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Health & Fitness

Music and War

A look at the influence of music to those serving during wartime

Bob, Neighbor
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Music is an inspiration to many of us. We remember places we were, things we were doing and who we were with when we hear certain songs. A song can trigger a memory, a heartbreak or just a more serene time in our lives. 

Songs get stuck in our heads and we find it hard to shake them. A new parent walks around unknowingly singing the Sesame Street theme song or some Barney verse. We are influenced by music and will always be.

As for the soldier, music was an outlet. Listening to a favorite song while in a battle zone can take you away from the war for a few seconds or a few minutes.  It can take you home to where you last heard it before leaving for war or it can just give you a good feeling in the place you are serving.

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In this piece, I take a look at the most popular songs of World War II, Korea and the war in which I served, Vietnam.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

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World War II was the first major global conflict to take place in the age of electronically mass distributed music. The radio was the quickest way to learn about what was happening in the world and it also brought music into households and to our troops overseas.

World War II was a unique situation for music and its relationship to the war. Songs were widely distributed over the airwaves and the number of listeners was very high. 

American troops had regular access to radio via Armed Forces radio in all but the most difficult combat situations. Soldiers knew specific songs and specific recordings.

Some of the more popular were:

Compared to other wars, songs about the Korean War were fairly rare. Songs of the Korean era were dominated by four main themes: patriotism, the soldier in battle, faith, and emotional pain. A few songs expressed discontent about the war, but none of them opposed it outright, according to authentichistory.com.

One of the earliest Korean War songs was also one of the most popular, Jimmie Osborne's "God, Please Protect America." Osborne recorded the song on July 26, 1950, just a month after the UN Security Council passed the resolution (83) that approved the use of force against North Korea. One day later President Truman committed US Naval and Air support to South Korea. Osborne combined faith with patriotism with these lyrics:

Oh people let's start prayin', as we never prayed before
We need the hand of God, to lead us through this war
Give us vic'try in Korea, and save our boys so fine
God please protect America in this troubled time

The song first appeared on the Billboard charts on October 7, just as the escalation phase of the war was nearing its conclusion, and peaked at no higher than number 9.

"Many of the remaining songs from the Korean War era were about some form of emotional pain," wrote authentichistory.com. "The lyrics addressed the soldiers fear that their loved ones will not remain faithful (Arkie Shibley's "Uncle Sam Has Called My Number", and Kay Kellum's "When I Get Back"), despite assurances from their women  back home that they would be true. (Joni James' "I'll Be Waiting For You"). Songs also mourn the loss of relationships that were beyond their control to save."

In "A Heartsick Soldier on Heartbreak Ridge," the narrator misses his girl, as well as the love letters that never came. He wonders if she still waits for him faithfully. He is heartsick and lonely.

A Dear John Letter", or "Dear John"  played on the concept of a Dear John letter. The lyrics tell of a young woman whose boyfriend John was stationed in Korea. She writes that she is breaking off the relationship. To add to the heartbreak: She is marrying John's brother, Don, and wants her photograph back (because — according to the lyrics — Don wants it now).

And then there was Vietnam.  No war before and hopefully no war after has or will inspire so many songwriters to write the lyrics of tragedy, politics, love, hate, protest or any other emotion that one can think of.

So many songs were so important to so many who served.  From the adopted theme song of “We Gotta  Get Out of This Place” to Country Joe and the Fish’s who satirized being the “first one on your block to have your kid come home in a box.” No war ran the gamut of so many emotions from a total support of a war to a total rejection of it.

Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, a Green Beret, had the top selling album of 1966 – “The Ballad of the Green Berets." It is one of the very few songs of the 1960s to cast the military in a positive light. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young brought protest to light with a song about the killings at Kent State University, “Four Dead in Ohio.”

So many songs were brought to the troops on base camp and in the field through AFVN – Armed Forces Radio –Vietnam. Yet, AFVN did not become a popular listening station until one special airman decided that the men in the field needed to listen to a broadcast that made them feel like they were at home.  The old format was replaced with a more contemporary format that became very popular with the troops thanks to Adrian Cronauer.  See my earlier post at

Besides “We gotta get outta this place”. The song that reminds me so much of my time in Vietnam is from the movie “Good Morning Vietnam” .  Louis  Armstrong’s  “Wonderful World”  will always remind me of my time in Vietnam.  It may have not been very popular in my time there, but its influence in the movie makes it a very special lyric.

I served in Vietnam in 1969-70.  I have listed a few of the more popular songs of that time below and hope that if you served or were back home during that period, it will spark some happy memory for you.

The Top 20 as Of September 20th, 1969

  1. Sugar, Sugar - The Archies
  2. Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
  3. Jean - Oliver
  4. I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Tom Jones
  5. Easy to Be Hard - Three Dog Night
  6. Get Together - The Youngbloods
  7. I Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations
  8. A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
  9. Little Woman - Bobby Sherman
10. Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival
11. Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly & the Family Stone
12. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
13. Hurt So Bad - The Lettermen
14. Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan
15. Oh, What a Night - The Dells
16. This Girl Is a Woman Now - Gary Puckett & the Union Gap
17. I'd Wait a Million Years - The Grass Roots
18. When I Die - Motherlode
19. Everybody's Talkin' - Nilsson
20. Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley

The Top 20 As Of September 20th, 1970

  1. Patches - Clarence Carter
  2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
  3. Candida - Dawn
  4. Julie, Do Ya Love Me - Bobby Sherman
  5. Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond
  6. Don't Play That Song - Aretha Franklin
  7. Lookin' Out My Back Door - Creedence Clearwater Revival
  8. Snowbird - Anne Murray
  9. War - Edwin Starr
10. I'll Be There - The Jackson 5
11. It's a Shame - The Spinners
12. Spill the Wine - Eric Burdon & War
13. Groovy Situation - Gene Chandler
14. In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry
15. (They Long to Be) Close to You - The Carpenters
16. El Condor Pasa - Simon & Garfunkel
17. (I Know) I'm Losing You - Rare Earth
18. 25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
19. Look What They've Done to My Song Ma - The New Seekers
20. All Right Now - Free

The Top 20 As Of September 20th, 1971

  1. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
      2. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
      3. Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
      4. Superstar - The Carpenters
      5. Spanish Harlem - Aretha Franklin
      6. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez
      7. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
      8. Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
      9. Thin Line Between Love and Hate - The Persuaders
    10. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics
    11. If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder
    12. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
    13. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - The Bee Gees
    14. I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth
    15. All Day Music - War
    16. So Far Away - Carole King
    17. Yo-Yo - The Osmonds
    18. Sweet City Woman - The Stampeders
    19. One Fine Morning - Lighthouse
    20. Imagine - John Lennon

 

Sources:

Wikipedia

http://www.authentichistory.com/1946-1960/2-korea/3-music/index.html

http://www.rjsmith.com/vietnam-era-music.html


 

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