Happy Birthday to Paul Jones.

 

The incomparable Nicky Hopkins was born on this day. He augmented so many songs with his piano playing.

Here he is with Quicksilver.

 

Apparently about the Korean War but of course applicable to any war.

 

13 hours ago, bannork said:

I remember as a teenager seeing that on the BBC news . It was shocking, the cold blooded murder.  We had no idea what was really going on.  What has spurred this flurry of Vietnam War protest songs, Tippers?

There are multiple reasons why I chose this theme, bannork.  For one the era is personally relevant to me in many ways.  Never before has a war birthed so much music.  It's a bit paradoxical when one considers that something so abhorrent as unnecessary and wanton death could be the catalyst for bringing into the world so much new life.  The immeasurable pain of Vietnam has at the same time served as the source of unending pleasure both for our generation and future ones.  While our existence here is seemingly of a temporal nature the music endures well beyond.

 

It's also a labour of love for me.  The vastness of the musical treasure created by Nam has to an extent become dusted and forgotten.  Sure, the most iconic songs easily surface to the forefront of our memories.  And while I'll post much of those songs I wish also to resurrect some of the forgotten music which is every bit as good.  And to add some colour and context ot the music as well.  Takes a bit of digging but the reward for me are the unearthed treasures which are mine to keep and share.

 

Next time please don't ask such deep questions of me, bannork.  LOL  

While Run Through The Jungle seems like a perfect title for a Nam protest song it was actually about the proliferation of guns existing in the U.S. which spurred Fogerty to pen the tune.  There were numbers of songs during that era which were not about Nam but were co-opted through symbolism.

 

 

The Bobby Scott and Bob Russell tune He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother was a huge hit for the Hollies back in October '69.  This song was also more than likely co-opted as the song title was the phrase used by Boys Town and was said to Fr. Flanagan in 1918 by one of the residents while carrying another up a set of stairs.

 

 

Reflections Of My Life was a hit single for the Scottish band, Marmalade, back in '69.

 

 

Buffalo Springfield with the extended version of For What It's Worth.

 

Although "For What It's Worth" is often considered an anti-war song, Stephen Stills was inspired to write the song because of the Sunset Strip curfew riots in November 1966—a series of early counterculture-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California, beginning in mid-'66, the same year Buffalo Springfield had become the house band at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip.  Local residents and businesses had become annoyed by how crowds of young people going to clubs and music venues along the Strip had caused late-night traffic congestion. In response, they lobbied Los Angeles County to pass local ordinances stopping loitering, and enforced a strict curfew on the Strip after 10 p.m. The young music fans, however, felt the new laws infringed upon their civil rights.

 

On Saturday, November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed on the Sunset Strip inviting people to join demonstrations later that day. Several of Los Angeles' rock radio stations also announced a rally outside the Pandora's Box club on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights. That evening, as many as 1,000 young demonstrators, including future celebrities such as Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda (who was handcuffed by police) gathered to protest against the curfew's enforcement.  Although the rallies began peacefully, trouble eventually broke out.  The unrest continued the next night, and periodically throughout the rest of November and December, forcing some clubs to shut down within weeks.  It was against the background of these civil disturbances that Stills recorded "For What It's Worth" on December 5, '66.

 

Godamned snowflakes . . . 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqjwEGw10w0

 

 

The consummate anti-war folksinger, Phil Ochs, with Talking Vietnam off of his '64 debut album, All The News That's Fit To Sing.

 

 

Fascinating rare personal footage taken by a self-proclaimed grunt on April 4, '71.  Wolfie the Grunt takes 8mm movies of a Combat Assault in Vietnam.

 

 

One of the iconic Nam protest songs is A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan first recorded in '63.

 

 

Bill Withers performing the evocative I Can't Write Left Handed live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY in October '72.  From his '73 Live At Carnegie Hall LP.

 

 

One of the most requested songs by soldiers in country back in '65 was The Animals' We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.  Who couldn't identify with that song title?

 

 

You could do a sub theme Tippers- songs by people who actually served in the Vietnam War- Toy Caldwell and his brother for example.

I forgot to mention that yesterday was the birthday of one of the great rockers- George Thorogood

 

Happy Birthday to Elkie Brooks. I wanted to post her version of Paul Rodgers' Seagull but it isn't on Youtube so here's Pearl

it's the anniversary of George Harrison's birth

 

9 hours ago, bannork said:

You could do a sub theme Tippers- songs by people who actually served in the Vietnam War- Toy Caldwell and his brother for example.

Interesting but I think that would be some tough research which I doubt would turn much up.

 

One other which I can think of, though, would be Barry Saddler.  Fed up with all of the Nam protest songs he decided in '65 to honour those fighting by penning his famous song, Ballad Of The Green Berets.

 

 

8 hours ago, bannork said:

Happy Birthday to Elkie Brooks. I wanted to post her version of Paul Rodgers' Seagull but it isn't on Youtube so here's Pearl

 

 

Here you go, bannork.  Rather than using YouTube's search engine sometimes you can find things by using Google's.  Came up on YT entitled simply Seagull - Elkie's name not included.

 

It was worth looking for.  I figured as much since you recommended it.  It's a hauntingly beautiful tune.

 

 

Another song co-opted by and heavily requested in Nam was Nancy Sinatra's hit single, These Boots Are Made For Walking, recorded on November 19, '65.

 

 

Pete Seeger performing his anti-war song Waist Deep In The Big Muddy & War Song Medleys on The Smothers Brothers comedy show on yesterday a scant 53 years ago.  The song was pulled by CBS amidst great controversy over censorship.  Hey . . . . isn't that a hot and heavy issue these days?  These days you'd be banned for tweeting it or posting on Facebook.  As is attributed to Twain, history doesn't repeat but it often rhymes.

 

Seeger attracted wider attention starting in '67 with his song "Waist Deep In The Big Muddy", about a captain—referred to in the lyrics as "the big fool"—who drowned while leading a platoon on maneuvers in Louisiana during World War II.  With its lyrics about a platoon being led into danger by an ignorant captain, the song's anti-war message was obvious—the line "the big fool said to push on" is repeated several times.  In the face of arguments with the management of CBS about whether the song's political weight was in keeping with the usually light-hearted entertainment of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the final lines were "Every time I read the paper/those old feelings come on/We are waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool says to push on."  The lyrics could be interpreted as an allegory of Johnson as the "big fool" and the Vietnam War as the foreseeable danger.  Although the performance was cut from the September 1967 show, after wide publicity, it was broadcast when Seeger appeared again on the Smothers' Brothers show on February 25, '68.

 

 

The quintessential anti-draft song, Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant off of his '67 debut album Alice's Restaurant.

 

"Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?"

I went over to the Sergeant, said, "Sergeant, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin' here on the Group W bench, 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints off to Washington."

 

555555555555555555

 

Twisted rationale which popularity has, sadly, seemed to have risen exponentially over time.

 

 

Country Joe And The Fish with the memorable I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag, the title track of their '68 album.  I love the LBJ clip in this video.

 

One of the most popular Vietnam protest songs from the 60's and originally appearing on a '65 7" EP titled Rag Baby: Songs of Opposition.  On the album, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" appears following "The Fish Cheer", which at concerts became a Country Joe standard. At Woodstock, Joe had the crowd yell F-U-C-K instead of F-I-S-H.

 

 

Of course the best version was performed at Woodstock.

 

 

Nina Simone ties the civil rights movement with the anti-war movement with the lines - 

 

Just who do think I am
You raise my taxes, freeze my wages
And send my son to Vietnam

 

- from her Backlash Blues number off of her '67 Nina Simone Sings The Blues album.

 

Here's a great live version performed in London on 14 Sept. '68.

 

 

Another co-opted song was Aretha Franklin's Nov. '67 hit single, Chain Of Fools.  The song's title, which referred to finding out that your partner was having an affair, was now used in reference to the military chain of command.  

 

 

The lyrics to the Box Tops' '67 hit, The Letter, also had an obvious special meaning for servicemen.

 

 

An unexpected ending . . . I'll leave it at that.

 

The Strange Ambush of Team Rock Mat, Vietnam 1970

 

 

Today is the anniversary of Johnny Cash's birth. I love his duet with Dylan here.

It's also the anniversary of The Bear's birthday, Bob Hite.

God i love this version.

 

Canned Heat at Woodstock, firing on all 5 cylinders.

 

Doesn't seem like there's anyone else on this thread anymore, bannork.  We used to have quite a number of folks posting.  Are we all dying off?  LOL

Bolan was under-rated as a guitarist and T.Rex only just got inducted into the 'Rock n Roll Hall of Fame' last year. 

 

 

3 hours ago, bobandyson said:

Bolan was under-rated as a guitarist and T.Rex only just got inducted into the 'Rock n Roll Hall of Fame' last year. 

 

 

Agreed.  Bolan was immensely talented and influential.  One of the original glam rockers.  He should have been inducted long ago.

 

T. Rex with Ballrooms Of Mars off of their '72 Slider LP.