Jimi Hendrix and the Star Spangled Banner

   

When one thinks of Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," one instantly thinks of Woodstock, the concert that defined the generation of the counterculture.  Woodstock was a three-day concert event that touted communal living, peace, free-spirit, and, above all else, music.  There were numerous performers, but the one that really defined Woodstock was Jimi Hendrix, who closed the show.  Hendrix performed on Monday morning, delayed due, in part, to inclement weather.  In fact, his audience was small in comparison with the throes of youngsters who had stayed through the weekend.   Over half a million people had been in attendance during the event's peak, but only about 30,000 were there when Hendrix took the stage. Even as Hendix played, the audience continued to thin, as people had weekday commitments and real lives to return to.  But those who stayed heard a version of "The Star Spangled Banner" that would become a symbol of a generation.

       It is interesting to note that Hendrix rendition was not planned.  Hendrix even admitted to the crowd just before breaking into that song: “You can leave if you want to. We’re just jammin’, that’s all.” The song was an impromptu jam session, but it really meant so much more to so many people, including Hendrix himself.

        The Hendrix version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was representative of the time.  It not only highlighted the reactions to the perceived immorality of the Vietnam War as a protest song, but it appropriately broke from tradition.  If we think about the concept of a "counterculture," it implies just that - a break away from traditional norms, values, and expectations.  Hendrix did that and so much more by playing his own artistic version of the traditionally American anthem.  Aside from the obvious war references, including the sound of bombs falling, fighter jets overhead, people screaming, and the infusion of Taps, the song represented a break from tradition because it was not played traditionally.  No one had thought to do this before Hendrix.  Whether or not you like the interpretation, it cannot be denied that Hendrix made a statement about the sociopolitical atmosphere of the time that goes way beyond that of an anti-war statement.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

        For Hendrix himself, the song appropriately made another statement - that of Civil Rights.  Jimi Hendrix was a very successful African American rock singer who had been backed by an all-white band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which had recently broken up and was playing for the first time with his new, mixed-race band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows.  Hendrix included black performers, bassist Billy Cox, guitarist Larry Lee, and percussionist Juma Sultan in the new ensemble he called his Gypsies.  Hendrix also performed songs from his early years, songs including Gypsy Woman and Aware of Love, which were written or co-written by Curtis Mayfield, with whom Hendrix had performed with in the early 1960s. It was the only Hendrix concert that included these songs. It would seem that Hendrix wanted to point out that he was a successful rocker, but also that he was African-American.  "The Star Spangled Banner" performance only served to highlight this point.  Hendrix himself even drove that point home when interviewed about his rendition of  "The Star Spangled Banner" on Dick Cavett a few days after the performance:

“I don’t know, man. All I did was play it. I’m American, so I played it. I used to sing it in school. They made me sing it in school, so it was a flashback.” Cavett interrupted the interview to point out to the audience, “This man was in the 101st Airborne, so when you send your nasty letters in …” Cavett then explained to Hendrix that whenever someone plays an “unorthodox” version of the anthem, “You immediately get a guaranteed percentage of hate mail.”

Hendrix then respectfully disagreed with Cavett’s description. “I didn’t think it was unorthodox,” he said. “I thought it was beautiful.”

Hendrix underscored the fact that he played the song because he was an American.  In that instance, Hendrix explained so much in so few words as did his artistic rendition of an American anthem.

We Gotta Get Out of this Place

       "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" has become a symbol of the Vietnam War.  In fact, the song, recorded by the Animals, was used as the intro for the television series Tour of Duty, a dramatic series set on an American base stationed in Vietnam that ran from 1997 through 1990 when there was a resurgence of Vietnam War-themed shows and movies. At first glance, the song appears to be just that, a Vietnam War anthem demanding the U.S. government to withdraw from the Vietnam conflict.  But, at closer look, the lyrics tell a different story.  The song was written by husband and wife team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, a productive Brill Building team that started with popular "fluffy" songs such as The Drifters' "On Broadway" and The Crystals' "Uptown."  Examination of the lyrics of "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" reveals that this song really is not much different than "On Broadway" or "Uptown" in that "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" is about a young couple caught in a working-class city slum, trying to make a better life for themselves before the working-class lifestyle literally kills them, like the narrator's father who worked himself to death at a young age.  "On Broadway" and "Uptown" also refer to finding a better life in a better place.  Although "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" resonated with soldiers deployed to Vietnam during that conflict when the song was released, the song generally is more about finding a way out to pursue a better life.  It is understandable that the song became an anthem, and arguably the most requested song on Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam conflict.  The song clearly relates to the soldiers' need to "get out of that place."  But, this song is a perfect example of the numerous offerings from this time period that were not specifically written as anti-war anthems, but were successfully re-purposed as such.

We Gotta Get Out of this Place

In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
Oh yes I know it
(Yeah!) He's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every night and day
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'cause girl, there's a better life for me and you
Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true, yeah
You'll be dead before your time is due, I know it
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey, yeah
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
I know he's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every day baby
(Yeah!) Whoa!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Somewhere baby, somehow I know it
We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too

Writer/s: COOPER, ALICE / EZRIN, ROBERT A. / HOOD, PATTERSON 
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing

The Shirelles - Soldier Boy [original, 1962]

     The Shirelles "Soldier Boy" was released in 1962, before the United States was fully involved in Vietnam, but there was enough U.S. involvement at this point that some of the more prominent newspapers and magazines began to question support for the Diem regime in South Vietnam.  The public was becoming more aware of the conflict.  Although U.S. combat troops were not officially deployed until February 1965, the U.S. had over 3,000 military personnel stationed in Vietnam by the end of 1961 and over 11,000 by the end of 1962.  The song "Soldier Boy" is an appropriate reminder that young men will be transformed into soldiers, especially because the military draft was in effect, and all young men had to register when they turned 16.  Deployment or not, military service was real for the boys of the early to mid-1960s, even before the U.S. officially sent combat troops into Southeast Asia, making "Soldier Boy" an appropriate offering for its time.

Connie Francis - A Letter From a Soldier (Dear Mama)

     Connie Francis is best-known for her rendition of "Where the Boys Are," "Who's Sorry Now?," and "Stupid Cupid," typical pop hits from the mid-1960s.  But, Connie Francis was also a supporter of the U.S. Armed Forces during this same time period, a much less known fact.

     From another perspective, that of the lonely, homesick soldiers in Vietnam, Connie Francis emotionally narrates a letter from soldier to his mother back home.  Recorded in May 1966, "A Letter from a Soldier" allows for a human touch, reminding listeners that the soldiers are real people, not statistics, and not unemotional killers.

      Connie Francis not only recorded this song in support of the soldiers, but she also toured Vietnam with the USO several times over the course of the war.  Her website boasts letters from Vietnam-stationed soldiers whose lives she touched through her music, both recordings and concert tours.  She was quoted as saying the USO tours in Vietnam were "my most rewarding experience" proving that she was touched by these soldiers as much as they were moved by her music. The letters can be read here Connie Francis' webpage.  It is amazing to see how she touched so many lives through her music.

Johnny Wright - Keep the Flag Flying

      Johnny Wright released another patriotic song during the Vietnam War era that boasts patriotism despite the loss of life associated with war.  "Keep the Flag Flying" reads:

On a battlefield in another land across the sea
My best pal and I were on patrol looking for the enemy
Then I heard the sound of the snipers shot that took him away
Just before he died kneeling by his side I heard him say

Keep the flag flying keep the young children smiling
Tell them how lucky they are to be free
Keep the flag flying keep freedom from dying
Keep the flag flying please do this for me

Now this battlefield is a lonesome place since he's gone
Though there's other boys walkin' by my side I still feel all alone
I will have to write a sad note tonight and I'll sign it differently

I'll have today from your only living son instead of brother and me.
Keep the flag flying please do this for me.

      Released in 1966, this song shows yet another country music offering supporting American patriotism.  The lyrics tug at the heartstrings with the loss of a comrade's life in battle (who also happens to be the narrator's brother), but the narrator knows that the sacrifice is for the greater good, to protect America and democracy from enemy threats. The message is clear: "Keep the flag flying" to protect American freedom.


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Glen Campbell

   

 Glen Campbell is an interesting and unique figure in the Vietnam War era because his statements and his recordings were quite contradictory.  It is difficult to say whether Campbell believed in the sentiments of both “Universal Soldier,” (released in late 1965) a song written by Buffy Sainte Marie in direct response to witnessing wounded soldiers return from Vietnam, and “Galveston,” (released in 1969) a song written by Jimmy Webb as a tribute to a Spanish-American War soldier and the love he left behind.  It would seem from these recordings that Campbell was clearly an anti-war advocate, but he was quoted as saying, “If you don’t have enough guts to fight for your country, you’re not a man.”  If this is the case, Campbell’s anti-war sentiments become fuzzy at best.  Campbell advocates commitment to military action in order to protect America while denouncing anti-war advocates, after releasing two songs that were considered anti-war offerings.  So which camp did Campbell’s sentiments lie?  It is possible that Campbell simply changed his mind.  It is also possible that Campbell released both songs without realizing the anti-war implications of either.  It is yet further possible that Campbell simply recorded songs that were expected to sell, making profit the defining factor in Campbell’s motivations.  This is most likely the answer to the question of Campbell’s motivations for releasing anti-war songs, then denouncing anti-war protesters and draft dodgers.  The truth is, we will never know Campbell’s inner-most thoughts on the Vietnam War because, other than the statement denouncing draft-dodging, Campbell never really indicated his position on the Vietnam War.

Jerry Reed - Fightin' for the U.S.A.

Jerry Reed is well known for his "East Bound and Down" hit and co-starring role with Burt Reynolds in the Smokey and the Bandit series in the mid-1970s.  Before this, though, Reed was writing songs and recording records including a 1965 offering supporting the United States' foreign policy in Southeast Asia.
 

     Also a veteran, having spent 1957 through 1959 in the U.S. Army, Reed was also a proponent of defending America and her allies. Reed even states in his song that capture by the Viet Cong and subsequent torture would not change his patriotic fervor.  The song was released as a single in 1965 with the instrumental "Navy Blues" as the B-Side.  Neither song charted well, but the sentiment was certainly there - like many of his contemporaries in country music, Reed supported the war effort as an American duty to protect democracy and defend the United States against foreign threats.

Hello Vietnam

      So far, we have discussed songs that implied patriotism and support for American government intervention in Vietnam.  There is, however, a song that explicitly supported American intervention in Vietnam released in 1965, and it was a popular hit in the Country genre.  The song "Hello Vietnam" reached Number One during its initial release and stayed there for three weeks.  It landed as Number 15 on the Country Chart for the year according to Billboard.  The song was written by Tom T. Hall and performed by Johnny Wright, with his famous wife Kitty Wells singing background.  Tom T. Hall was a veteran when he wrote the song, having enlisted in the Army in 1957 and serving in Germany where he performed at local NCO clubs on the Armed Forces Radio Network.  He was discharged after his four years of service, returning to the States in 1961, but his service obviously influenced his opinions about duty and honor.  Hall wrote:

Kiss, me goodbye and write me while I'm gone
Good, bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.
America has heard the bugle call;
And you know it involves us, one and all.
I don't suppose that war will ever end;
There's fighting that will break us up again.
Good bye, my darling, Hello Vietnam.
A hill to take, a battle to be won.
Kiss me goodbye and write me while I'm gone.
Good bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.
A ship is waiting for us at the dock.
America has trouble to be stopped.
We must stop Communism in that land
Or freedom will start slipping through our hands.
I hope and pray someday the world will learn
That fires we don't put out, will bigger burn.
We must save freedom now, at any cost
Or someday, our own freedom will be lost.
Kiss me goodbye and write me while I'm gone
 Good bye, my sweetheart, Hello Vietnam.

     Not only does the song address the domestic issues of leaving a loved one behind, but it is clearly supporting America's efforts to contain Communism, which was the initial rationalization given for the deployment of U.S. troops into Southeast Asia.  This song is clearly in support of the American government's foreign policy with respect to the Vietnam War.  Further, the song was popular among country listeners, proving support for the War was evident among Americans, especially in 1965 when the song was released.

     Interestingly, the song became popular again in 1987 when it was released as part of the soundtrack to Full Metal Jacket.  There was a resurgence of Vietnam-themed films and television series in the mid-1980s, allowing for re-purposing of many of the Vietnam-era songs, but more on that another time.  For our understanding regarding "Hello, Vietnam," it is important to see the connections of this pro-government foreign policy song to the county genre in general and the myth of the American West more specifically.  The song represents the values of the country/western mindset, and an understanding that the government had a duty to protect the precious democracy upon which America was built.

Bob Dylan and Nashville Skyline

       When talking about the soundtrack to the Vietnam War, the most obvious name that comes to mind is Bob Dylan.  He was instrumental in creating a soundtrack of social consciousness in the years leading up to America’s involvement in Southeast Asia. In fact, he was often thought of as a youth leader of the counterculture who was not afraid to write about the issues of the times.  Because of this, an entire generation of young people looked to Dylan for inspiration and guidance.  Although we may never know Dylan’s intentions, as his interviews prove only that he was guarded about revealing his innermost thoughts, it seems that Dylan did not want to be considered a leader of the counterculture.  As a matter of fact, Dylan was quoted, “I was sick of the way my lyrics had been extrapolated, their meanings subverted into polemics and that I had been anointed as the Big Bubba of Rebellion, High Priest of Protest, the Czar of Dissent...."  This may be why Dylan converted from his experiment with rock-n-roll to the more simple sounds of country music.  Even the title of Dylan’s album relates the importance of the Nashville connection with Nashville Skyline.  Rolling Stone reviewer Paul Nelson noted that Dylan’s new found happiness shone through on Nashville Skyline, proving that Dylan found his niche in country music, especially evident in the album’s cover art sporting a smiling Bob Dylan.  Perhaps Dylan was attracted to county music’s Jeffersonian ideals, simple living, and uncomplicated American values.  Perhaps Dylan was more comfortable here than being expected to lead a counterculture, especially in an effort to protest the Vietnam War, since Dylan himself alluded to the fact that he was not comfortable being the forerunner of a revolution. More importantly, however, Dylan’s move towards country started another trend, that of other popular folk-rockers to gravitate towards country music, such as The Byrds, less a recently-fired David Crosby, and Credence Clearwater Revival who sought out less political venues to display their talents.  It is interesting that they found this in country, where the “Frontier Myth” is connected to a sense of simple, American values which were more supportive of America’s foreign policy than these groups had previously been associated.

Johnny Horton and The Battle of New Orleans

In the late 1950s, folksy story-songs were becoming popular with country music listening audiences.  Johnny Horton’s success relied heavily on this with his rendition of Jimmie Driftwood’s “Battle of New Orleans,” the first of several strongly patriotic songs that Horton would release in 1959 and 1960.  With the accomplishment of “Battle of New Orleans,” (it was a Number One song on the Country Billboard Chart in 1959 and won a Grammy for Song of the Year that same year), Horton also recorded “Johnny Reb” and “Sink the Bismarck,” both Top Ten hits and both strongly patriotic folksy saga songs that promoted patriotism through success against great odds.   

Americans were not really thinking about involvement in Vietnam in the later 1950s, but were more engrossed in the Cold War, promoting Americanism and democracy over the Soviet Union and communism.  Horton’s songs about Americans defeating ruthless enemies even at the greatest of odds fit right into this idea of noble Americanism which would defeat the evils of communism.  Americans were primed to support all efforts at containing communism, including the eventual entrance into a war in Southeast Asia.  Not realizing Horton’s songs were, in actuality, propagandist offerings, the country and pop audiences sought out patriotic songs about the importance of America.  This is not to say that Horton purposefully created propaganda, but in the context of the Cold War, it is understandable that Horton would have found his success with these types of songs.  And it is also understandable that the eventual American involvement in Vietnam would be connected to the Cold War and America’s efforts to protect democracy from its evil enemy – communism.  Without realizing it, these songs were early pro-war and pro-government offerings that served to further America’s perceived protection of democracy at all costs, including the eventual entrance into a war in Vietnam.

          Johnny Horton’s performance on the Ed Sullivan Show took the patriotism to the hilt, with Horton costumed in a frontier-like buckskin suit while surrounded by dancers dressed as both British soldiers and American patriots acting out a “battle” through dance, with, of course, the Americans victorious.  The performance was greeted with thunderous applause, proving again the importance of American patriotism.  It has to be noted that Horton used the frontier theme to further the idea of Americanism, revealing again the roots of patriotism were found in the myth of the American West.

The Beverly Hillbillies: An American Icon

           “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” as performed by Flatt and Scruggs reached Number Two on the Country Billboard Chart for the year 1963.  The song was released on September 24, 1962, the same month and year the accompanying television show debuted on CBS.  The successful series ran for nine years and continues today in syndication, proving its timelessness as an American icon.  The Beverly Hillbillies portrayed a stereotypical backwoods family that, by sheer luck, struck it rich finding oil on their otherwise worthless land.  On the surface, the show was silly, albeit comedic genius, poking fun at the American hillbilly and his backwoods ways.  But, looking beyond the surface comedy shtick, the show not only adhered to the “Western myth” that was popular in the post-World War II era, but also demonstrated that the “Western myth” mirrored American values in the eyes of both the show’s creator and its viewers.  In fact,  The Beverly Hillbillies’ creator, Paul Henning, was responsible for both Petticoat Junction and Green Acres, shows with similar themes regarding the value of the American frontier and the de-value of consumerism.  The simple life, not a propensity to gain and flaunt one’s own wealth, was the most important aspect of American life.  The Beverly Hillbillies attested to this, martyring Jed as the intelligent patriarch with his simple yet intuitive perceptions and ridiculing banker Milton Drysdale, who is only concerned with keeping the Clampbett’s money in his bank for his own benefit.  Drysdale, who thinks he is better than the Ozark family he is trying to cajole, is often made the fool.  The television series confirms that regardless of Jed Clampett’s sudden wealth, he remains true to his Ozark mountain upbringing.  As Paul Cullum explains in his article on the Museum of Broadcast Communications site:

Despite his mystification at the newfangled trappings of luxury, and the craven depths to which almost everyone around him sinks, Jed remains a bastion of homespun wisdom--very much the Lincolnesque backroads scholar.

It is no wonder the show, and the show’s theme song, were hits with a public trying to sustain the idea of American values amidst the growing consumerism, especially within the scope of the Cold War and the growing concerns with communism in Southeast Asia.  Television shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies and songs like “The Ballad of Jed Clampbett,” subtly reminded viewers and listeners that the American way needed to be protected from the red scare of communism spreading throughout Asia, including in Vietnam, which, by 1963, was becoming a growing concern in American foreign policy.

Consumerism and Country Music

Country music, as well as rockabilly which was notably influenced by country western, portrayed American values in their music, presenting an America of which they were proud.  As patriotic as they were, however, there were a few particular values of which the country music community were critical, of particular interest was the consumerism that, well, consumed the post-World War II era.  Country songs reminded listeners that wealth was not all it was cracked up to be.  Songs such as Johnny Horton’s “North to Alaska,” Bill Anderson’s “Mama Sang a Song,” Lefty Frizzell’s “Saginaw Mountain,” Marty Robbin’s “Ruby Ann,” and most notably Flatt and Scruggs’ “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” which accompanied the hit television show The Beverly Hillbillies (but we will go into depth about The Beverly Hillbillies next time), all show that wealth was not the most important of the American values.  In fact, it was the least important.

Written by Mike Phillips, “North to Alaska” topped the Country Billboard Chart for the year 1961.  Johnny Horton’s rendition reminds us that the gold in Alaska is nothing without companionship, especially the love of a woman:

George turned to Sam with his gold in his hand
Said, "Sam, you're lookin' at a lonely, lonely man
I'd trade all the gold that's buried in this land
For one small band of gold to place on sweet little Jenny's hand"

"'Cause a man needs a woman to love him all the time
                                        Remember, Sam, a true love is so hard to find
                                        I'd build for my Jenny, a honeymoon home
                                       Below that old white mountain, just a little south-east of Nome" 

Along those same lines, Bill Anderson penned and performed “Mama Sang a Song,” which topped out at Number Eight on the 1962 Country Billboard Chart.  This song describes in great detail the poverty in which the singer grew up, but manages to highlight the importance of family and faith over material things:

Of the old home place where I grew up
Of the days both good and bad
My overalls were hand-me-downs
My shoes were full of holes

I used to walk four miles to school every day
Through the rain, the sleet and the cold
I've seen the nights when my daddy would cry
For the things that his family would need

But all he ever got was a badland farm
And seven hungry mouths to feed
And yet and yet our home fire never flickered once
'Cause when all these things went wrong

Mama took the hymn book down
And Mama sang a song
(What a friend we have in Jesus)

             “Saginaw Michigan,” also written by Bill Anderson, with Donald Choate, was released by Lefty Frizzell and peaked at Number Three on the 1964 Country Billboard Chart.  This song is more a tongue-and-cheek dig at consumerism as the narrator, who is in love with a girl in his hometown of Saginaw, Michigan, leaves home in search of Alaskan gold to prove himself worthy of her love.  The girl’s father was a “wealthy, wealthy man” who did not feel that “the son of a Saginaw fisherman" was good enough for his daughter.  The narrator claims his stake in Alaska, exclaiming he has struck it rich and comes home to marry his girl, and sells his new father-in-law his claim in the Klondike, but his father-in-law is in for an unexpected adventure:

Now he's up there in Alaska digging in the cold, cold ground
That greedy fool is a looking for the gold I never found
But it serves him right and nobody here is missing him
Least of all the newly-weds of Saginaw, Michigan

            Marty Robbins’ version of the Lee Emerson and Roberta Bellamy penned “Ruby Ann” is a love song which notes that the “poor, poor man” wins the girl’s heart because he is a better man, not because he has money.  Robbins’ “Ruby Ann” was the Number One song of Country Billboard’s 1973 chart.  The lyrics pull no punches and bluntly, even bordering on anger, tell the wealthy man that he has nothing of importance compared to the narrator:

Ain't true love a funny thing?

Big man, you got money in your hand,

So what?

You're at a table for two, but still there's only you,

Big shot!

Well, your money can't buy if your power can't hold,

You can't romance your fame

Ruby Ann took the hand of this poor, poor man,

           These songs reveal that money and wealth are the least important values, reminding us that consumerism that is running rampant in this time period is of little importance in the bigger picture.  Though country music was, and still is, patriotic, promoting American values and pride in the American way of life, the writers and performers did not promote consumerism. In fact, in this respect, the values that were truly important were not that different than those of the counterculture, especially the “hippie culture” that revered in communal and simple lifestyles. The parallels in the value system based on a simple life prove that consumerism sparked a rebellion against capitalist consumerism which ultimately led to rock music’s most iconic counterculture symbol, Woodstock, but it was not a purely “rock-n-roll” idea that consumerism was destroying American values as it would seem from remembering Woodstock as the ultimate communal experience.  It seems that those singing the peace songs and the anti-war songs had a similar viewpoint to the more patriotic country singer/songwriters when it came to American values steeped in the idea of community over consumerism.

Billy Bayou and the American Frontier

          The song “Billy Bayou," released in late 1958, tells the story of a nineteenth century red-haired boy born and raised in Louisiana.  During his lifetime, Billy Bayou fights the Indians at Little Big Horn (when he was merely thirteen), and tangles with Geronimo, nearly losing his life, but coming through the incident unscathed, until in 1878 he marries “a pretty girl who walks through his front gate.”  The song was written by Roger Miller and released by Jim Reeves in October 1958 and being dubbed the Number One song on Country’s Billboard Charts for 1959.  It is interesting to see the utilization of an idealized “cowboy culture” in a country song that apparently resonated with a vast majority of the listening audience.  The song had mass appeal, displaying the model of the “American Frontier,” symbolizing freedom, defeating threatening enemies, and, of course, the standard way of life.  Billy Bayou was a model citizen, defending his country and then marrying a pretty girl and, we can guess, having a family of his own, furthering the cycle of American life.  In fact, Jim Reeves dedicated his September 9, 1958 television performance of “Billy Bayou” to the Boy Scouts of America, describing the Boy Scouts as the epitome of American values:

 My guests join me in saluting the Boys Scouts of America. More than five million Boy Scouts for over fifty years of service have written splendid pages in American history and have climbed the scouting trail to dedicated adult service. The character building and citizenship training program of the Boys Scouts has been a profound influence on our American way of life, and the home, and the church, and the nation.  Character counts. Their very own slogan “Be Prepared” is indicative of their contribution to character building and citizenship training.  Join with us in this salute to the Boy Scouts by helping the scouting program in your own hometown.  Better boys make a better America.  Scouts honor.  To the Boy Scouts everywhere.  Now a favorite of mine for my favorite boys  - the Boy Scouts:  “Billy Bayou.”

          This song, and the dedication by Jim Reeves who performed the popular 1958 version, reveal how the Cold War provided for a push for pride in America and democracy as opposed to the rivalry of Communism in China and the Soviet Union.  It comes as no surprise that the cowboy culture with its model of the American Frontier was a popular method of asserting Americanism on a public primed to engulf everything “American.”

The Peace Songs - The Cold War Connection

The Vietnam War soundtrack featured an abundance of anti-war songs, including Edwin Star’s “War” (1970) and Country Joe’s “Fixin’ to Die Rag” (1968).  These songs fit squarely into the box dubbed “Vietnam War Protest Songs.”  But it is not so well-known that many of the peace songs that became popular in the later 1960s were actually written in response to the Cold War and fear of nuclear annihilation rather than as a reaction to America’s involvement in Southeast Asia. For example, Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” (1962), “Masters of War,” (1963), and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (1963) were all written as peace songs well before America entered the hot war in Vietnam and well after America’s exit from Korea.  In fact, Dylan himself stated before playing “Blowin’ in the Wind” at a Greenwich Village nightclub “This here ain’t no protest song or anything like that cause I don’t write no protest songs.”  Of the three, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” is the most obvious of the nuclear testing warnings.  Just by the title alone it is easy to see how the song is related to the realization that the nuclear fall-out from testing was being washed out of the sky through the rain and was literally poisoning the environment.  If anything, this song can actually be considered an early pro-environmental song.  The Vietnam War was barely on the horizon and not on the minds of songwriters like Dylan who were considered the writers of “Protest Songs” at this particular time.

 It is true that the Vietnam War hurried along the popularity of such songs, especially as they found a place in anti-war protests.  But the fact that these songs were written as Cold War offerings actually puts many of these songs in a different category than “Anti-War Songs.”  Indiana University Emeritus Professor of History Ronald D. Cohen concedes “potential devastation from atomic weapons, rather than the looming Vietnam War, mostly occupied the minds of songwriters” in the early to mid-1960s. Promoting peace in light of the Cold War and protesting American involvement in a hot war in Southeast Asia are two very different entities with very different undertones.  The “Peace Movement” did shift to an anti-war stance as things heated up in Vietnam. And there were many songs that were written in this light.  Phil Ochs penned “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore,” “The Men Behind the Guns,” and “Draft Dodger Rag,” specifically to protest America’s involvement in Vietnam.  But it was not until “Eve of Destruction” was released by Barry McGuire in late August of 1965 that the union between song and anti-war protest was really cemented, but this was purely an accident, and not the intention of the songwriter.

 The P.F. Sloan-penned “Eve of Destruction” as recorded by Barry McGuire reached Number 1 on the pop charts.  This was the first time that a protest song had reached a wider audience, indicating that the general public was dissatisfied with America’s foreign policies.  However, P.F. Sloan admitted that the song was not an anti-Vietnam War song.  Sloan writes:

The song 'Eve of Destruction' was written in the early morning hours between midnight and dawn in mid-1964. The most outstanding experience I had in writing this song was hearing an inner voice inside of myself for only the second time. It seemed to have information no one else could've had. For example, I was writing down this line in pencil 'think of all the hate there is in Red Russia.' This inner voice said 'No, no it's Red China!' I began to argue and wrestle with that until near exhaustion. I thought Red Russia was the most outstanding enemy to freedom in the world, but this inner voice said the Soviet Union will fall before the end of the century and Red China will endure in crimes against humanity well into the new century! This inner voice that is inside of each and every one of us but is drowned out by the roar of our minds! The song contained a number of issues that were unbearable for me at the time. I wrote it as a prayer to God for an answer.

I have felt it was a love song and written as a prayer because, to cure an ill you need to know what is sick. In my youthful zeal I hadn't realized that this would be taken as an attack on The System! Examples: The media headlined the song as everything that is wrong with the youth culture. First, show the song is just a hack song to make money and therefore no reason to deal with its questions. Prove the 19-year old writer is a communist dupe. Attack the singer as a parrot for the writers word. The media claimed that the song would frighten little children. I had hoped thru this song to open a dialogue with Congress and the people. The media banned me from all national television shows. Oddly enough they didn't ban Barry. The United States felt under threat. So any positive press on me or Barry was considered un-patriotic. A great deal of madness, as I remember it! I told the press it was a love song. A love song to and for humanity, that's all. It ruined Barry's career as an artist and in a year I would be driven out of the music business too.

Sloan even asserted that the song’s intention was not to protest the Vietnam War nor the American government and its foreign policy.  Sloan cites the Cold War as well in his inspirations for the song as the enemies to American freedom are the Communist countries of Russia and China.  Although “Eve of Destruction” became a symbol of protest against the American government and its foreign policies specifically in Southeast Asia, this was not the songwriter’s intention.  Therefore, “Eve of Destruction” was just as much a “peace song” written in response to the Cold War as was “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”  In fact, “Eve of Destruction” addresses the threat to American freedoms, much as the country-western songs of the time reminded their listeners of pride in the American way of life.  In this light, "Eve of Destruction" can actually be compared to the rockabilly Chuck Berry's “Back in the U.S.A” as a patriotic song about America's greatness.

Cold War Beginnings: Chuck Berry

Well, I'm so glad I'm living in the U.S.A.
Yes. I'm so glad I'm living in the U.S.A.
Anything you want, we got right here in the U.S.A.

           Chuck Berry, being an African American artist in the late 1950s and early 1960s defied the odds and made a mark on the music, and on the culture, of American life. In that, he truly appreciated life in the U.S. as revealed by his lyrics in "Back in the U.S.A." released in 1959. Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis in the late 1920’s and grew up in a lower middle class African American family. Although he escaped the rural poverty that was prevalent in the blues music of the black artists, he had a true love of this music. Berry wrote “Ida Red”, a “countrified blues song” and attempted to record it at the Chess brothers’ studio in Chicago. After reshaping this song into a “rhythmical rock and roll” style,” Maybelline” became a national hit reaching number five on the charts in 1955. Berry attempted to release a few other bluesy style songs, unsuccessfully, and he, therefore, began to write songs that appealed directly to the white teenage record-buying audience and became a very successful early rock and roller.

            Although Berry’s success in the late 1950’s was short lived due to his prison term, Berry broke ground in the rock and roll world, tearing down racial barriers and appealing to white audiences. Berry was the first African American rock and roller to get white airplay with “Maybelline” due to his carefully enunciated lyrics allowing him to pass for white in a strictly segregated society. Berry knew how to appeal to the white teenage world, and specifically targeted them in his music, making his appeal to a larger unsegregated audience. Berry’s musical style was also new, basically defining rock and roll with his unprecedented compositions of blues beats, country runs, and humorous lyrics. Berry’s influences can be heard in many artists who came after him, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan.

           But our focus here is on the patriotism of the lyrics, of which Berry was an early example leading into the Vietnam conflict, when it seemed that most of the public supported any efforts the U.S. made in combating Communism. Chuck Berry's lyrics in "Back in the U.S.A." ooze with patriotism and pride for the United States. This is not surprising if we place Berry's song within the socio-political context in which it was written - The Cold War. In this context, America was competing with the Soviet Union in all aspects, and in that regard, America was encouraging its citizens to believe that the United States was the best in the world.  America offered be best of everything including the simple things, as Berry shows us, like drive-ins, jukeboxes, and sizzling hamburgers. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame credits Berry with appealing to the masses and appreciating life in the United States:

During this high-spirited decade [of the 1950s], Berry hailed America as a land of fun and opportunity. The mid-Fifties was a period of rising prosperity for the growing middle class, and the social landscape was slowly improving for African-Americans as the civil rights era dawned. In the lyrics for “Back in the U.S.A.,” written after returning from an Australian tour, Berry saluted such everyday pleasures as the drive-ins and corner cafes “where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day/Yeah, and a jukebox jumping with records like in the U.S.A.”

           Berry's lyrics are a perfect example of those that promoted Americanism and set up the United States citizens to fully back its country in all affairs both foreign and domestic, especially when these affairs furthered democratic ideologies by preventing the spread of the feared Communism that appeared to be taking over Asia. But not all songs penned during this time promoted American patriotism, which we shall explore further in our next post.