music (BMI), vocal, 3:14, produced by Gil Cabot, engineer Phil Kempin. The later D.J. copy (white label with yellow flowers, "Not for Sale", SR-6815 A, 7856, "A Cabot Entertainment Companies Release", "Nationally distributed by Transglobal Distributing Corporation—USA") titles it "Monday in May (The Kent State Tragedy)" (C. Robinette), Candius Music BMI, 2:59, intro :12, with a handwritten date "9/10/70". [From the record sleeve and labels] Advertised in Billboard, 29 August 1970…

About the artist

garage rock band from Daytona Beach, Florida, featuring Charles "Chuck" Robinette (lead singer), Ralph Citrullo (bass), Chris Drake (vocals, guitar), Allen Dresser (guitar), Max Easom (drums, vocals), and Neil Haney (vocals, organ).

Themes

Kent State · Anti-War · Demonstration

In collections

Garage Rock Songs · Kent / Jackson State Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]