Straight to Hell
1982 · CBS A 2646 · London, UK: England
- Artist
- The Clash
- Title
- Straight to Hell
- Release
- Straight to Hell / Should I Stay or Should I Go
- Year
- 1982
- Label
- CBS # A 2646
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- London, UK: England
- Songwriter
- Strummer / Jones / Simonon / Headon
- Genre
- Rock · Punk Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
The Clash, a British punk rock band that formed in London in 1976, which featured in 1982 (during the release of this single) Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, vocals), Mick Jones (guitar, vocals, 1976-83), and Topper Headon (drums, vocals, 1977-82). In 1981 they released the single "This Is Radio Clash" (CBS # CBS A1797), which referenced the Vietnam War and napalm (a jellied gasoline mixture which the US government extensively used during the war, as previously discussed). The group followed this up in 1982 with the track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) which mentioned Vietnam in the second and third verses. In 1981 they released the song "Charlie Don't Surf" on the album Sandinista! (CBS # FSLN 1), a reference to the 1979 Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The song referenced the use of napalm. The track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) dealt with the abandonment of Vietnamese children fathered by American soldiers during the war, known as "Amerasian". In the song the Amerasian child ask his American father - "papa san" (a Japanese word, but used by US soldiers in Vietnam to refer to older Vietnamese men and women) - to take…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Christmas Songs
The Clash, a British punk rock band that formed in London in 1976, which featured in 1982 (during the release of this single) Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, vocals), Mick Jones (guitar, vocals, 1976-83), and Topper Headon (drums, vocals, 1977-82). In 1981 they released the single "This Is Radio Clash" (CBS # CBS A1797), which referenced the Vietnam War and napalm (a jellied gasoline mixture which the US government extensively used during the war, as previously discussed). The group followed this up in 1982 with the track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) which mentioned Vietnam in the second and third verses. In 1981 they released the song "Charlie Don't Surf" on the album Sandinista! (CBS # FSLN 1), a reference to the 1979 Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The song referenced the use of napalm. The track "Straight to Hell" (CBS # A 2646) dealt with the abandonment of Vietnamese children fathered by American soldiers during the war, known as "Amerasian". In the song the Amerasian child ask his American father - "papa san" (a Japanese word, but used by US soldiers in Vietnam to refer to older Vietnamese men and women) - to take…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 (Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon); disbanded 1986. [Source: Wikipedia]