Paul Lavalle & the Band of America
Saigon
1966 · RCA Victor LPM-3600 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Paul Lavalle & the Band of America
- Title
- Saigon
- Release
- Salute To Our Fighting Men In Vietnam
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- RCA Victor # LPM-3600
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Genre
- Traditional Pop · Traditional Pop
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation — US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Paul Lavallle became the conductor of the Band of America in 1948, performing a weekly radion program on NBC for eight years. From 1964 the band toured extensively and started playing the Barry Sadler song "The Ballad of the Green Beret" and other pro-Vietnam, military style marches. On 4 June 1965 Paul Lavalle received a citation from Major Daniel Baldwin of the U.S. Army Special Forces for being the first non-military band to perform the "Green Beret" march. Lavalle followed up the citation by releasing this collection of 12 Vietnam-related patriotic and pro-government songs (RCA Victor # LSP-3600). Billboard reviewed the album on 23 April 1966: "hinged on the current craze for heroic causes and tunes, this album could provide excellent sales" - although it seems to have failed commercially.1 Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, NY.2Sources1Billboard, 23 April 1966↩2worldcat.org: Salute to our fighting men in vietnam↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
RCA Victor Dynagroove Recording, Mono LPM-3600 / Stereo LSP-3600, © 1966 Radio Corporation of America; arrangements by Elliot Lawrence, produced by Andy Wiswell; recorded in Webster Hall, New York City, recording engineer Mickey Crofford; public performance clearance ASCAP. Tracks with chorus include The Ballad of the Green Berets (2:40), Badge of Courage (2:42), The Green Beret (2:08) and Saigon (3:10). The front cover is a green-and-black painting of two U.S. soldiers in jungle foliage with a helicopter. Back-cover notes ("A Musical Gesture of Good Will to Heroic Men in Action") credit SSgt Barry Sadler's recording of The Ballad of the Green Berets, explain that Badge of Courage takes its name from President Kennedy's description of the green beret, that The Green Beret march was written by CWO Ken Whitcomb, chief arranger for the West Point Band, and that Saigon blends East and West…
About the artist
Paul Lavalle (born Joseph Usifer, 6 September 1908, Beacon, New York; died 24 June 1997, Harrisonburg, Virginia), American conductor and composer, led the Band of America from 1948, incl. NBC radio/TV broadcasts and the 'Salute to Our Fighting Men in Vietnam' recording. [Source: Wikipedia / JMU Lavalle Collection]
Themes
From the release Salute To Our Fighting Men In Vietnam
In collections
US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]