Soldier's Last Letter
1966 · Mercury MG 21 057 · Chicago, Illinois
- Artist
- Dave Dudley
- Title
- Soldier's Last Letter
- Release
- There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
- Year
- 1966
- Label
- Mercury # MG 21 057
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Songwriter
- Redd Stewart and Ernest Tubb
- Genre
- Country · Country
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation — US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
A patriotic, flag-waving concept album (Mercury Records # MG 21 057) from country singer Dave Dudley, who defended the war in Vietnam - note the image of the American flags flying on the front cover of the LP. It included covers of three Tom T. Hall songs - "Hello Vietnam", "Then I'll Come Home Again", and "What We're Fighting For" (also released as a single: What We're Fighting For - Mercury # 72500). It also included a cover of the song "Vietnam Blues", written by Kris Kristofferson, which Dudley released as a single in 1966 - Vietnam Blues (Mercury # 72550). Billboard wrote on 15 January 1966: "Dave Dudley has an outstanding LP based upon his singles hit, 'What We're Fighting For' and a dozen songs in the same war-song vein. Among his top performances are 'Hello Viet Nam', 'Lili Marlene', and 'Then I'll Come Home Again'. A top of the album chart entry". (1) By 5 March 1966 the LP had reached # 12 in the Billboard Hot Country Album chart (a little bit behind Johnnie Wright's Hello Vietnam). (2) It still lingered in the country chart by April, after 11 weeks. (3)
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Born Spencer, Wisconsin, USA (3 May 1928). Died 22 December 2003.
Themes
Home Front Perspective · Soldier's Perspective · K.I.A. · Patriotic · WW2 · Combat · Foxhole