P.O.W.
1973 · The Anything, Everything BS 764T10 · USA
- Artist
- The Bitter & the Sweet
- Title
- P.O.W.
- Release
- I Won't Have Any Babies for You / P.O.W.
- Year
- 1973
- Label
- The Anything, Everything # BS 764T10
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Songwriter
- Floyd Johnson
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation — P.O.W. / M.I.A. Songs
The song "P.O.W." (The Anything, Everything Records # BS 764T10) by the obscure soul group, The Bitter & the Sweet, dealt with the prisoner of war issue, which frequently appeared in 1970s post-Vietnam War songs. The narration included a series of patriotic sentiments, such as wanting to "salute the past, present and future service men and woman of this country" for their bravery and fighting for the country. At the end of the song the narrator posed a series of questions about the whereabouts of a soldier, representing the type of questions that families and friends of a P.O.W. would ask. Released in Detroit, Michigan. Floyd Johnson wrote and produced, while the Motown Records guitarist Robert White (former member of the The Funk Brothers) worked on the arrangement. The band members included Adrienne Bolden, Katherine Hamilton, Victor Williams, Kenny Jackson & LeRoi Coleman Jordan. See this advert of the original 7".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
The Bitter & The Sweet were a 1970s soul group from Detroit, Michigan, per the Discogs artist profile - members Adrienne Bolden Jordan, Katherine Hamilton, Victor Williams, Kenny Jackson and Baraka LeRoi Coleman Jordan, drawn from Detroit's Northern and Mumford high schools. Discogs confirms one release outright ("I Won't Have Any Babies For You", 1973, The Anything, Everything Records); the singles list that would confirm "P.O.W." would not render before rate-limiting. No competing act of the name exists in the database. [Source: Discogs artist profile]